The Arby-Q has returned, although for a limited time. This was actually the first time I’ve tried the sandwich, and after sampling it on 3 different occasions, I think Timothy had it right when he said they were… “Good” …but… “Won’t knock your socks off.”

Of course I was drawn to the sandwich mostly because it’s cheap (only 99 cents) but also because it’s BBQ, which is something I usually love. After seeing the recent commercials for the Arby-Q, I expected them to be ‘smothered’ with sauce, which it was not, but the roast beef did have a nice coating. That’s fine, because if they actually did ‘smother’ the meat with sauce, I feel some of the beef flavor would be lost.

The sandwich is simple: sesame seed bun, roast beef and bbq sauce. The roast beef is sliced and chopped very thin and tastes quite nice. Be prepared, the meat and sauce mixture has a way of making you very thirsty, so make sure to have something to drink on hand. The BBQ sauce itself reminded me of Kraft’s regular variety. Arby’s calls it a ‘tangy’ sauce, which I’ll give them, but they also mention the bun is toasted, which wasn’t true in my case. On all three occasions, the buns were not toasted.

Overall, it still tastes pretty darn good, and it’s totally worth the 99 cent price. I’m giving it a score of ‘B’… not quite great, but still very solid, and definitely above average.

Price: $.99 / Website: Arbys.com

Fast Food Critic Score: B

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Nutrition Facts - Arby-Q Sandwich from Arby’s.

Calories - 341
Calories from Fat - 98
Total Fat - 11 grams
Carbs - 49 grams
Saturated Fat - 4 grams
Trans Fat - 0 grams
Cholesterol - 31 milligrams
Sodium - 1089 milligrams
Protein - 16 grams

FAST FOOD ALERT: Arby’s has just brought back the Arby-Q Sandwich, starting now until October 5th, and it’s only 99 cents. It’s Arby’s thin sliced roast beef, smothered in barbecue sauce on a sesame bun. Nothing fancy, but still a good little sandwich. Simple, filling and cheap. I’ve eaten enough of these in my time to say their very satisfying weekend munchies, and at this price you can grab a whole bagful and feed your entire posse for less than 10 bucks. For Arby’s this would be the equivalent of when McDonald’s brings back the McRib. It’s a limited time opportunity that should not be missed for those die-hard fans of the sandwich, and a worthy trip for Arby’s newbies to try this simple, classic, fast food favorite bargain. They won’t knock your socks off, but it’s real beef, tasty BBQ sauce, a decent roll, and a couple of these will keep your stomach, and your wallet, happy.

I love BBQ chicken when it’s chopped and shredded up, mixed thick with sauce, then slapped between a couple pieces of bread. It’s one of my favorite all-time sandwiches. There aren’t many fast food versions, but KFC certainly has a fine offering.

Tender white and dark meat chicken (Hooray, dark meat) blended with tangy honey barbecue sauce. No cheese, lettuce or veggies, just BBQ chicken and bread. Simple and delicious. It’s the Sloppy Joe of chicken sandwiches, but less messy. The two biggest problems facing this sandwich are availability and price confusion. Availability because some KFC stores don’t have it, and those who do are limited in quantity and frequently run out. Price confusion because their are two sizes of Honey BBQ. The standard sandwich is $2.39 but the smaller Snacker version is only $0.99.

I can’t do anything about availability, but I can help determine which sandwich is a better value. This stems from a conversation I overheard standing in line at KFC where a lady instructed her kids to get 2 snackers instead of 1 normal sandwich. She told them it was a better deal, and said they would get more BBQ chicken that way.

Hearing that claim got me thinking (always dangerous), and I knew this called for some further investigation. After enjoying several examples of each type sandwich recently, from three different KFC locations, I can report the amount of filling was consistent, and the sandwiches I’m using today are accurate representations. The task for me now is simple and straight forward — Carefully remove the BBQ chicken mixture from 2 Snacker versions and 1 Regular version, and see which is greater.

Not quite as easy as it sounds, since the barbecue mixture has a way of sticking to the bread. Once the bulk had been removed, I used a spoon to gently scrape the buns clean of any remaining chicken and sauce. I was able to remove 99%.

The results are clear — 2 Honey BBQ Snackers for 99 cents each are more food for less money, compared to buying the full-size Honey BBQ Sandwich, and it’s the exact same BBQ chicken mixture. Never doubt a Mom with hungry kids to feed.

Now I have two big piles of BBQ chicken and a bunch of empty buns. You might think I’m going to re-assemble them. Not exactly. Instead I’ve piled as much as possible onto a single Snacker bun, and created my own personal SUPER Snacker.

The Honey BBQ Chicken from KFC is delicious, whatever size sandwich you choose. However, after seeing with my own eyes that 2 Snackers is a better bargain and more food then the full-size version, I will be adjusting my future orders. For about 40 cents less, you get more BBQ chicken. There’s also extra bread; two small buns instead of one large one, which makes it even more filling. And if that’s too much bread, just combine them into one sandwich. You can build a SUPER Snacker too!

Price: $.99 / $2.39 — Website: KFC.com

Fast Food Critic Score: A-

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Nutrition Facts - KFC, Honey BBQ Snacker.

Calories - 210
Calories from Fat - N/A
Total Fat - 3 grams
Carbs - 32 grams
Saturated Fat - 0.5 grams
Trans Fat - 0 grams
Cholesterol - 40 milligrams
Sodium - 530 milligrams
Protein - 14 grams

Nutrition Facts - KFC, Honey BBQ Sandwich.

Calories - 280
Calories from Fat - N/A
Total Fat - 3.5 grams
Carbs - 40 grams
Saturated Fat - 1.0 grams
Trans Fat - 0 grams
Cholesterol - 60 milligrams
Sodium - 780 milligrams
Protein - 22 grams