Wendy's Black Label Burgers

[Jamie B]

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/01/17/wendys-tests-black-label-burger.html

Introduced this past weekend, the new line consists of two premium burgers: the Bacon Portobello, a quarter-pound hamburger with mushrooms, muenster cheese, bacon, tomato and a pepper sauce; and the Santa Fe, a quarter-pound hamburger with pepper jack cheese and guacamole, both on a butter-toasted bun, spokesman Denny Lynch said.

These are being tested in Columbus, OH and Wichita, KS.
With price points of $4.69 and $4.49, they are high end burgers.

This seems surprising, given the fast food penchant for dollar menus during the economic downturn.
Wendy's has been fighting for some direction since the death of their founder Dave Thomas in 2002.
It looks like they are still floundering.

[Perd Hapley]

I'm surprised they're not Green Label burgers. The new Wendy's down the street is covered in environmental evangelism posters, and the high-occupancy vehicle parking spots are closer to the door than the handicapped spots.

Another of their new burgers is the W, a double burger with cheese and Thousand Island dressing. W/o the dressing, it's not bad, and cheaper than their other double cheeseburgers.

[French G.]

I might try them, the high end burgers do sell. I still like a lot of what wendy's does, the baconator was out of the park.

These new burgers, any ad campaign that does not involve Zakk Wylde is pure marketing fail. 

[HankB]

I got a couple of coupons in the paper so we decided to try Wendy's the other day.

The burgers (regular, not Black Label) were almost as good as the ones I remember during Wendy's prime when Dave Thomas was still active.

Most amazingly, and in a refreshing change from just a couple of years ago, all the employees at my local Wendy's actually spoke English!  

Based on a single sample, they seem to have pulled ahead of the other local fast food burger joints - Sonic, P. Terry's, and maybe even Whataburger.

[Gowen]

Wendy's is the most sorry excuse of a hamburger joint around.  Since Dave Thomas died, it has really gone down hill.

[MechAg94]

I don't have a Wendy's near me, but I still try to stop by when I go elsewhere.  The Whataburger's down here are pretty good, but IMO Wendy's has the best spicy chicken sandwich around. 

[MechAg94]

Based on a single sample, they seem to have pulled ahead of the other local fast food burger joints - Sonic, P. Terry's, and maybe even Whataburger.

Maybe Sonic's are different where you are.  IMO, Sonic is down in the gutter compared to Whataburger and Wendy's.  They might be ahead of Burger King, but that ain't saying much. 

[41magsnub]

Certainly some locations are better than others, but he Wendy's around here are quite good for a fast food burger.  The burger king across the street from one is the exact opposite of good.  It might be something to do with the staff.  The Wendy's here hires college and high school kids with decent managers, Burger King is staffed primarily out of the pre-release center.

Dairy Queen trumps all the traditional fast food (not short order) burger joints in town.

[RoadKingLarry]

Most fast food is pretty much the suck anywhere you go. Wendy's is maybe slightly above the rest around here.
Arby's is probably my first choice if I just have to do fast food. Of course even they are a crap shoot as to ser vice and quality. Even the one in Tulsa across the street from corporate headquarters (US Beef) has been crappy about half the times I've been in there.

[Jim147]

That's why I always saved my lunch time for the end of the day and hit a great little bar and grill.

jim

[erictank]

Certainly some locations are better than others, but he Wendy's around here are quite good for a fast food burger.  The burger king across the street from one is the exact opposite of good.  It might be something to do with the staff.  The Wendy's here hires college and high school kids with decent managers, Burger King is staffed primarily out of the pre-release center.

Dairy Queen trumps all the traditional fast food (not short order) burger joints in town.

Ehh. DQ's only worth it for the ice cream, IMO.  Blizzards rock.
Wendy's is generally good, though I typically stick to their chicken, which they do well (spicy and regular filet sandwiches are AWESOME, if not especially healthy ).  Decent fries, Frosties are tasty (and I've got that keytag for a free mini-Frosty with any food purchase, DC-area only). Salads can be pretty good, too, and the kids love the chili there.
Local BK is... fair, but I don't go there much anymore since they stopped with the sourdough-bacon burger.  If I want a burger, I go to Five Guys these days.
McDs is good for fries and shakes. And breakfast.  Best fast-food breakfast, IMO.
No local Arbys - at least, not one I see on any regular basis, there used to be one down in Springfield Mall, but I almost never get down there and I don't know if it's even still there.

[French G.]

I'm becoming a Chick-fil-a addict. The stores are clean, good staff, free wi-fi.

[HankB]

I'm becoming a Chick-fil-a addict. The stores are clean, good staff, free wi-fi.

But just try to get something there on a Sunday. 

Maybe Sonic's are different where you are.  IMO, Sonic is down in the gutter compared to Whataburger and Wendy's.  They might be ahead of Burger King, but that ain't saying much. 

Well, I did say Wendy's was ahead of Sonic, didn't I? 

Rating the local fast food burger joints, I'd put Whataburger and Wendy's in a tentative tie (one recent trip to Wendy's isn't conclusive), followed by Sonic and P. Terry's. The latter is part of a small local chain and opened within the past year in my area; it gets generally high marks on the rating boards, but the one time I went there the burgers were undercooked and the fries were soggy.

There's a "Mighty Fine" burger chain in Austin that I like, but they're not "local" to me. Eventually I'll try "Five Guys" too if I'm in the area and want some fast food.

McDonald's and BK? Only eat the former if I'm in an airport (so far, it's been safe, if not really tasty) and haven't been to BK since they were running commercials with the creepy, grinning King.

[wmenorr67]

Only "chain" I frequent for burgers is Sonic because of the variety and I know which ones in my area to avoid.  Taco Bell is on the list of places to frequent that is "fast food."

Anymore though I am more inclined to go to the mom and pop's that are still around Tulsa or a "new" joint Fat Guys in Tulsa.

DQ in Oklahoma is few and far between.  Our ice cream place is Braum's and they do decent food, biscuits and gravy some of the best for "fast food" and then of course ice cream desserts.

[Perd Hapley]

Certainly some locations are better than others, but he Wendy's around here are quite good for a fast food burger. 

Yup, it mostly depends on where you go. McDonald's and Jack in the Box are usually not that great, in my experience. Comparatively, Wendy's and most other joints are not bad.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

I guess Wendy's is okay if you like everything on your burger. If you have them leave off all the healthy stuff, not so much. Several different locations I've been to. They all have significant pickle residue when I explicitly say no pickles - as if they'd just scraped it off the burger instead building a new one. Even McDonald's gets that right.