This summer has been very active in terms of various restaurant chains coming out with new menu items. Even though the summer is over, Wendy’s is still treating us with new, innovative and exciting items on their menu. The items that caught our eye (causing us to leave our comfy home) are the Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger and the Pub Fries, which were released on Sept. 1. In short, we were fans.
The Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger is “a quarter-pound of fresh, never-frozen beef, warm beer cheese sauce, Applewood smoked bacon, smoky honey mustard, crispy fried onions, pickles, and a slice of muenster cheese all on an extra soft pretzel bun,” according to the Wendy’s website. The burger contains 730 calories, with 44 grams of fat, 1070 milligrams of sodium and 46 grams of carbs.
The Pub Fries are “natural-cut, skin-on, sea-salted fries topped with warm beer cheese sauce, shredded cheddar, and crispy Applewood smoked bacon,” according to the Wendy’s website. There are also double and triple cheeseburger variations. The fries have 480 calories, with 28 grams of fat, 860 milligrams of sodium and 44 grams of carbs. Not our healthiest dinner, but it definitely satisfied our fast food craving. In Massachusetts, the burger and fries cost $5.99 and $2.99 respectfully.
John Fornagiel
I have to admit, among the Travis Scott burger and the Chips Ahoy McFlurry, Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger is certainly one of the more unique sandwiches that have been released this year. Not only does it feature the innovative pretzel bun, but it also replaces the classic American cheese usually found in hamburgers with a muenster cheese, and a beer cheese sauce that is not featured on any of their other sandwiches. Needless to say, Wendy’s was certainly taking an unprecedented risk. Did the reward meet the risk?
Biting into the sandwich, the first flavor that met my mouth was the distinctive pretzel bun. Upon first glance, I expected the pretzel bun to be a unique change of pace, but I expected the other flavors of the sandwich to overwhelm the bun. This was not the case. The pretzel bun played an active role in the flavor of the sandwich, and in conjunction with the beer cheese and the muenster cheese, created a very unique taste that I have not had the pleasure of experiencing, especially in a fast-food setting.
Additionally, the pretzel bun, beer cheese and muenster cheese added a very sophisticated flavor to the sandwich as opposed to the typical greasy hamburger that would be expected. The onion tanglers were a very nice contrast to the other elements on the burger. Anybody who knows what foods I like know that I am a texture kind of person. I actively dislike foods such as squid or yogurt for their texture, even if the taste is completely fine. In this light, I really liked how the onion tanglers provided a nice crunch in the sandwich with all of the other softer ingredients such as the cheese, the bun and the patty. So for all of those texture eaters out there: this is a burger that will definitely not disappoint! I would give the burger a 9/10.
To be quite honest, the pub fries were nothing special. It was simply a bunch of Wendy’s french fries covered in a cheese sauce and with bacon. While the french fries were definitely good, I have personally never been a fan of loading a bunch of ingredients onto french fries, and the pub fries were no exception. While the bacon added a nice crunch, I honestly cannot say that I prefer them over normal Wendy’s french fries. It’s totally possible I just was not in the mood for the loaded fries at the time, but I also found myself finding the cheese sauce messy and annoying. The fries get a 7.5/10 from me.
Sasha Skarboviychuk
I have to preface this review by saying that I LOVE soft pretzels and HATE bacon. Now you must be asking yourself why is she reviewing two foods that have bacon if she doesn’t like bacon? Well, I hope that I am an experienced enough reviewer to be able to separate my hate for bacon and these meals.
The Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger actually has a lot of other ingredients that I do not like, such as the smoky honey mustard, crispy fried onions and pickles. Now you really must be wondering what the heck I was doing trying this burger. Well, I actually have to say that the burger was not bad.
I did take off the bacon after my first bite, as (like in most dishes) I find it overpowering and gross. But other than that, the burger was actually pretty good. Even though I do not like half the things on this burger, all together, they actually work really well. The warm pretzel bun was really good and the beer cheese sauce was surprisingly delicious. The pickles and onions were not my favorite thing, but I see why they belong on the burger. It was definitely an unorthodox taste, and though it will not be my new Wendy’s go-to, it was a nice change from the usual chicken sandwich. Overall, I think the burger deserves a solid 7.5/10. Though I am not going to lie, as interesting as the burger was, if I could buy just the pretzel bun, I would.
The Pub fries were definitely my favorite of the two things that we tried. I love fries with cheese sauce, so it was not surprising that I enjoyed these. Just like with the burger, I think the bacon ruins the dish; it is just too overpowering. But without the bacon, the Pub Fries were really good and they were generous with the cheese sauce, which is always nice. Overall, I think the fries deserve an 8.5, maybe even an 8.75. Definitely much better than regular Wendy’s fries, but definitely much more greasy.
