Oppositelock Review: Wendy's BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 09/17/2014 at 13:12 • Filed to: Foodlopnik reviews

10

29

Today at the Wendy's drive thru, I was surprised to see a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on the menu. Then the pre-recorded greeting said, "Welcome to Wendy's, would you like to try our pulled pork sandwich today?" Since I'm obviously vulnerable to the power of fast food suggestion, I ordered the pulled pork sandwich.

Presentation: 8/10

Upon opening the box, I was almost shocked to find that the sandwich actually looked quite similar to the carefully composed picture above. The brioche bun was nice and puffy and shiny, a healthy amount of pork was centered on the bun and overflowing a bit into the box, and both BBQ sauce and cole slaw were well distributed without being messy. Good job, Wendy's on Fish Hatchery Road in Madison, WI! (Your results may vary.)

Bun: 7/10

Wendy's seems to be trying hard to be the fast food joint with the best buns. They revamped their regular burger buns, and now have both pretzel buns and brioche buns. The pulled pork sandwich comes on the brioche bun, which is overall a pretty good bun. It has a nice sheen on the top, is fluffy and airy, and has a nice soft texture while not disintegrating under the weight of meat and sauce. Compared to good fresh brioche buns from a real bakery, it doesn't have that great chewiness, and it's a little dry. But for a mass-produced, shelf-stable fast food bun, this is pretty impressive.

Meat: 6/10

I'm not sure if this pulled pork was actually smoked. It tasted alright, perhaps better than I was expecting a fast food rendition of pulled pork to taste, but this doesn't really hold a candle to the delicious heights that a pork shoulder can reach when smoked (or properly braised). On its own the pork is slightly dry, stringy and bland. But the bbq sauce and slaw help.

BBQ Sauce: 6/10

I chose the "Smoky" sauce option. I'm not sure what about this sauce is supposed to be smoky. It tastes very much like regular old !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! from a bottle. Which is fine, but not particularly exciting. Rather than tossing the pork in the sauce, the sauce was applied in a layer on top of the pork. This layer was at least well distributed.

Slaw: 7/10

Like the bun and overall presentation, another pleasant surprise. It's broccoli slaw, like the kind you !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and dress yourself. I'm a bit of a cole slaw connoisseur. I love cole slaw. It's one of my favorite things because you can make infinite variations on it. Other than the broccoli component, this slaw was pretty traditionally dressed with mayo and vinegar. It was nice and crispy, not buried in mayo (a cardinal sin in the land of cole slaw) and had just a touch of vinegar. I could go for a little more vinegar but for a mass-produced slaw it makes sense that Wendy's didn't go for something too aggressively vinegary.

Final Verdict: 34/50

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the Wendy's pulled pork sandwich. It's not going to put any real bbq joints out of business, but if you're feeling like fast food it's a nice change of pace from a burger or chicken sandwich. Just don't attempt to eat it while driving.

505Turbeaux > Textured Soy Protein 09/17/2014 at 13:16

0

good lord am I hungry now

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > 505Turbeaux 09/17/2014 at 13:19

2

Likewise. Not really so much for the particular sandwich, but BLUE ENGINEER NEEDS FOOD BADLY

JEM > Textured Soy Protein 09/17/2014 at 13:20

2

I was all on board for this until I saw it involved broccoli.

Fuck. That. Shit.

Textured Soy Protein > JEM 09/17/2014 at 13:26

0

There's not really any detectable broccoli taste. It mostly just provides some crunch.

Patrick George > JEM 09/17/2014 at 13:30

3

Yeah, whoa whoa whoa, what the fuck? Broccoli on a pulled pork sandwich?

I... is that a thing?

Textured Soy Protein > Patrick George 09/17/2014 at 13:34

1

Broccoli slaw is a thing. Shredded broccoli stems replace the shredded cabbage. This is the pre-made stuff at the grocery store I was talking about. Mostly it just tastes like cabbage but is crunchier.

JEM > Textured Soy Protein 09/17/2014 at 13:37

3

Just because broccoli slaw exists doesn't make it ok :-)

Textured Soy Protein > JEM 09/17/2014 at 13:39

0

To each their own. I like the stuff. If I'm throwing some slaw together and don't feel like shredding my own, I'll sometimes buy the broccoli slaw in the bag and make my own dressing.

Brian Silvestro > Textured Soy Protein 09/17/2014 at 13:59

0

Please tag as "Foodlopnik reviews"

Textured Soy Protein > Brian Silvestro 09/17/2014 at 14:02

0

Done.

Brian Silvestro > Textured Soy Protein 09/17/2014 at 14:03

0

Thank you.

IPFreely > Textured Soy Protein 09/17/2014 at 16:15

2

Nice review. I look forward to more of your fast food reviews. I'm also honored to be in the presence of a cole slaw connoisseur.

Zer0 sometimes clicks on things > Textured Soy Protein 09/17/2014 at 17:25

3

Review: 10/10

I would try this sandwich based on this review, and I would also like more reviews.

