X-Chow III: Wendy's Monterey Ranch Chicken Sandwich
This is a rather useless fast-food chicken sandwich review very loosely based on this show that I do. (I wish I could do burgers, but I can't.) As you can guess, this is the third one. If you're interested, here are the first and the second.
The company I work for has put me in the "extra" van, a 1995 Mercury Villager nearing 165,000 miles with a missing window latch screw (which makes the window rattle every time I hit a bump) and three repairs in the last two months, making it, paraphrasing the owner, a vehicle you wouldn't want to put too many miles on on a constant basis. In the past two days, I have been to Michigan City twice (30-35 miles each way, depending on whether I have to go to Gary or leave from home) and a round-trip between LaPorte and Chicago (110 miles total). Oddly enough, these trips are better than what I normally do, which is run back and forth across the northern part of Lake County, because as all the dispatchers are in Indianapolis, all of them are even more clueless about local driving conditions than your typical dispatcher.
So today I once again found myself in Michigan City, thanks to yet another client who would never consider driving themselves thirty miles to see a doctor, but has no problem using the taxpayers' money to do so. Forewarned of the three-county trip, I packed a Lactaid pill and prepared myself for the Monterey Ranch Chicken Sandwich at the Wendy's on Franklin Street, just north of US 20.
The Monterey Ranch Sandwiches (there is a burger too, as you could probably guess) have been featured before. From what I can gather, Wendy's board members must spin a wheel to choose the next "limited-time" cheese and sauce combination for their sandwiches as there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason when they decide to offer a sandwich or take it off the menu.
I must admit first off that Wendy's is one of my favorite fast-food places, and as Sonic, Whataburger, Chick-Fil-A and Jack in the Box are nowhere near me, it is my first or second choice with Jimmy John's being the other. So, yes, I have a thing for Wendy's, and it's not just because Wendy's a redhead and has freckles.
For much of my childhood, there were six or seven fast-food joints closer than Wendy's, so it was a rare occurrence when I did get a chance to go. Being different, as usuall, I opted for the Big Classic rather than the regular Classic line. That sandwich may be the reason I still love Kaiser rolls to this day. Anyway, once I could get myself around, trips became rarer still because I was under the impression it was significantly more expensive than other fast-food joints, so I really only started returning to Wendy's about a year or so ago. What I found was that either the Wendy's I went to was overpriced or there was a change in corporate policy, because Wendy's is very much in line with their competitors on pricing. Unfortunately, Wendy's still has fewer locations than McDonald's and Burger King, at least around here. That's a shame because it is clearly a better restaurant. Then again, if more people knew it was a better restaurant, it might start to go suck like those two, so let's just keep it between you and me, okay?
Once I ordered the combo meal, I ran into the only huge problem I have with Wendy's: drink choices. You can alter your combo meal, you can switch cheeses and sauces, you can even add double meat for a nominal fee, but you only have six choices for drinks at most Wendy's I've visited. If you're like me and avoid caffeine, you have two. Avoid carbonation like I tend to do and you're left with one: Minute Maid Diet Lemonade, which is the crappiest fruit drink ever released for mass comsumption out of a fountain since Pepsi's Fruit Works Punch. However, I must admit it has grown on me, from the first time being nearly unpalatable to now simply being godawful. But I digress.
Sitting down and eating the meal, I found the fries to be incredibly good. They come just short of McDonald's fries, but they are a bit thicker and definitely worth considering if you're craving fries. (While we're on fries, though, neither are as good as properly-made hot Rally's/Checker's fries, but all the luck in the world getting them both well-made and fresh.) They were good, but the sandwich was, well, perfect.
The Monterey Ranch Chicken Sandwich, beside the obvious ingredients, also has lettuce and tomato. The breaded chicken breast was hot, thick, and juicy. The Jack cheese was melted over the chicken and was a great addition. The ranch dressing was well distributed and, as you might be surprised to learn (as I had forgotten), contains bacon bits. There weren't enough for it to be a problem to me, but it would be for YHWH or Allah, so plan accordingly.
Let me put this simply: This is the best chicken sandwich I have had outside Chick-Fil-A since the Whatachicken I ate over two years ago. The only problem I had was the price of the combo meal: $5.49 without Biggie sizing. However, I noticed that everything at that Wendy's I normally eat was $0.40 more than other Wendy's, so it is likely to be cheaper near you, and equal in price to other chicken sandwich meals at other places. So if you want a chicken sandwich and you're within ten miles of a Wendy's: Go eat it. It's that simple.
