Wendy's New Natural Cut Fries w/ sea salt

Have any of you tried their new french fries?
 
http://wendys.com/food/Menu.jsp
 

I only tried Wendy's once in my life and didn't see a reason to return. However those fries look great.

by the time I get there they'll have changed the recipe again.

I had not been inside a Wendy's in years, but I was intrigued by the announcement that they had revamped their fries.  I tried them--twice over the last two weeks.  I honestly couldn't tell any difference from what they had been serving before.  Beats me what all the hype is about!

Sounds like Domino's Pizza !

I'll have to check them out, but I wish they'd return to their orginal "Hot and Juicy" hamburgers.  The burgers have suffered for close to 20 years.  Dry, overdone, cooked in advance, and terrible bun.

MellowRoast


I'll have to check them out, but I wish they'd return to their orginal "Hot and Juicy" hamburgers.  The burgers have suffered for close to 20 years.  Dry, overdone, cooked in advance, and terrible bun.

They might be doing this as well. The Las Vegas Sun has an article about a line of burgers being test marketed in Las Vegas called Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburgers. The test includes the a TV commercial with Wendy Thomas herself pitching the product. Video is included in the Sun's article:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/nov/05/las-vegas-serve-test-market-wendys-burger-line/

That's great information, and I hope you're right.  Unfortunately, based on the video, it looks like they're going to be serving that new bun that I dislike so much. 

I do remember when I was a kid that Wendy's was always the messiest burger, with ketchup and mayo running out with the grease.  I really enjoyed those burgers, and then the restaurant changed into that mediocre mess it's been for decades.

I will give the fries a try. Used to like their chili but lately it's been so watery. They either changed the recipe or they have a manager trying to stretch it out for more servings.

Heartbreaksoup


I do remember when I was a kid that Wendy's was always the messiest burger, with ketchup and mayo running out with the grease.  I really enjoyed those burgers, and then the restaurant changed into that mediocre mess it's been for decades.

Amen.  I remember working at McDonald's as a teen-ager in the early 80's and everyone couldn't wait to get off work and go to Wendy's for double-cheeseburger.
Like every chain they eventually caved to the sound of quantity (sales) vs. quality.  So sad, too bad.

Just tried the new fries last night.  As far as I'm concerned, they taste like the old fries, but with, like, a million times more salt.  Seriously, these effers were so salty that neither my wife nor I could finish our orders.  And what was really hilarious?  They threw four salt packets in the bag with everything else.  You know, just in case we wanted to die of a hypertension-related stroke within minutes, as opposed to within hours.
 
Anyway. 
 
I don't know if this over-salting phenomenon is endemic to just that particular Wendy's store, or if, indeed, all Wendy's locations now sell containers of sea salt with a few fries thrown in for a little variety.

Rabkin


Just tried the new fries last night.  As far as I'm concerned, they taste like the old fries, but with, like, a million times more salt.  Seriously, these effers were so salty that neither my wife nor I could finish our orders.  And what was really hilarious?  They threw four salt packets in the bag with everything else.  You know, just in case we wanted to die of a hypertension-related stroke within minutes, as opposed to within hours.

Anyway. 

I don't know if this over-salting phenomenon is endemic to just that particular Wendy's store, or if, indeed, all Wendy's locations now sell containers of sea salt with a few fries thrown in for a little variety.

..this sounds like criminal negligence to me...

My local Wendys has turned me off of the establishment for awile now, but I have always liked Wendys fries better than any other fast food joints. Now that they've probably gone and messed those up too, there is absolutely no reason to return.

Isn't it interesting how, with no advertising, mom & pop joints survive for decades by not changing a thing, yet have customers lined up waiting to get in. 

Rabkin, the purported "new" fries I had (twice) at Wendy's were nearly as unsalted as they always have been (at my location anyway).  So I had just the opposite experience.
 
That's the problem with chain restaurants: no consistency from store-to-store.

