I have struggled with the McDonalds menu lately.  I am a guy with an above average appetite.  When I go to MCD, it is Big Mac or Quarter Pounder.  The QPC is so boring and the Big Mac, well…  I am kind of tired of them.

If you read about fast food, I am sure that you have already seen the myriad of reviews.  No need to go into details here.  Since WIBIA is buying about 20 diapers a day, I could only afford to buy one!  I decided on the “Deluxe” after reading The Impulsive Buy and Grub Grade, they both liked the Deluxe the best.

Deluxe: Cheeseburger, lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion, mayo.
Combo Price $5.79

My first impression, this is a nice sized burger, it felt like it could make a dent in my stomach.  It was 2:00 and I have yet to eat, so I was starving!  When I opened up the bun, there was a shit load of mayo.  I would guess 1+ Tablespoon.  I don’t eat mayo on my burgers, so I wiped it off.  There was one tomato, 3 pickles and 3 rings of red onion.  The most impressive part was the quality of the lettuce and pickles.  Crunchy pickles and the lettuce was really fresh.  I hate the warm-wilty iceberg that you get on a lot of fast food burgers.

As far as taste, it was a little salty upon first bite.  However the cheese was nice and melty, and I got a nice crunch from the fresh produce.  The sesame seed bun was a nice compliment, it let the burger shine.  I would’ve really liked an onion bun here, but oh well.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes! It will go on my Recommended Fast Food list.  I would give this burger an 8 out of 10, it was really that good.  I might go as far as saying it is one of my favorite burgers ever from MCD; and we all know how much I liked the Beef Wennington! (out of circulation).

As far as larger fast food burgers, MCD is knocking on Hardee’s door.  I am not going to go as far as saying that this is better than Hardee’s $6 Dollar Burger, however it is far superior to Burger Kings lame attempt “Steakhouse XT.”

Bravo McDonalds!

-wibia

Chick-fil-A

Wow, I can be lazy at times.  Two months have past since we sent out the PR for Chick-fil-A Low Fat Breakfast Options. I am on a weight loss competition so I have been picking the healthiest fast food that I can.  We work about 20 reviews in advance, so you will still see pizza and burgers on the site!  Indianapolis is a test market for this menu so don’t be surprised if you can’t find it at your store.

Here are your smoothie options:

• Strawberry Banana
• Blueberry Pineapple
• 14 oz. $3.79/20 oz. $4.85

I went for Strawberry-Banana 20 oz.  As you can see, it doesn’t look very appetizing with all of it splattered on the lid.  I would change the lid before serving.  As far as the taste, not bad at all.  More strawberry than banana, and a little tart, but I enjoyed it.  Consistency was a little thick, but it was able to get through the straw.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes. Quality is a touch below Jamba Juice-esque smoothie places, but for fast food…not bad at all.   14 oz. was plenty, I could barely finish it.  If you are looking for on-the-go-healthy breakfast options, this is a pretty good one.

-wibia

Taco Bell Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito
Price: $2.79

Taco Bell was basically off my radar until I read the about how they opened their test kitchen for WIBIA friends, Epic Portions and Grub Grade. Since then, Taco Bell sounds pretty good…your plan worked Taco Bell….damn you!!

The Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito was packed full of said ingredients along with some ground beef and sour cream as well.  I was impressed with the size even before I took a bite.  I was relived to see some substance since Taco Bell has the tendency to be skimpy at times.

Right away, you get a nice bacon flavor.  Throughout the burrito, I didn’t taste the sour cream at all.  It was all about the cheese and bacon while the potatoes and the ground beef were more filler than anything else.  My wife asked how it was and she tried a bite…”Hey…that is pretty good!”  She was right.

Would I Buy It Again?  A strong Yes. Bravo Taco Bell, damn fine job.  This is actually now my favorite burrito from Taco Bell and I hope it stays on the menu.  However, I would’ve like to see them incorporate some Lava Sauce in here somehow.  It would’ve benefited from a little kick.

