Wendy’s recently introduced three new signature sides: Mac ’n cheese, chili cheese fries and a baked sweet potato. They look pretty awesome in the advertising so over the course of the last two weeks I managed to try all three.

Chili cheese fries

This was the one everyone I heard from was the most excited to try. It sounds and looks super delicious on Wendy’s website. I used to love their chili, chips and cheese back when my siblings worked at Wendy’s when I was in middle school and kind of figured it would be the same thing subbing out tortilla chips for french fries.

Maybe I was misled by the appetizing photo Wendy’s shows of this dish on its website, but while the basic mechanics are identical, I think I prefer the discontinued chili, chips and cheese. The chips at least made scooping up all the yummy chili-cheese mixture easy.

The cheese-to-chili ratio seems way off; there’s too much cheese and not enough chili. The fries ended up a tad soggy. The container this side is packaged in (same one used for the baked potatos) has a ridged bottom, and that made it difficult to scoop up the bits of chili.

Bottom line: The chili was the draw for me. It's one of what I consider Wendy's marquis items. No other fast food restaurant ladles out good chili as consistently as Wendy's does, and I thought they skimped on that aspect of the dish. Also, the amount of fries (I’m guessing less than the Value fries) you’re getting for the price ($2.49 a la carte, or $1 more when subbed into a combo) seems low.

Nutrition: 570 calories, 30 grams of fat.

Mac ’n cheese

This was my favorite of the three side options.

Wendy’s version of this classic comfort food has a good creamy texture with thick, fat noodles. It’s very cheesy, and a little stringy, but not in a bad way. There is a a lot of sauce, making it kind of soupy, but again not in a bad way. I spooned up every last bit of it.

Bottom line: It’s a satisfying dish. I’m not sure if it’s $2.49 satisfying, but it’s probably a dollar-extra-if-you’re-already-getting-a-combo satisfying.

Nutrition: 370 calories, 19 grams of fat. Only a little more indulgent than small fries (320 calories, 16 grams of fat).

Baked sweet potato

I was unimpressed with this one. It probably didn’t help that the Wendy’s I went to neglected to give me the “all-natural buttery cinnamon spread.”

Without the spread, it was just a baked sweet potato: Nice and soft and yummy, but nothing special. In fact, I probably could have done a better job myself baking a sweet potato at home because the skin on my sweet potato appeared burnt and very unappetizing. I usually eat the skin on sweet potato, which adds nutrition to the dish, but barely nibbled on it.

Bottom line: I can’t really judge this dish, because I didn’t get the item as intended. The version I got was well-cooked but lacked any defining characteristic to make it memorable.

Nutrition: 380 calories, 9 grams of fat. If you cut out the cinnamon butter spread — as I did unintentionally — it’s down to 260 calories and 0 grams of fat.

I'm not sure what made these side dishes "signature" to Wendy's. Yes, they are the only fast food joint I know of to offer these dishes. But they don't really stand out to me. There's no distinct handwriting here that says "this is from Wendy's" to me.

— Nicole Franz | NiFranz@News-Herald.com | @FranzOrFoe

Chick-fil-A is adding a new item to its breakfast menu: the Spicy Chicken Biscuit. The restaurant ran a promotion this week that allowed those who signed up at www.getspicychicken.com to try the breakfast sandwich free before it officially appears on the menu Jan. 10. Copy editors Danielle Capriato and Cheryl Sadler tried it this week, and below are their reactions.

Cheryl: The Spicy Chicken Biscuit tastes exactly how it sounds. It's spicy. It's chicken. It's on a biscuit. It was a lot spicier than I expected it to be, but the milkiness of the biscuit countered that pretty nicely.

Danielle: Like Cheryl said, the sandwich is pretty self-explanatory. It's clear that they took the chicken from their popular Spicy Chicken Sandwich and just put it on a biscuit instead of a bun. You know, because a biscuit is just so much more breakfasty. Also as Cheryl said, it was a bit spicier than expected, but in a good way, I think. The spice factor isn't particularly overwhelming, but I think I was expecting a milder version simply because it's breakfast. Initial impressions? It could use some cheese, maybe, or a sauce of some sort. But I'm not sure how much that would enhance the whole experience. It might take away from the biscuit, which was creamy and good on it's own.

Cheryl: I didn't know before that Chick-fil-A even served breakfast, but now I might consider it an option if I am eating early on the go.

Danielle: I definitely didn't know that Chick-fil-A had a breakfast menu until Cheryl asked me if I'd try this new sandwich with her. Their breakfast options definitely intrigued me, and considering the quality of their food in general, I'd be interested in trying more.

Cheryl: The biscuit is the perfect pick for someone who likes Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Sandwich and wants to have it in the morning. For me? Maybe not. I don't know if I want to eat something that spicy that early. And the nutritional data is not yet on Chick-fil-A's website, so I'm not sure yet if it's something I'd want to be consuming in the morning.

Danielle: I would not give the breakfast sandwich a bad review, but I agree with Cheryl that it's just not my thing. I would definitely suggest trying it when it launches. And I know I would like to go back to try more from their breakfast menu.

-- Danielle Capriato, DCapriato@News-Herald.com
and Cheryl Sadler, CSadler@News-Herald.com

I visited the drive through at the Chick-fil-A in Willoughby on Saturday and had to share my experience. I have never been served by NICER people! The person on the other end of the intercom was incredibly friendly as she greeted me, and the girl working at the window was super polite when she gave me my change and my drink and told me it would be a few moments before my food was ready. I did not mind the wait at all because of the kindness the employees extended to me. Each time I have visited this location, I have been greeted with friendly workers, but this weekend that was especially the case.

I would highly recommend that if you're going to get fast food that you stop at the Willoughby Chick-fil-A. You will be hard-pressed to find better service and nicer employees who seem genuinely appreciative of your business and honestly hope you enjoy your experience and food.

Chick-fil-A
www.chick-fil-a.com
35441 Euclid Ave.
Willoughby, OH 44094
440-946-1831


-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

The new Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty from Wendy's is just as it sounds: It's a (vanilla) Frosty twisted with coffee and toffee. And it's delicious. If you like all of its components, you will like this ice cream treat that's best eaten with a spoon to scoop up all the crunchy goodness of the toffee. And, it's best eaten quickly in the Northeast Ohio sun, which will melt the ice cream just about as fast as you can say Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty.

As much as I dislike having to clarify that I want a "chocolate" Frosty when I order a Frosty at Wendy's (the original chocolate flavor should be permanently considered the default), I'm really enjoying that the introduction of the vanilla flavor has opened the door for tasty variations on the classic fast food dessert.

Just remember that the Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty IS a milkshake and cannot stand in place of your morning coffee (not that I won't try that sometime ...).

Wendy's
Various locations
Opening times vary based on location
Visit www.wendys.com for store information

-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com