I tried the new fries last night. They had just come out of the fryer, and they were excellent. But I always liked Wendy's fries just out of the fryer. Comparing their current ingredients list with older ones posted by others on the web, all that changed was dropping one of the chemicals to maintain color. The natural cut doesn't affect much if you eat four or five at a time; most of the fries (from the center of the potato) just have a bit of skin at the end of the potato. You don't get as many pieces with skin on as the photos in the ads show. (I am trying to determine if premium "skin-on foodservice fries" are cherry picked from the rest of the potato at the processing plant; they seem to have more skin in the five pound bag than would be possible from using the entire potato.)
 
They may also have standardized on a new oil blend, changed how the potatoes are processed at the plant before freezing, all things that could not be determined from an ingredients list. Regular readers know I suspect weasel words in fast food advertising copy.
 
I was distracted after the fries came out of the fryer, so did not witness the salting process. I found them salted just right for my taste. These fries should be eaten right out the fryer. They don't have any rice flour, etc. coatings to keep fries hotter longer. There was no "Wow" factor when trying this batch over the old fries.

I gave up on Wendy's french fries a long time ago. They were either cold, tough, or both. I won't be trying the new fries. If I go to Wendy's at all, I'll get a baked potato with my burger.

Al gave me some very good advice a long time ago.  Nobody likes cold fries and Al suggested that you order them without salt.  That way, you get fresh hot fries.  I have often taken them back and ask for hot fries which also works.
 
I am sorta anxious to try their new fries.  I will report back on my personal evaluation.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

"Natural Cut French Fries"??
 
What exactly does that mean? What is an "un-natural" cut that needed to be improved upon"
 
Sounds like the marketing department worked harder on this than the cooking department.

Ken8038: TOO-SHAY!

Sundancer7


Al gave me some very good advice a long time ago.  Nobody likes cold fries and Al suggested that you order them without salt.  That way, you get fresh hot fries.  I have often taken them back and ask for hot fries which also works.

I am sorta anxious to try their new fries.  I will report back on my personal evaluation.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

 
Excellent idea.  Since I carry Real Salt in my pocket or briefcase at all times, I'll do that from now on.  Don't know why I didn't think of it!

Here's a guy who went to the trouble to do the tasting for us:
http://www.zug.com/live/8...ch-Fry-Taste-Test.html
 ... Not the New York Times, but a review nevertheless.

Ken,
"Natural Cut" is a term used in the frozen french fry industry to denote the potato is unpeeled (has skin left on).

wheregreggeats.com


Here's a guy who went to the trouble to do the tasting for us:

Interesting results.  I must say that the fries I purchased the other night were coated (and I do mean coated) with the usual, fine crystals one typically finds in...table salt (not to cast aspersions, mind - I do know that sea salt can be found in stores in both coarse and fine crystal'd form).  Maybe this...means something!  (Dum! Dum! DUM!)
 
Also: I'd very much like to give the author of that taste test piece a bracing slap (or twelve) about the face.

I hate to say this but I would prefer a double cheeseburger from McDonald's than ANYTHING from Wendy's.  The powers that be have totally destroyed the Wendy's image of the late 70's and VERY early 80's.  I still have my Wendy's operational manual.  Look at it from time to time and cringe at the crap the chain is putting out now.

Make mine  a White Castle.....

Tried them yesterday, I have to say I didn't really care for them at all. They tasted more like dirty potato skins to me than anything. I liked the original fries a lot better. If that's all they're serving from now on I won't be going back to a Wendy's ever again.

Adjudicator


The powers that be have totally destroyed the Wendy's image of the late 70's and VERY early 80's.  I still have my Wendy's operational manual.  Look at it from time to time and cringe at the crap the chain is putting out now.

 
Agreed.  For a chain, the burgers were unbeatable.  In fact, I used to enjoy everything on the menu, including The Garden Spot salad bar. 

theres a Wendys up the road from me that I passed today & saw the sign in the window & thought about stopping but I was late for a gig we were playing.
maybe next time.