Yum:
Basically a loaded potato skin in a burrito
Packed with ingredients
Filling
My Favorite Taco Bell Burrito

Yuck:
680 Calories, 36g Fat

-wibia

Taco Bell’s Why Pay More value menu is maybe one of the greatest innovations in the fast food industry.  With items varying from 79¢ to 89¢ to 99¢, it’s good, cheap and easy.  I only usually order one other item that’s not on this value menu (Meximelt), so I’m a big fan.  They’ve recently introduced two new items to this menu, so I figured I’d give them a shot.

What I Ate:  Grilled Chicken Soft Taco (89¢) and Grilled Chicken Burrito (89¢)

First, the Grilled Chicken Soft Taco.  As I said, you cannot beat the value on this one.  The taste is pretty damn good too.  I got mine “Fresco Style”, which means that they subtracted cheese and added fiesta salsa.  This will save you quite a few calories.  As for the other toppings, it included the grilled chicken (obviously) and lettuce.  The grilled chicken was obviously seasoned too, so it had a nice little kick.  As you can see from the picture below, Taco Bell is definitely not shy when it comes to adding their toppings on this one.  When coupled with the small tortilla shell, this one overflows with ingredients and taste.  It clocks in at roughly 200 calories when made with cheese, but that is substantially less when you get it Fresco Style (the actual caloric difference is not available on the website).

Grilled Chicken Soft Taco

Next, I had the Grilled Chicken burrito.  I got this one in the regular style, so it included the cheese.  It also included the seasoned grilled chicken (again, obviously), mexican rice and and avocado ranch sauce.  On this one, I have no complaints about the ingredients as they were tasty, but Taco Bell really needs to find a different tortilla to use for this burrito.  As you can see from my picture below where I’ve opened it up to show the insides, the tortilla dwarfs the amount of ingredients that are in the burrito.  When I was eating this, I felt like I was eating a giant tortilla with just a few ingredients sprinkled in to compliment the flavor of the tortilla.  It should be the other way around.   In an ideal world, they’d find a tortilla shell that was somewhere between the size of the one they use for the soft taco and the size of the one that they use for this one.  Also, this baby checks in at 440 calories, so it’s not exactly healthy.

Grilled Chicken Burrito

Would I Buy It Again:  Yes to the Grilled Chicken Soft Taco but probably not to the Grilled Chicken Burrito.  The soft taco is healthy enough and overflows with ingredients, so it is definitely worth another purchase.  As for the burrito, if I wanted to eat a giant tortilla, I’d just go to the grocery store and buy a package of big tortilla shells and munch on those.  Plus, the huge caloric intake on this one does not help my wellness score.

-IndianapolisEater

Guess who’s back?!  I had a ton of fun this weekend and time well spent.  Wing Contest, Late Night pizza run and ended it with a party at WIBIA Headquarters.  Great Success!  Now back to work…

Arby’s
http://www.arbys.com

What I Ate: Jamocha Swirl Shake $2.60.  I had a BOGO coupon, so my wife had the chocolate shake.

I didn’t go to Arby’s for a while, but my visits have been more frequent.  It is a touch more expensive than McDonalds and Burger King, but with a coupon, they are competitive.  Check out the review archive for Roastburger reviews.

What does Jamocha really mean?   To me, Jamocha = kick ass shake.  I really enjoy this flavor, but not sure how to describe it.  Kind of malty, kind of coffee, who really knows what is in this?!   I had the Chocolate Malt Swirl Shake a few weeks ago and I enjoyed that as well.  Out of Burger King and McDonald’s, I think that Arby’s has the best shakes.

However, I almost like the plain old school Jamocha shake just as much.  This one seemed thicker than normal and the chocolate swril did nothing but stick to the sides of the container. As long as it has the Jamocha flavor, count me in.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes.  I really enjoy this shake.  Dairy Queen is getting expensive and I think that Arby’s is making the best fast food shakes.  I still have a place in my heart for a vanilla malt with extra malt powder at DQ, but for the price…Arby’s has their number.  Curly Fry gave her shake thumbs up as well.

