And let's not forget the chocolate and vanilla pudding as a dessert offering. My Mom was sold, I didn't even have to ask, so it only took a couple of nights to pass for us to go to the nearest Wendy's, about 45 minutes away. Subway. Perhaps that's why it eventually disappeared from the Wendy's menu. After the release of the documentary Super-Size Me, which exposed the dangers of McDonald's and fast food in general, the concept of super-sizing a meal went rapidly downhill, resulting in the company pulling it from menus in 2004. While the Superbar was a smash hit with customers, its low price made it a black hole that sucked in profits. According to MoneyWise, it had so many blue cheese toppings that the sandwich fell apart easily, creating a real problem for people trying to enjoy their burgers in the car. Tan and orange furniture everywhere, with fake wood paneling with weird iron work covered in fake philodendron, an old telephone switchboard shoved behind the desk, and a decent TV in the corner. McDonald's. Taco Bell. At Wendys in Tempe, AZ, we got breakfast, lunch, and dinner. "Being a resourceful man and a little ahead of his time Dave Thomas inherently understood the concept of food recovery," Wendy's shared in a post. EatThis.com is part of the AllRecipes Food Group. Yes! Wendy's released its Bacon Portabella Mushroom melt back in 2012, when it was an immediate hit (via So Good). Its answer? Unfortunately, though, most items that go the way of the Dodo stay that way. Back in 2017, Wendy's offered three queso-themed items: a Bacon Queso Burger, the Bacon Queso Chicken Sandwich, and Bacon Queso fries. 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. Pudding? 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. Bacon and ranch dressing don't exactly scream "health food," though. .field--name-field-history-media .media-image .field--name-field-image, single All Fillet. Choose two, from the Daves Single, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, 10PC Crispy Nuggs, or a Medium Strawberry Lemonadeand pair em up for only 6 bucks. The new additions to the Superbar changed things from a traditional salad station to something of an all-you-can-eat buffet with three separate stations for noodles, salad, and Mexican-inspired cuisine, says Food & Wine. Plus you had lettuce, tomato, cheese, peppers and all the sauces (I don't know why more salad bars don't have taco stations.) While they could re-purpose certain things from the SuperBar like lettuce, tomatoes, sour creme and beef, using those on burgers or chili, what would they do with spaghetti, or refried beans, or even the pudding at the end of the day? Its one great Frosty multiplied by 365 days, multiplied by lifetime of joy. display: inline; margin-top: 20px; You can still get a chocolate or vanilla frosty, but this flavor is just one of the 15 Discontinued Fast-Food Desserts We Miss. A fast-food Icarus that flew too close to the heat lamps despite the incredible success? Proceeds benefit the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Still, when its clock ran out, customers were devastated, begging for the item to be reinstated as a permanent menu fixture. For 50 years weve been serving up our square-shaped hamburgers and have remained devoted to treating our employees in that same spirit: fair and square. We'd love to try it if it ever came back, though. But do you remember when Wendy's branched out from their basic chocolate and vanilla Frosty by adding other flavors? There is, however, a following on Facebook of people who hold fond memories of the Superbar, and wish one day, we can eat spaghetti and Frosty's once again. As a child, I was surrounded by wonderful food, most all the time. For a period in the '80s and '90s, Wendy's expanded their salad bar into a full "Superbar" buffet. Did we mention it was a quarter pound of beef? With this Wendy's sandwich, introduced in 2010, you could have the gourmet toppings of a restaurant burger right at the fast-food chain. Still, it's just not quite the same. Since midterms were half days, and we were still young enough, we managed to get the kids lunch special for only $2.99. But there was certain stuff that was perishable and needed to get replaced in a timely manner. Per The Washington Post, Wendy's salad bars were chock full of different ingredients for practically unlimited combinations. I never even got an answer out. The answer was simple: combine the beef we use for our hamburgers with a hearty helping of vegetables, chili beans, and a dash of spice.". Shortly after Chipotle debuted a "new and improved" but still disappointing queso dip and McDonald's added cheesy loaded fries to their menu, Wendy's added three new queso-drenched items to their menu: the Bacon Queso Burger, the Bacon Queso Chicken Sandwich, and Bacon Queso Fries. When that approach didn't work, new TV ads featured Ronald McDonald out partying and playing pool, a decided shift from the restaurant's family-friendly image. While you cant go to one now, you can relive their awesomeness with some old SuperBar commercials below. 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. Finally, it was served with avocado dressing. While a dose or two of innovation is always welcome, it seems that those in marketing may sometimes bite off more than they can chew, and their apparently genius innovations reek not only of grease, but of desperation as well. 'twas awesome. Because they really, truly are. To say that Wendy's Chili is a polarizing menu item . The package is then breaded and fried. How the warm beer cheese just seemed to help you forget your problems, and how the pretzel bun always brought a smile to your face? So when the all-you-can-eat buffet trend started to fade only to be replaced by the "wrap craze" of the late '90s, Wendy's stepped up to the plate. Its back. 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. Sometimes menu items are retired for a time only to return in a moment of glory for a limited time offer. The offering was put into place after customers met Wendy's prepackaged salads with open arms, and the chain wanted to capitalize on the popularity, per AP News. 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. 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. And, yes, I know, it wasn't actually anywhere near as good as I thought it was, but it was the first time I could ever recall my brain and my tastebuds working together like that. It always started with Julia Child but then carried into Graham Kerr and The Galloping Gourmet, then Justin Wilson, then Jeff Smith, and it kept going till around the time her shift was over. . xhr.open('POST', 'https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', true); The only thing better than eating Wendys, is earning more Wendys while you eat. Maybe we didn't need to have all-you-can-eat fettuccine from a burger chain anyway. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. I would sit and watch Saturday morning cartoons until they stopped around noon, and that's the moment I was always actually waiting for. Some things just shouldn't be messed with and Wendy's fries are among them. 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. #block-footer .menu-layout-vertical .field--name-menu-items .brick--icon-menu-item img { width: 50px !important } "By building the brand on the promise of serving fresh, never frozen beef, Dave knew his hamburgers would have a shorter shelf-life. Our signature black bean patty topped with Monterrey Jack Cheese, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce and curry mayo all on a toasted premium bun. Mexican Fiesta was a taco bar with refried beans, rice, and taco meat (which was basically just the overcooked hamburger meat they didnt use in the chili), and you could choose between crunchy tacos, or they had one of those little tortilla warmer things filled up for making soft tacos. Dont just break your fast. You can start your delivery order straight from our app, or head to any of our official third-party partners, DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats. var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest(); At one point, it even included pizza. Wendy's menu consists primarily of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, and beverages such as the Frosty. It had everything from your standard salad bar configuration to a nacho + taco station (complete with bottomless vat of taco meat), desert bar (with chocolate pudding) and bread. It was thick, much like what you would find pre-canned in a grocery store aisle these days, and dotted with flecks of black pepper. #block-footer .menu-layout-vertical .field--name-menu-items .brick--icon-menu-item img { width: 50px !important } Yes, there was a Wild Mountain Bacon Cheeseburger as well, but it didn't quite live up to the standards of the chicken sandwich. This is where you can try Wendys new stuff without paying full price. It was this long preparation time that allegedly led to the demise of the Frescata. Wendy's Superbar ran for a glorious ten years between 1988 and 1999. Wendy's New Italian Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich on dark brown background. Point is, if you got $6you got options. 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. The McDLT stuck around for six years between 1984 and 1990, but was discontinued due to complaints that the large amount of Styrofoam in the packaging was environmentally unfriendly.