The chain slowly began to incorporate so many ingredients, in fact, that Wendy's salad bar eventually evolved into the Superbar in the late 1980s. And let's not forget the chocolate and vanilla pudding as a dessert offering. .hide-link { | by Aubrie Williams | The Childhood Series | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. The $5 Biggie Bag is back and i t's everything you've ever wanted, in a bag. Over to side two and its time for Mexican Fiesta featuring taco shells (broken ones marketed as taco chips) and some limp tortillas you could build as many tasty tacos as you please. In the warm glow of that nostalgic '90s sun-room style dining room, eager customers would enjoy anything from chili and tacos to fruit ambrosia with a Double Bacon Cheeseburger An open-and-shut success story, right? The failure was attributed to price, spiciness, unattractive appearance, and lack of interest from penny-pinching customers. The Superbar offered a large smorgasbord of fixings and toppings. Wendys Spicy Chicken Nuggets are the standard by which all other spicy nuggets are judged against. var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest(); Taco salad is still salad right? Posted 2:46:14 AM. On the surface, it was a good idea: Serve a burger in a Styrofoam container with two separate compartments, one containing the hot beef patty and bottom bun and the other with the cool lettuce and tomato and the top bun. Photo: Bettmann / Getty Images; Grace Cary / Getty Images, Appalachia Doesn't Need Saving, It Needs Respect, Scamming Pizza Hut Was My Family Tradition, I Ate Alone at the Times Square Olive Garden for Ten Days, and I'm Different Now, The History of the All You Can Eat Buffet, The Fine Art of Leaving a Tasting Menu Early, According to a Chef, Food & Wine Best New Chefs 2022: Damarr Brown, Food & Wine Best New Chefs 2022: Justin Pichetrungsi, How Birthday Pancit Helped Me Learn to Love My Filipino Heritage, Best Practices: How Kwame Onwuachi Is Redefining the Role of Chef and Food Personality, What 'The Bear' Gets Right (and Wrong) About Restaurant Work. 11y. It has over 6,600 locations. Wait. Its back. The next day, with the ingredients burned into my brain, I bounced around from aisle to aisle in the local Piggly Wiggly, desperately trying to find the pieces to construct this dish. Smooth, cold-brewed coffee swirled with our legendary vanilla Frosty mix and served over ice. The Bacon and Blue burger was such a hit that Wendy's brought it back for a limited time in 2015. I truly do owe you one Dave Thomas. . Whatever your opinion is on its loss, it's clear that Wendy's did what it had to do for its employees and for a changing world. Over the years, McDonald's has released international products in different locations across the world, some to great success. We didn't go out to eat much, and part of the reason was how far away most places were. What made this chicken sandwich different was the warm flatbread, made with flax-seed, cracked wheat, oats, millet, and seeds. Cheese is nothing new at fast food restaurants just look at the humble but delicious cheeseburger but 2017 could easily be considered the year of cheese, specifically queso. But as Wendy's loves to do, it removed this burger from the chain'smenu, forcing people to turn to Twitter to mourn collectively. One of the other reasons for the bar shutting down altogether was rumored that it was too labor-intensive for employees, per Fun 107. But there is a glimmer of hope, as someArby'slocations havea Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich on menus, although it is lacking the Dijon mustard that graced the Wendy's sandwich. But what if, perhaps, there was something that was actually too successful? Discover how we can help you grow your career HERE. I cant imagine there is much call for alfredo on say a Tuesday afternoon, but they needed to keep the SuperBar full all the time and put it out anyway. Despite its fun name, the Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty didn't make it in the end. The Fettuccine Alfredo at the Wendy's Superbar Turned Me into a Chef, Where to Buy Rugs for Your Kitchen and Dining Room, According to Designers, The 8 Best Places to Buy Grilling and Barbecue Gear, The Best Dairy-Free Meal Delivery Services To Make Mealtime Easy, The 11 Best Places to Buy Bakeware, According to the Pros, 12 Whole Food Products Worth Adding to Your Cart This Month, The 45 Biggest Food Trends of the Past 45 Years, White Castle Shrinks Its Hamburgers Down to Pizza Roll Size, 6 New Whole Foods Products That Make Perfect Holiday Gifts, Tinned Fish Fans, Rejoice: Island Creek Oysters Is Opening a New Cannery. Steeped in sports-heavy marketing, the Bacon Gouda Burger was always meant to be a limited time offering. Not so much. But in the end, despite all of the seeming deliciousness, the burger was just too messy to last. header .menu--utility li.hide-link { display: none !important; } .field--name-ingredients h3 { Jobs and careers done right. Introduced in the late 1980s, Wendy's all-you-can-eat mega bar broke away from the norms of side salads and delved into the world of pasta, Mexican, and dessert: all for the low, low price of $2.99. It was like half the price of the regular SuperBar, the only difference was they gave us a slightly smaller plate. I had never seen or heard of, let alone, experienced the things they were cooking. The world loves them for a reason. Thank you! . } These are just some of the beloved Wendy's menu items you'll sadly never get to eat again. Its a odd architectural choice) and kept to ourselves, but three 12 year olds hopped up on taco meat, pasta sauce, and pudding tend to be loud and rowdy. And FYI, each serving comes with 29 grams of protein and is made with all-natural beef and no preservatives. Most people really didn't mind bringing their own food to their table, so this idea quickly fizzled out thanks to that old adage: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. .field--name-field-history-media .media-image, if( 'moc.sihttae.www' !