There’s a fast-food restaurant that likely isn’t in your current top five, but it should be. This magical place has been underappreciated for far too long. Today, I am going to tell you why Wendy’s is a top five fast-food restaurant of all time.
When it comes to the process of ranking anything, a criteria must be established. Before I dive into what makes Wendy’s, or as some people call it/her, “My girl Wendy,” so great, I must first establish the criteria for my fast-food rankings. These criteria include price, taste, drink options, dessert and variety.
Price (5/5): Price is very important when it comes to the rankings of any restaurant. But, for fast-food restaurants, this is an especially important topic. With fast-food prices increasing around the board, it can be tough to find what used to be “cheap” meals nowadays. In my 19 years of life, the dollar menu (if it still even exists) seemed to lose another item each year. Despite all of this, Wendy’s is still holding strong with cheaper prices than nearly everywhere else. They have a beautiful thing called a “Biggie Bag,” containing a burger, fries, chicken nuggets and a drink all for just $5. For the people who spend more than $10 a meal at Wendy’s, you are just simply doing it wrong. Even if you have the craze to order a meal besides the Biggie Bag then you can still save by using the magical Wendy’s app that can give you significant deals like $5 off an order of $25 or more, or a $1 large fry with any purchase. It is things like these that make Wendy’s cheap and why I not only give it a five out of five on price, but I also fully believe it is the cheapest fast-food option out there.
Taste (4/5): To me taste is king when it comes to food in general and that obviously includes fast-food. From what you’ve read you can probably tell I love Biggie Bags. However, this isn’t just because they’re cheap. The burgers taste great, the fries aren’tsoggy and are almost always warm. The chicken nuggets are always very good, especially with Wendy’s BBQ sauce, which is undoubtedly one of the best BBQ sauces on the market. Not to go into a new criteria but, if you can’t find a drink that’s a 10/10 for you at Wendy’s then you must hate fountain drinks because they offer everything, and I mean everything. It is due to this that I give Wendy’s a four out of five on taste.
Drink options (5/5): Wendy’s owns the drink option department in terms of fast-food. They have these beautiful drink dispensing machines that seem to have unlimited options. Their Coca Cola products range from Fanta, Sprite, Minute Made, Powerade, and much more. However, I am not just talking about the basic flavors. These machines offer things like grape, strawberry and cherry Sprite. They also offer several of these flavors in Fanta as well, including my personal favorite and undisputed No. 1 grape Fanta. They even have several lemonade, Minute Made and Powerade flavors. So, when it comes to drink options, obviously Wendy’s gets a five out of five.
Dessert (4/5): When you think of Wendy’s desserts, I almost guarantee Frosties came to your mind. Wendy’s has built a strong legacy in the fast-food dessert industry with the classic Frosty. I don’t know if they were ever not serving Frosties. No, literally, their ice cream machines always seem to be working unlike a different fast-food restaurant I won’t name. Cough, McDonald’s. Despite the legacy of the Frosty, I would argue they are a good (about a three out of five on taste), but not great tasting dessert item. But because of their consistency they are still a very good item overall. But Wendy’s upped their standards with the addition of things like Pop-Tart and Oreo Brownie Frosties. These were great additions and boosted the flavor of Frosties to what is for me a four out of five. This is why I am giving Wendy’s a four out of five on desserts.
Variety (3/5): Variety is important for all restaurants especially when you are there with your family. If you have a big family like mine, it is hard to please everyone. Variety is the category where Wendy’s lacks the most. However, they still have lots of options. Aside from the traditional burger and fries, Wendy’s offers things like chili, chicken sandwiches, salads, chili cheese fries, spicy nuggets and baked potatoes. They even offer several breakfast sandwiches. While this is a diverse list, it is still pretty standard compared to other fast-food places, but it is just enough to give them a rating of three out of five for variety. But, hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Overall rating (21/25): As a food critic (my Instagram bio proves this) I give Wendy’s an overall rating of 21/25. This is a great overall rating. I will admit there is some bias to my ratings, believe it or not. But I feel confident in saying Wendy’s is a top five fast-food restaurant. Wendy’s holds a special place in my heart. I even have a feeling of nostalgia remembering the times I went to Wendy’s with friends or family. One of my favorite times was when my uncle, father and I went to Wendy’s on the way back from our cabin. I remember my uncle treating us to lunch and because we all ordered $5 Biggie Bags and I used a deal on my app the total was $13. That’s $13 for three people! This was the price for all of us to get burgers, nuggets, fries and a drink. I even upgraded my fries! Some fast-food restaurants have meals that cost that much alone. It is experiences like this that prove that Wendy’s is a top five fast-food restaurant. It has been slept on for too long. It’s time for our girl Wendy to get the spotlight she deserves.