Fast Food Review: Wendy's Boneless Wings
I'm on record for being a big fan of both "boneless" chicken wings and fast food, so when I saw that Wendy's (our semi-localish national fast food chain out of Columbus) was now serving up some pre-sauced chicken nugs, it was a no brainer: I had to check them out.
I had originally planned to try all three, but I found out that I could only get them in $3.99 increments, so I scaled back my order to try their "Bold Buffalo" and "Sweet & Spicy Asian Chicken" varieties; Honey BBQ would have to wait.
Bold Buffalo:
The first thing that I noticed was that the wings had a nice aroma of vinegar, a must for any true Buffalo-style chicken, as it is not just about the heat, but rather a balance of specific flavors. This stood true as I took a bite and the chicken tastes of a balance of vinegary zing and some spice, but not too much cheap heat. It tasted pretty much like what a Buffalo wing from a national fast food joint should. Not perfect, but solid. It could, however, stand a bit more sauce, even if it would take away from the crispiness of the nugget.
Sweet & Spicy Asian:
This was the wing that had really caught my eye, as I tend to be a huge mark for all things sweet and spicy. Sadly, this wing was more salty than sweet. They need to add more sweetener (sugar, honey, or even corn syrup) and maybe even make them a teeny tiny bit spicier. With this flavor profile, the spice was not as good as a generic sweet Asian sauce found in most frozen food items. They could learn a thing or two from Healthy Choice. Even if the sauce isn't all that good, they still need to add more to the chicken. As it is now, it tastes too much like the breading.
At around 10 pieces for $3.99 + tax, Wendy's Boneless Wings are not a great bargain, but a nice change-of-pace item.
Ratings:
Bold Buffalo- 4 out of 5 Sabres vs. Blue Jackets tickets
Sweet & Spicy Asian- 2.5 out of 5 OSU exchange students headed to Thailand to teach English
.
I had originally planned to try all three, but I found out that I could only get them in $3.99 increments, so I scaled back my order to try their "Bold Buffalo" and "Sweet & Spicy Asian Chicken" varieties; Honey BBQ would have to wait.
Bold Buffalo:
The first thing that I noticed was that the wings had a nice aroma of vinegar, a must for any true Buffalo-style chicken, as it is not just about the heat, but rather a balance of specific flavors. This stood true as I took a bite and the chicken tastes of a balance of vinegary zing and some spice, but not too much cheap heat. It tasted pretty much like what a Buffalo wing from a national fast food joint should. Not perfect, but solid. It could, however, stand a bit more sauce, even if it would take away from the crispiness of the nugget.Sweet & Spicy Asian:
This was the wing that had really caught my eye, as I tend to be a huge mark for all things sweet and spicy. Sadly, this wing was more salty than sweet. They need to add more sweetener (sugar, honey, or even corn syrup) and maybe even make them a teeny tiny bit spicier. With this flavor profile, the spice was not as good as a generic sweet Asian sauce found in most frozen food items. They could learn a thing or two from Healthy Choice. Even if the sauce isn't all that good, they still need to add more to the chicken. As it is now, it tastes too much like the breading.At around 10 pieces for $3.99 + tax, Wendy's Boneless Wings are not a great bargain, but a nice change-of-pace item.
Ratings:
Bold Buffalo- 4 out of 5 Sabres vs. Blue Jackets tickets
Sweet & Spicy Asian- 2.5 out of 5 OSU exchange students headed to Thailand to teach English
.
Labels: Asian Cuisine, Buffalo Wings, Chicken, Fast Food, Food, Hot Wings, Product Reviews, Wendy's
posted by Chris James | Wednesday, July 01, 2009
12 Comments:
I can't believe you fell for the "boneless wing" label. These are their standard chicken nuggets with the dipping sauce poured over them instead of served on the side. At least that's what I got when I ordered them.
Read carefully, Stanton:
"Wendy's...was now serving up some pre-sauced chicken nugs"
:P
They are slightly different than Wendy's nuggets. These were battered chunks of chicken, while Wendy's nuggets are breaded and hyper-processed.
MMM Wendy's nuggets.
But seriously, thanks for this review! I've been dying to try these bad boys since I saw the advert. Sweet and Spicy sounds more up my alley than the other two.
Its scary just how much you enjoy fast food.
I used to love wendy's.. But the quality of their burgers has dropped over the past few yrs IMO. I gave the asian boneless wings a shot and thought they sucked.. Guess i'll stick to chili, baked potatoes and side salads when do wendy's.
How's life without the Rax BBC?
They have a "Living without Rax" 12-step support group in town. My sponsor is that really short woman who was always working the counter at the old 5th Ave Rax 24-7-365.
I'm currently on the 5th step: "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of what is wrong with other roast beef sandwiches."
I thought the Asian flavor was way too sweet and not very spicy at all. I still am going to try the buffalo flavor soon. When they had their "flavor-dipped" buffalo sandwich a few months back, I thought it was great. Hopefully it's the same sauce.
first of all, nice blog. exactly what i was looking for post boneless chicken tasting.
i just finished up a workout and past a wendy's when images of their new adverts hit the backside of my eyes. It was latenight so needless to say, i walked through the drivethrough (which is frowned upon) and picked up a set of spicey sours.
First of all, I was pretty let down by the prep process. Looking through the window I caught a glimpse of the fryguy dumping some crispy nuggets into a tray, squirting them with some red sauce and handing them off to the window girl. Window girl then half-crouched behind the register in an attempt to shake the nuggets without me seeing; a job she failed at.
Got home and ate them and, yup, was dissapointed. I'm with Damon on this one. It's back to chillied potatoes and side salads for me.
Thanks again for writing this up Chris.
The nuggets were ridiculous. They look nothing like the commercial. The commercial gave me the impression that the nuggets marinate in the sauce.
You can tell that the 2 parts (chicken + sauce) first meet up in the black plastic container 5 seconds after you place your order.
I will never order these again. It's a matter of time before these are pulled from the restaurants.
I sounds like Wendy's is having a quality control problem with this product. In addition to the gripes posted here, I've had friends mention that they also got regular ol' nuggets rather than the breast chunks and more than one instance of half-assed sauce application.
It looks like corporate needs to send out a memo titled "Don't F Up Our Big New Product With Lazy Shit Like This."
FYI, the short lady from Rax works at McD's on Rt. 60 & I-64.
Wendy's not is a great place for me! I tasted this "Boneless Wings" and this not have a good flavor!. I thought of that was of plastic, I don't liked. Thanks for you recaps.!!
Good fast food nutrition and healthy eating is important in life. Helps keep your immune system and therefore away from the disease. But to keep this particular system is terribly difficult for many reasons, the main one is too hectic schedule. This means that in the way of life on earth and it increasingly began to produce something with a back seat and that something is usually food and sleep. With the workload at all employment levels increased slightly beyond the stress, it becomes easier for everyone to grab a quick bite and move on. This attitude of the masses, said the uncontrolled proliferation of fast food have sprung up everywhere.
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