I finally got my hands on Wendy’s *New* Flavor Dipped Chicken Sandwich. Wendy’s website and advertising have been updated, and this item should now be available nationwide at most locations. There are two versions: BBQ and Buffalo. For this review I’ve chosen the BBQ flavor sandwich and eaten it twice over the past few days.

Let’s get straight to this… it’s a pretty good sandwich. The chicken is tasty, moist and tender, feels natural instead of being over processed. It’s not Chick-fil-A quality, but still a nice piece of chicken. It’s in fact, the same “Homestyle” filet used in the Wendy’s sandwich sold by the same name. It’s breaded with a light crispy coating, seasoned with black pepper. Any piece of processed chicken meat tastes better covered with sauce, but this filet is good enough to stand on it’s own, and that shows.

They take a homestyle filet and dip the whole thing in sauce, like a giant chicken wing. Wendy’s BBQ sauce tasted OK, with a decent amount of tangy sweetness, but it was too weak. More impressive was the way the sauce clings to the chicken filet, providing even distribution of flavor for the entire sandwich. The breading on the chicken seemed to absorb the sauce, ensuring that each bite would provide a small burst of barbecue. As a sauce lover, especially BBQ, I like this “dipping” system. Forget about spreading or pouring it on… just dip the whole damn thing in sauce! YEAH!

There’s less sauce than you might think. Most of the bumps and clumps you see in the photos are the breading underneath, showing thru the outer layer of sauce. It’s also not as messy as it looks. The sauce is thick, and sticks to the sandwich. There’s not many drips, and you won’t end up with a puddle of sauce on your shirt, if you’re careful. Be prepared though, you’ll still going to need a couple napkins with it.

Sitting on top the dipped chicken filet are several thin circles of raw onion and a few pickles. I had minor worries about how these toppings were going to get along with the BBQ sauce, but it turns out everything was fine. It’s a fitting combination. Both were applied in limited quantity, and were just noticeable enough to add a final bit of extra seasoning. They are the same onions and pickles used on their hamburgers.

The bun resembles a large dinner roll, and the top almost looks as if you could tear it apart into sections. It’s thick but squishes down to a perfect chicken/sauce/bread ratio once picked up and bitten. It’s dusted with corn on the outside, and the inside does a nice job absorbing the small excess of barbecue sauce from the chicken.

The BBQ Flavor Dipped Chicken Sandwich from Wendy’s is good, but not great. It doesn’t make me forget other chicken sandwiches, but it’s solid overall. Tasty chicken, decent barbecue sauce, and a nice bun. Plus, “dipping” is a winner. I was happy with how the sauce coated and penetrated the breading, chicken and bun, creating a moist and flavorful sandwich from beginning to end, without drowning it. Two sure ways to improve it would be lowering the price, and using a better barbecue sauce.

Price: $4.39 / Website: Wendys.com

Fast Food Critic Score: B-

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Nutrition Facts - Wendy’s, Flavor Dipped Chicken Sandwich, BBQ.

Calories - 450
Calories from Fat - 110
Total Fat - 12 grams
Carbs - 60 grams
Saturated Fat - 2 grams
Trans Fat - 0 gram
Cholesterol - 40 milligrams
Sodium - 1430 milligrams
Protein - 25 grams

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