BK's new $1 trans fat sandwich

Burger King is now serving a spicy, crispy chicken sandwich that only costs a buck.

The Spicy Chick'n Crisp Sandwich is a crispy chicken filet with a spicy kick served with lettuce and mayonnaise on a sesame seed bun.

It may not shrink your wallet much, but it will certainly expand your waist. For a smallish, one dollar sandwich, this thing is loaded with fat. And not just any fat...it's got 2 grams of trans fat!

I thought BK was planning on going trans-fat free like Wendy's and so many other fast food chains. Guess not.

It has 480 calories, 280 calories from fat, 31 grams of fat, 5 grams saturated fat, 2 grams trans fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 460 mg sodium, 8 grams carbs, and 10 grams of protein.

UPDATE: Here's the TV ad promoting the sandwich as the latest member of the BK Value Menu. It's a strange ad made on the cheap (like the sandwich I guess).

Hardee's Hawaiian Chicken sandwich

Hardee's introduced a new Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich this week. It consists of a charbroiled chicken breast with a teriyaki sauce and a slice of grilled pineapple, swiss cheese, red onion, tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise.

There is currently a coupon on Hardee's website good for $1 off the Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich through November 11, 2007.

The sandwich has 460 calories, 16 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 46 grams carbohydrates, 1130 mg sodium, 33 grams protein.

Raw chicken at Wendy's

I recently related Susie Felber's experience of getting a raw McChicken sandwich at McDonald's. Now I've found this video of another customer's similar experience at Wendy's. The customer shows the "Spicy Chicken Sandwich" that he ordered at Wendy's and part of it does appear to be raw.

Raw McChicken at McDonald's

Susie Felber has e-mailed Fast Food News to tell of her 'raw chicken experience' at McDonald's.

Two Sundays ago Susie dined at a McDonald's in Windsor, Connecticut while driving to New Hampshire. It was her first time to eat at McDonald's in 15 years. She was not pleased. The Chicken Sandwich that she (finally) received was raw inside. The rest of her story, in her own words is below this photo of the sandwich:

"At McDonalds my husband ordered 2 coffees and two grilled chicken sandwiches -- what we considered to be the healthy option.

Much time passed. Ten minutes later neither the coffee nor the sandwiches were ready. The store was not busy at all, there was never a line. But people who ordered burgers and fries were being served. However, when we arrived, a guy was fighting with the employees because he had paid for his breakfast item, but apparently they were all out of breakfast food.

My husband noticed people shuffling back on forth from store to behind the counter, some of whom were not in uniform. He got the impression that they possibly didn't work there and were just hanging out with their friends. Not sure, but it was odd.

My husband asked where our food was. They said it was coming. Then he asked if the coffees were ready. They were. Apparently they had been put by the drive thru window.

After about 20 minutes the sandwiches arrived. I was hungry and in a rush with a squirmy baby, but surprisingly I didn't eat it immediately, as I noticed there was heaps of mayo spilling off of it, so I opened the sandwich to rake as much as possible off.

I ate two bites. It wasn't good, but as it was road food, I didn't expect it to be great. It was hard to eat as the mayo kept making the chicken slip out of the mushy bread. I noticed the cheese hadn't melted, but that didn't bother me. On about my third or fourth bite, I noticed something was very wrong. I spit it out and yelled, "Oh my god, it's raw!"

Long story short, the McDonalds workers didn't apologise. They gave back our money in a resigned way that suggested this wasn't uncommon. The manager looked dully at me and her only answer was, "yeah...um...I don't know how that happened." But this was only after demanding an explanation as they seemed like my husband and I were making a stink over nothing even after showing them the raw sandwich.

It was a degrading experience, all the way around.

I was sick for a few days, but don't know how much was physical and how much was from the idea of it. I don't think I'll be eating chicken for a long time to come. And I'll never eat at McDonalds again."

Here's a larger version of the raw chicken at Susie's Flickr site. You can also read about it on her blog, Felber's Frolics.

McDonald's adds new Snack Wrap

McDonald's has added to their 'snack wrap' line with the new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap. In addition to the new flavor, McDonald's portable wraps are now available in both grilled and crispy choices.

The new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap, made with either grilled or crispy, chicken breast meat, cheddar jack cheese, crisp lettuce and a sweet and tangy Honey Mustard sauce, wrapped inside a soft flour tortilla, will be offered for a promotional period at $1.29 at participating McDonald's restaurants nationwide.

"Offering our customers a variety of great tasting, top quality food choices at a value is always a key priority for McDonald's," said Don Thompson, President, McDonald's USA. "As the eating habits of people change and snacking becomes a way of life for many consumers, McDonald's is committed to offering our customers more portable, high quality food options that fit their needs."

The new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap has 320 calories, 15 grams of fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat, 1 gram trans fat, 30 grams cholesterol, 750 mg sodium, 34 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, and 14 grams protein.

And there it is, more trans fat. You'd think McDonald's would at least eliminate trans fat from the NEW items! A look at the ingredients list for the chicken used in the wrap reveals the trans fat culprits: hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, and partially hydrogenated corn oil with TBHQ.