French Fry Diary 341: Wendy's Vs. McDonald's

Wendy's is very proud of their new (are they still new at this point?) sea salt natural cut fries. They are/were so proud that they reached out to the online food blogger community several times to have us try them, compare them, and write about them. On occasion they even sent gift cards so we wouldn't have to pay for the fries and got a free meal of it. For the record, I am not always so swayed by the promise of a free meal and stay honest in my reviews. If you recall, I am not so fond of Wendy's new fries.

Quite some time ago, Wendy's ran a promotion and again reached out, this time to have folks compare their fries to those at McDonald's. They also asked that we take several folks along for the ride and compare them too. Now I ran into a problem. Most of my friends are fairly health-conscious. Me, I do it for love and so you don't have to. So it was very hard to find enough people to not only have one order of the favorite fried food, let along two. The gift cards, and the pending blog entry sat undone for some time.

Recently I decided, in the spirit of "I do it, so you won't have to," I decided to do something about it and do the comparison. I used the cards and quickly found out they had expired - not a problem, I completely understand. Wendy's probably thought I was a deadbeat for not doing the review - it's cool, I would have done that to me too. But anyway, I got my butt in gear and did the comparison. As I thought, Wendy's did not do all that well.

Here are the results...

Staying hot - The Wendy's fries get cold when they get old, and by old I mean about ten to fifteen minutes. McDonald's fries stay hot for some time, and even taste good warm, or cold. Win McDonald's.

Crispiness - While a few limp fries sneak in to both, for the most part they are both crispy. Wendy's do have a more potatoey taste, probably just because they are wider in shape. It's a tie on this one.

Dipping - This where the new Wendy's fries fail miserably, and their old fries would have beaten McDonald's easily. The new fries break and bend when you try to dip them in a shake or Frosty. Mickey D's don't do either, even in the extra thick Frosty, but of course, Wendy's older fries, being bigger than either contender here, could hold more shake. McDonald's for the win.

Sandwiching - McDonald's fries are always good for this type of sandwich planking, but Wendy's fries being flat and steak fry-like are perfect for sandwiching. Win Wendy's.

Reheating - McDonald's fries will reheat once in the microwave, and also bake pretty well in the oven once you've gotten home, and they have gotten cold. As I've noted before the new Wendy's fries, unlike their old ones, and their competitor here, do neither. Win for McDonald's.

That's an overwhelming win for McDonald's French fries over Wendy's new sea salt natural cut fries. Sorry, folks. It would be a whole different story if you had not changed your fries...

Sour Gummi Fries

These Sour Gummi Fries, from the Gummy Zone, might be something that ends up in your (or your kids') Trick or Treat bags today and tonight for Halloween.

That kinda leaves me sour myself. If you're going to give French fries out to the Treat-or-Treaters, give gift certificates to your favorite restaurant. Just a hunch, you probably won't get your windows soaped that way.

Health Nazi Ruins Halloween

When I was a kid, Halloween was different. Sure there were one or two nuts out there who would spoil it for everyone with a pin or a razor blade, but let's face it, those psychos were few and far between, and our parents would check over our candy when we got home. You could even go and have your candy x-rayed if you were particularly paranoid.

A rule of thumb presided - unopened, sealed treats were fine. And money or the much-cherished McDonalds gift certificates were even better. Nobody could mess with them. And back in the day, a fifty cent McD piece of paper could get you an order of free fries!

Well, yesterday a dietician hopped on the Health Nazi bandwagon. Here's that person's letter:

No Halloween French Fries

As a registered dietitian, I was horrified to read a pediatrician's claim that 80 percent of children under 12 months old regularly eat French fries [Living, Oct. 27, "Doctors Detail How To Keep Kids Well"]. Whether this is accurate or not, proper nutrition for children is undoubtedly one of the most serious problems facing our nation.

Unfortunately, located directly below Churnin's article was Korky Vann's article "Here's The Ticket For Halloween." Vann informs parents of a special fast-food Halloween deal: a $1 coupon booklet that contains tickets for free orders of French fries and a soft drink.

Vann's suggestion to hand out these coupons on Halloween in order to save money is discouraging. Easy access to inexpensive, high-calorie foods is one of the major barriers in fighting the obesity epidemic. Why encourage readers to celebrate Halloween by endorsing an industry that has such a devastating impact on the health of our country?

Traditional "fun-sized" Halloween candies are much lower in calories than a serving of fries and soda. Please don't feed French fries to your neighbors' babies this Halloween. Here's a better way to save money: find out whether you qualify for federal food assistance programs at http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/.

Wow. I think I'd rather have a razor blade in a caramel apple. And I think this dietician is probably against Christmas, Valentines Day and peanut butter in schools too. Party pooper.