Let’s do some nutrition facts on some similar shakes.  I will highlight serving size, calories and fat.  Warning, this is going to get ugly.

Arby’s – Jamocha Swirl Shake
16oz Serving Size, 610 Calories, 17g fat.

McDonald’s – Triple Thick Shake Chocolate Medium
16 oz Serving Size – 580 Calories -14g fat.

Dairy Queen – Chocolate Malt.  Medium
16 oz Serving Size – 900 Calories – 22g fat

Hardee’s – Chocolate Hand Scooped Ice Cream Shake
14 oz Serving Size – 700 Calories – 34g fat.

I suppose that I should call each place to see what their prices are to make the above nutrition facts meaningful, but I am just feeling too lazy.  Even with the pointless Chocolate Swirl, this shake is going on Recommended Fast Food!

-wibia

You might not be that shocked, but I have picked up about 5-10 lbs. since I started the blog about 2 months ago.  I want to keep the blog going, but my waistline can’t afford many more Burger King Steakhouse XT.

So I bought the book “Eat This, Not That!” by David Zinczenko.  As I looked at some of the substitutions, I wondered if the healthier version could stand up in taste.  The point of these reviews are to decide if a normal guy with a big appetite can stomach these substitutions.

What I Ate: Chicken Burrito Bowl.  $5.95

Chicken, lettuce, black beans, tomatillo salsa and sour cream.  I added a scoop of mild salsa as well.  Ditching rice, cheese and tortilla will save you over 500 calories and 22 g of fat.

I have to admit, it was not the same experience. There is something special about navigating a big burrito.  Although I missed the experience, I can’t say that I missed the taste.  It was almost identical.  The missing tortilla was a non factor, but adding rice would’ve been… nice.  Had to do it.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes.  Chipotle’s fresh ingredients took center stage and I still left happy and full.   I am not sure if I would do the bowl at Qdoba as I think they are a step lower in quality. With that being said I might skip Qdoba regardless.

-WIBIA

Why is the McDonald’s McRib not a full time menu item? Well, the McRib is back in Indianapolis.  A promo that has seen a few farewell tours, but it is too good to quit. I saw an ad for it at another MCD, so I called my closest one and they had it. I would recommend to phone first.

What I Ate: McRib Combo $4.00

It tasted just how I remembered it. Pickle, Onion, BBQ, Sesame Seed Bun and formed Pork.  It could’ve used a little more sauce, but it was pretty much dead on. I felt comfortable after eating it, not full, but I can tell I ate something.

Sometimes you want to enjoy something without knowing too much about it. If you want to know more about the McRib including a scary cross section, check this out.

Would I Buy It Again:Yes. Recommended. McRib is a love/hate relationship and I have always liked them.

McRib Nutritional Info:
490 calories, 220 calories from fat, 25 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 1040 mb sodium, 44 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 24 g protein, 11 g sugars.

-WIBIA

Taco Bell now has three different varieties of nachos on their “Why Pay More” every day value menu that vary in price at 3-layer $0.79, 5-layer $0.89 and 7-layer $0.99.    The amount of toppings directly corresponds to the amount of price.

What I Ate:  7-layer dip nachos $0.99.

The 7 layers are diced tomatoes, nacho cheese, beans, sour cream, guacamole and red sauce.  All of which are standard Taco Bell ingredients.

What is worth discussing is the guacamole.  It had a faint aftertaste that made me think I was eating something that had metal in it. This is similar to many store bought guacs as well.  I love guacamole, but it does have an impact on the flavor so you may want to take notice of that depending on how you feel about guacamole.  I would assume this aftertaste is caused by the preservative put into the guacamole in order for it to keep in shipping and storage.

Otherwise, there are no surprises here.

The toppings are plentiful and the only drawback to these nachos is that they do not come with enough chips.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes, I would highly recommend it.  For $0.99, you can’t get a better deal with the amount of toppings that they put on this.  This is definitely a great value.

Additional Rambling:  I would order again it without sour cream since I am not a fan of sour cream (I guess that would make these 6-layer nachos). You really can’t miss with Taco Bell.

-IndianapolisEater