Ranu's Reviews

As a child of the 70's and a teenager of the 80's, Wendy's never really fit into the fast food equation in my life. It was either McDonald's or Burger King. Don't get me wrong, sometimes father would gather the Ranu clan for a special trip to Arthur Treacher's or my personal favorite extinct eatery, Gino's, home of the Gino Giant, but Wendy's was always that place that served the square burgers.

My opinion of Wendy's changed the same year that Van Halen became "Hot for Teacher." Yes, dear friends, way back in 1984, a sweet, little old lady daintily uttered those famous words, "WHERE'S THE BEEF?" The nation was taken by storm and it was suddenly cool to go to that square hamburger joint with the freaky red-headed kid for a logo. According to their web site, Wendy's opened their first store in 1969, so why the hell is "Wendy" dressed like one of the "Children of the Corn?" Quaker modernized Aunt Jemima, so I think it is time for Stacy London and Clinton Kelly to tell Miss Pigtails "What Not to Wear."

I have to admit that I have been putting this review off for a few weeks. Each time I pass by a Wendy's I just can't bring myself to order an Asian flavored food product from a fast food establishment. You want to expand your menu--I get it. How about working on a better burger? Let's face it, people are not going to suddenly abandon Chinese restaurants to come get Sweet & Spicy Asian Boneless Wings from Wendy's, but after trying them, I think I might ask the Chinese-food delivery guy to swing by Wendy's for me on the way to my house.

Check Out My Package

Honestly, I was expecting a cardboard holster of Wendy's chicken nuggets smothered in some type of horrific sauce. When I opened the bag I was pleasantly surprised--the boneless wings were in a convenient, black plastic container with a clear plastic top. It actually reminded me of Chinese takeout and it even came with a fork--don't know why I'm so excited over a plastic utensil, but I really wasn't expecting a fork. Seeing that fork made me realize on some bizarre level that this was one meal that I didn't have to eat with my hands--it made me feel like less of an animale and more civilized. Does that make sense to you? Probably not. I don't know what the fork I'm talking about.

Just the (Nutrition) Facts, Ma'am

So glad I ate this before I decided to take a gander at the nutrition facts. I'm no nutritionist, but these didn't seem too bad to me when I compared them against their regular chicken nuggets.

The Asian Boneless wings had 550 calories, 18g of total fat, 67g of carbs, 27g of sugar and 31g of protein. Wendy's 10-piece Chicken Nuggets are 470 calories, but have 32g of fat and only 23g of protein. They actually have less carbs (21g) and sugar (0g) than the Asian Boneless wings. The one thing that really stands out is the sodium: Chicken Nuggets (960g) vs. Asian Boneless Wings (2530g).

Taste Test

The first thing I noticed about the dish was that these were not a rehashed version of their processed chicken nuggets--it was real chicken. You'll feel the difference when you pick up your first piece with your included fork--these suckers have some weight to them! They're not going to snap your fork or give you a bicep workout by the end of the meal, but these boneless chicken bites are noticeably heavier than their processed brethren and they taste much better. There was more breading on these bites, but it complimented the real chicken inside, unlike the breading on regular chicken nuggets--which seems like it is just there to keep the processed chicken from dissipating during the frying process.

There also seemed like there was just enough sauce. My 10-piece package was not drowning in sweet and spicy flavoring, which was good, because I don't think there is enough room for a mini lifeguard chair inside the container.

The sauce was pretty spicy and it had a nice little kick to it--for fast food. Examine the sauce and you will see plenty of hot pepper seeds. I then looked over at my daughter's kid's meal and noticed that the milk carton had a picture on it of the sweet half of the sauce. They call it sweet and there is sugar in there, but I couldn't taste it. Which is fine with me because I like spicy, but if you're going to say that the sauce is sweet--you better deliver.

The End Result

For a $3.99 fast-food product, Wendy's Sweet & Spicy Boneless Wings are pretty good. They are definitely a big step up from their regular nuggets and they appear to be a somewhat healthier option.

However, I do have a couple of issues--with the product:

1) What does one order to go with this Asian menu invasion? Fries? I was wanting rice on the side, but I don?t think that is going to happen.

2) I already have a problem with them calling this "sweet," but the real injustice is that they are trying to pass these off as boneless wings. These are bite-size chicken pieces at best. Unless Dave Thomas is breeding wing-challenged chickens in his backyard, I would refrain from calling these wings. (Newsflash--Dave Thomas died in 2002, so I guess he?s not breeding anything!)

There are also two other options available in boneless wings: Bold Buffalo and Honey BBQ. For some reason, these other flavors are being treated like the bastard step child of the product line living in Wendy's basement. If these poor, marketing-deprived offspring taste anything like their famous rock star sibling--then I would recommend giving them a try. Please buy them at least once before Sally Struthers gets behind the campaign of saving these neglected product offerings. And by the looks of Gloria Bunker-Stivic lately, her behind has been into a lot of food campaigns.

To learn more about the Sweet & Spicy Asian Boneless Wings, visit Wendy's web site.