== location.hostname.split('').reverse().join('') ) { If youre too young remember, there was once a time when in addition to Frostys and the best fast food fries (before they changed to the new recipe recently), Wendys dabbled in also being an Old Country Buffet, and they had a buffet bar called the SuperBar, pictured below. From fresh-cracked eggs to fresh, never-frozen beef, We Got You. But that doesn't mean there haven't been some discontinued Wendy's items over the years that are now in the fast-food graveyard. Its answer? Your chicken parm could never. Even without the beloved Frosty, that's a pretty sweet deal. There was also the concern of people sneaking more refills than they were allowed, some taking the "all-you-can-eat" a bit too far. Deals like this dont happen every day. Today you may think of Wendy's as just another drive-thru fast food restaurant, but there was a period in the '80s and '90s when it certainly made more sense to go inside and stay awhile. While the Superbar was a smash hit with customers, its low price made it a black hole that sucked in profits. From wild successes such as the classic value mealand it's many spin-offs to devastating failures like the infamousRax's Roast Beef, whose bizarre and desperate marketing attempts led to a near-total downfall. .field--name-ingredients .field--name-body p { Find us in Reading, Stratford, Oxford, Croydon, Brighton, Ilford, Camden, Romford, Maidstone, Sutton, Uxbridge, Sheffield, Kingston and Brampton Hut. Just as the old saying goes: "Too much of a good thing is a bad thing" and that certainly held true for the Superbar. And regardless of how popular a item was, they needed to restock it every day. Most every dish that comes out of the kitchen at Hickory the restaurant where I now work as the executive chef has its roots in something I experienced then. It was like nothing I had ever had before macaroni and cheese, only 10 times more amazing. Point is, if you got $6you got options. At noon, PBS started a long block of nothing but cooking shows. I only wear Air Jordan 1s, patterned after the original 1985 sneaker. I would spend summers in the garden with my great-grandparents picking pole beans and digging up potatoes. Refresh the page,. Our signature black bean patty topped with Monterrey Jack Cheese, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce and curry mayo all on a toasted premium bun. Get the best food tips and diet advice every single day, Now, you'll have the best and latest food and healthy eating news right in your inboxevery The mid-2000s was the era of the "EXTREME," and in 2005 Burger King attempted to cash in by pairing that with the growing trend of fast food breakfast sandwiches by introducing the Enormous Omelet Sandwich. Just as customers were getting used to the new fries, Wendy's debuted their "Natural-Cut Fries" in 2010. Wendy's released its Bacon Portabella Mushroom melt back in 2012, when it was an immediate hit (via So Good). Subway. Fresh beef . You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. We'd love to try it if it ever came back, though. One feature of the restaurant you may have forgotten about is Wendy's salad bar. . I still vividly remember walking in. Not only did the Bacon Gouda Burger contain its namesake sliced Gouda cheese, it also had a Swiss Gruyere sauce, garlic aioli, bacon, red onions, tomato, and spring mix, all on a brioche bun. Im sure youre saying to yourself That sounds awesome, why did they ever get rid of that?. From the beloved Frosty and the fresh-never-frozen square burgers that have been on the menu since day one, to chili and baked potatoes that'll warm you up on a cold day, there's tons to love about the Wendy's menu. 1988: Wendy's Superbar -- Too Good To Last?In this story Bob Mayer samples a bold new concept in fast food -- Wendy's Superbar, a buffet-style cornucopia of . With its signature square-shaped burgers, and the affordable 4 for $4 deal, the chain has a distinguishable menu that many repeat customers have come to know and love. display: none !important; The only options in the little coal town where I grew up were the Village (the greasy spoon that my family owned), Ma's and Pa's (our competitor so we were never allowed to go there), and a Pizza Hut. The SuperBar was filled with food items that were only used just in SuperBar. A Superstar at the Superbar: An Ode to the Wendy's $2.99 Buffet! I grew up in rural Southwestern Virginia in the 1980s. For a period in the '80s and '90s, Wendy's expanded their salad bar into a full "Superbar" buffet. One commercial from the '80s shows tacos and pasta alongside your typical cold bar offerings like salad and fruit. My mind was blown every single week. The truth is, they totally were awesome. For more, check out these 108 most popular sodas ranked by how toxic they are. To see menu prices for the Wendys of your choice, please visit. Wendy's Chief Concept & Marketing Officer, Kurt Kane, said in a statement in 2017, "Nobody does fresh beef, chicken