Odds are that you, like me, have recently been seeing occasional ads promoting a new menu item at Wendy's that may raise an eyebrow. A grilled cheese sandwich combined with a cheeseburger? Wild! Man you gotta try that! After all, you only live once... (and it's a short life indeed if you're eating stuff like this).
To be honest, this item really strikes me as purely a "wow they made that?" gimmick designed to attract a curiosity market (and seeing how I am currently writing about the thing... I guess it worked). A grilled cheese hamburger isn't all that new or unique either (Burger's Priest for example was blowing people's minds a decade and a half ago with this type of witchcraft). At least KFC's Double Down challenges the very notion of what a sandwich actually is/can be... even if that example is less tentpole innovation and more existential crisis.
Here the composition is simple: it's a typical Wendy's single cheeseburger (sans tomato, lettuce, sliced onion and ketchup) with an additional bun/bread and cheese slice on top and beneath the burger. You can make it a double patty if you prefer but even at this point you've already abandoned all hope ye who enter here.
There's a way this thing could've maybe worked but the sheer mediocre-ness of Wendy's is a critical limitation. Sadly, the processed cheese not melting at all within the "grilled cheese" portion of this sandwich is simply an instant failure that cannot be recovered from.
Think of a really good grilled cheese sandwich for a moment: that light crispiness, maybe semi-buttery, with the gooey cheese ideally oozing out from between the toasty bread slices. Personally I favour an old cheddar over fake plastic cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich but the crucial point is that the cheese melts... which clearly this Wendy's one does not.
The top and bottom buns aren't all that grilled either, which results in every bite having a strongly cakey (almost biscuit-like) texture amongst all that cling-to-your-mouth fake cheese. There's the slightest subtle griddle flavour in here as well but really, you can tell this is something very little time or effort was involved in making. It's hard to make a dry sandwich taste appealing and slathering the burger patty in generic mayo is not the way. No thanks.
After two bites I approached this more as a regular cheeseburger, which made it somewhat more enjoyable... although the lack of any supporting condiments beyond mayo and plastic cheese (there's an amount of fried onion so minimal I barely want to mention it) results in a solidly below average burger and well below the okay-ish standard you typically find from Wendy's.
So yeah. It underwhelms as a burger and as a grilled cheese sandwich it's a complete dereliction to the concept. Don't let curiousity tempt you, stay away.
Because I don't actually eat fast food all that often (seriously, it's only for reviews like this!) I was completely unaware Wendy's now offer a vanilla version of their famous Frosty dessert. This I also had to try.
Honestly, this was a pleasant surprise. For something quite obviously not high quality ice cream or vanilla, those flavours and textures (artificial they may be) did linger in the mouth far longer than anticipated. Once melted and liquidy (the cream becoming weirdly thick and bubbly) the enjoyment and suspension of disbelief did fade considerably... but I was genuinely impressed to get something tasting close enough to resembling real vanilla.
The only issue became an unshakeable thought about how something in here was missing. I love the richness of a creamy vanilla... but it's a simple, repetitive flavour. This needed another presence to complete it...
...like some Rolos! You only live once indeed...
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Overall... the grilled cheese cheeseburger really serves little purpose, both for Wendy's or the consumer. It isn't tasty as either a cheeseburger or a grilled cheese... the flavour is just unmelted fake cheese, cakey bread and mayonnaise... plus it isn't even visually appealing or crazy enough to approach 'online sensation' territory'.
The vanilla Frosty on the other hand... a terrific and smart innovation I just might have to revisit again once these warmer summer days become more consistent. Maybe Reeses Pieces as my addition next time (I'll plan ahead and not get them while the dessert is melting, whoops)...
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