A 5 out of 5. (And there's your five-star sandwich.)
The company I work for has put me in the "extra" van, a 1995 Mercury Villager nearing 165,000 miles with a missing window latch screw (which makes the window rattle every time I hit a bump) and three repairs in the last two months, making it, paraphrasing the owner, a vehicle you wouldn't want to put too many miles on on a constant basis. In the past two days, I have been to Michigan City twice (30-35 miles each way, depending on whether I have to go to Gary or leave from home) and a round-trip between LaPorte and Chicago (110 miles total). Oddly enough, these trips are better than what I normally do, which is run back and forth across the northern part of Lake County, because as all the dispatchers are in Indianapolis, all of them are even more clueless about local driving conditions than your typical dispatcher.
So today I once again found myself in Michigan City, thanks to yet another client who would never consider driving themselves thirty miles to see a doctor, but has no problem using the taxpayers' money to do so. Forewarned of the three-county trip, I packed a Lactaid pill and prepared myself for the Monterey Ranch Chicken Sandwich at the Wendy's on Franklin Street, just north of US 20.
The Monterey Ranch Sandwiches (there is a burger too, as you could probably guess) have been featured before. From what I can gather, Wendy's board members must spin a wheel to choose the next "limited-time" cheese and sauce combination for their sandwiches as there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason when they decide to offer a sandwich or take it off the menu.
I must admit first off that Wendy's is one of my favorite fast-food places, and as Sonic, Whataburger, Chick-Fil-A and Jack in the Box are nowhere near me, it is my first or second choice with Jimmy John's being the other. So, yes, I have a thing for Wendy's, and it's not just because Wendy's a redhead and has freckles.
For much of my childhood, there were six or seven fast-food joints closer than Wendy's, so it was a rare occurrence when I did get a chance to go. Being different, as usuall, I opted for the Big Classic rather than the regular Classic line. That sandwich may be the reason I still love Kaiser rolls to this day. Anyway, once I could get myself around, trips became rarer still because I was under the impression it was significantly more expensive than other fast-food joints, so I really only started returning to Wendy's about a year or so ago. What I found was that either the Wendy's I went to was overpriced or there was a change in corporate policy, because Wendy's is very much in line with their competitors on pricing. Unfortunately, Wendy's still has fewer locations than McDonald's and Burger King, at least around here. That's a shame because it is clearly a better restaurant. Then again, if more people knew it was a better restaurant, it might start to go suck like those two, so let's just keep it between you and me, okay?
Once I ordered the combo meal, I ran into the only huge problem I have with Wendy's: drink choices. You can alter your combo meal, you can switch cheeses and sauces, you can even add double meat for a nominal fee, but you only have six choices for drinks at most Wendy's I've visited. If you're like me and avoid caffeine, you have two. Avoid carbonation like I tend to do and you're left with one: Minute Maid Diet Lemonade, which is the crappiest fruit drink ever released for mass comsumption out of a fountain since Pepsi's Fruit Works Punch. However, I must admit it has grown on me, from the first time being nearly unpalatable to now simply being godawful. But I digress.
Sitting down and eating the meal, I found the fries to be incredibly good. They come just short of McDonald's fries, but they are a bit thicker and definitely worth considering if you're craving fries. (While we're on fries, though, neither are as good as properly-made hot Rally's/Checker's fries, but all the luck in the world getting them both well-made and fresh.) They were good, but the sandwich was, well, perfect.
The Monterey Ranch Chicken Sandwich, beside the obvious ingredients, also has lettuce and tomato. The breaded chicken breast was hot, thick, and juicy. The Jack cheese was melted over the chicken and was a great addition. The ranch dressing was well distributed and, as you might be surprised to learn (as I had forgotten), contains bacon bits. There weren't enough for it to be a problem to me, but it would be for YHWH or Allah, so plan accordingly.
Let me put this simply: This is the best chicken sandwich I have had outside Chick-Fil-A since the Whatachicken I ate over two years ago. The only problem I had was the price of the combo meal: $5.49 without Biggie sizing. However, I noticed that everything at that Wendy's I normally eat was $0.40 more than other Wendy's, so it is likely to be cheaper near you, and equal in price to other chicken sandwich meals at other places. So if you want a chicken sandwich and you're within ten miles of a Wendy's: Go eat it. It's that simple.
A 5 out of 5. (And there's your five-star sandwich.)