sandwiches and topped fries like Wendy's, so we've taken three things our customers already love and made them even better by adding queso.". margin-top: 20px; But what if we told you that soon, you could get this beloved tomato-based beef chili at a grocery store near you? The Superbar disappeared in 1998, and Wendy's discontinued all salad bars in 2006. Limited time only. .field--name-ingredients .field--name-body { Customers seemed to love this wide range of available foods,with some still rallying to get it back (fromFacebook groups to endless rants in Reddit posts). Proceeds benefit the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Sadly, the BLT Cobb Salad was discontinued, making it all the more difficult to get a salad in a fast food setting. If that alone sounds amazing to you, consider the items were also topped with shredded cheese. Pudding? As the story goes, Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, created the soup to combat food waste in his kitchens. Everything is better with cheese, so it's a shame this trio didn't stand the test of time. it is the number 3 restaurant, behind McDonalds. Best Practices: How the 'Mom and Dad' of Chicagos Restaurant Scene Have Rebooted in Nashville, Best Practices: How An Apron Impresario Changed the Look of Restaurant Kitchens, Ina Garten Dishes on the Secret to Julia Child's Success in a New Podcast. While some places are content to keep things simple like Chick-fil-A or In-N-Out, other companies are willing to do whatever they can to be the most up-to-date and most desirable place to grab a hamburger. my mom noted as she sat down with a plate loaded with a build-your-own enchilada, rotini with meat sauce, some Spanish rice and a small salad. The soup has already been listed on Instacart, including its ingredients, nutrition facts, and that iconic Wendy's label. Details are extremely scarce on the release, including when it will be available, the cost, and which retailers will carry the product. Here are 14 of the most embarrassing failures in the history of fast food. Maybe we didn't need to have all-you-can-eat fettuccine from a burger chain anyway. It was topped withGrey Poupon mustard. From the beloved Frosty and the fresh-never-frozen square burgers that have been on the menu since day one, to chili and baked potatoes that'll warm you up on a cold day, there's tons to love about the Wendy's menu. In 2010, Wendy's rolled out what the restaurant chain deemed its series of "Garden Sensations Salads," in a clear attempt to appeal to the consumer who wanted a healthier fast food option (via Brand Eating). No Filler. We had forgotten they even served tacos and Spanish rice, too. But in addition to the salad station, which they called the Garden Spot, there was also a pasta station (creatively called Pasta Pasta) and a Mexican Station (Mexican Fiesta). ButFast Food Geek found the menu items to be a bit hard to eat, largely due to the folded flatbread. I was already twirling my fettuccine around my tan plastic fork, anticipating that first bite, and then boom. A fresh-cracked grade A egg on a fluffy buttermilk biscuit with grilled sausage and melted American cheese. Mom would always come over from behind the desk and sit down with me to watch. Wendy's Superbar Commercial (1988) - YouTube 0:00 / 0:30 Wendy's Superbar Commercial (1988) RetroCommercial.com 3.54K subscribers Subscribe 781 Share Save 163K views 11 years ago Visit. If it doesnt elicit at least a few AWWWWWWW YEAHHHHS, I remember those, they were awesome!, you had a very sheltered childhood. Fun. } Just as we are committed to serving the best quality food every single day, we are committed to serving you during this time. These fries have the skin on and are sprinkled with sea salt and they're a direct attempt to capitalize on the "real food" movement. McDonald's spent more money on the advertising campaign for the Arch Deluxe in 1996 than it had on any other single item in its history. They disappeared from menus in 2007. Of course, in the name of profit, risk be darned and companies boldly (or, depending on one's point of view, blindly) throw caution to the wind and hope for the best. Real Wendy's lovers know to order the chili. No zero-contracts. single In 1991, McDonald's tried to just on the low fat craze bandwagon, crafting a burger dubbed the McLean Deluxe, intended to show critics that the fast-food giant could offer low-fat options. The Fine Art of Becoming Your Server's Favorite Customer. Wendy's is nothing if not tuned into popular trends. It was the first time that I got to experience a dish that others enjoyed in different walks of life and in larger places, far away. We would have wonderful evening meals of these veggies side by side with country ham, cornbread, pickles galore, toasted biscuits left over from breakfast, and more. It was a huge pain in the ass to keep up with. With our 2 for $6 meal deal, you can pick your fave out of Dave's Single, Spicy Chicken, 10 PC Crispy Nuggs, or Medium Lemonade. Too much of a success, actually: it was difficult for employees to keep the buffet stocked and clean while performing their usual behind-the-counter duties, and customers would help themselves to a few too many free refills. Did we mention it was a quarter pound of beef? Yes? 2012-2023 InsufficientScotty. . Get the best food tips and diet McDonald's. Taco Bell. This new, grocery-ready option should have Wendy's fans psyched because the brand has a fearless history of pushing the envelope with its in-store products.