Zer0 sometimes clicks on things > Zer0 sometimes clicks on things 09/17/2014 at 17:26

1

Incidentally, can someone make me not grey all the time?

ddavidn > Textured Soy Protein 09/18/2014 at 01:05

0

Man, I can't wait until they roll this out over here.

webmonkees > Textured Soy Protein 09/18/2014 at 09:57

0

I admit being intrigued by the sign, but then I'm in like a crossroads of nearly a dozen classic bbq joints. And I will RISK those roadside cafes if they have those magic letters and a busy parking lot.

Within 40 minutes: Phil's Dream Pit, Broad Street , Ridgewood, Smokehouse, Bare's, Red Pig, Baconland, Hokie Smokie. I pass by Phil's at 2AM and they're out there cooking the next batch.

Every year the area has a 'Racks by the tracks' where they hold a competition, everything from big restaurants to boutique specialists, dollar ribs and no problem getting a whole rack right out of the oven of the one you really like. I had to go back and get another rack.

No slaw, please.

Textured Soy Protein > webmonkees 09/18/2014 at 10:15

1

I live in something of a bbq wasteland: Madison, WI. It's a great food town overall, and there are a few bbq places, but none of them are particularly amazing. There's maybe 4 places that I would even rate above your chains like Famous Dave's or Dickey's, and maybe 1 or 2 of those would I call genuinely impressive.

That said, if I had a bbq craving, I'd go to a real bbq place. This was more of an "oh weird Wendy's has pulled pork, I think I'll try that" moment. But I was already at Wendy's.

Tohru > Textured Soy Protein 09/18/2014 at 11:12

0

Fuck yeah, Wisconsin!

Tohru > Textured Soy Protein 09/18/2014 at 11:15

0

There isn't a Wendy's within 40 miles of where I live - the Portage one got turned into a US Cellular store and the Wisconsin Dells one is a Chinese place I think.

Any time I have to go in to the home office over on Daniels St. for a meeting I grab either breakfast or lunch from the Wendy's on Stoughton Rd. I'll have to try this next time I'm down there.

Textured Soy Protein > Tohru 09/18/2014 at 11:33

0

If you're going to be in that part of Madison, you should go to Papa Bear's BBQ instead. I wouldn't call it amazing, but it's respectable.

Tohru > Textured Soy Protein 09/18/2014 at 11:38

0

I'll have to look that up. Normally if I'm down in Madison I end up at the usual places - Hooters, Red Robin, one of the sushi places. Last time I was down there was taking a ladyfriend to Red Lobster - cliche, I know.

burro president > Textured Soy Protein 09/18/2014 at 12:05

1

This made me think of the McRib, but I know better than to make the comparison. The last time the McRib was available I tried having fond memories of it from my younger days. Holy fuck it made me sick. I will never revisit the McRib. Fuck you, McDonalds you've ruined the only fond memories I have of my childhood, because I now realize the McRib sucks. I would rather eat these: https://www.morningstarfarms.com/products/meal-… .

Now, returning to sanity. If I wasn't on a diet and going to have BBQ tonight I would go try this sammich on my lunch break today, based on your well composed review. I also see nothing wrong with broccoli slaw, as most of the time it's the stems in the slaw and it's closely related to cabbage anyhow. That leads me to the question of mayo in coleslaw. I recently had the famed free and supposedly 5 star lunch at a famous internet "giant." It was hot dog day, which I'm cool with because I love hot dogs. I was highly disappointed when the fucking coleslaw was strictly mayo and LOTS of it. It sent me on a downward spiral for the rest of the interview and I was denied the job. So sad.

IDM3 > Textured Soy Protein 09/18/2014 at 12:38

1

"...the pork is slightly dry, stringy and bland."

Sounds like the quality of wild hog from Southeast Alabama/Southwest Georgia/North Central Florida. You really got to marinate and spice that joker up if you want to eat him.

IDM3 > Brian Silvestro 09/18/2014 at 12:40

1

Or ask Mike Fahey at Kotaku to review this for you. He loves fast food.

Textured Soy Protein > burro president 09/18/2014 at 12:42

0

Mayo in cole slaw must be applied judiciously.

When I was a kid, I hated cole slaw. Because it was always some overloaded-with-mayo crap from the grocery store deli counter, or somebody's mom made at a neighborhood cookout or something. Terrible.

At some point in adulthood, I was presented with some cole slaw that had just a tiny little bit of mayo in it, which was a revelation.

Textured Soy Protein > Tohru 09/18/2014 at 12:42

0

Wow, that's depressing. Expand your horizons beyond the chains dude!

Tohru > Textured Soy Protein 09/18/2014 at 14:31

0

I don't get to Madison often - I work up by the Dells and Baraboo.

I know lots of non-chain places up here, but down in the 50 sq. mi. surrounded by reality I go with what's familiar.

John > Textured Soy Protein 10/31/2014 at 13:56

0

Yeah, it definitely wasn't as good as the pulled pork sandwiches I've had at ANY bbq joint—even the bbq joints I'd classify as average. And the brioche made it worse for me—too chewy. Can't understand why they didn't stay classic and at least go with a regular hamburger bun

LornNa > Textured Soy Protein 01/10/2015 at 11:58

0

Sounds like you visited a much better wendy's than the one we have in Putnam,CT. I actuall had to go back threw the drive threw lane and ask for my money back! First of all the meat was actually cold not even Luke warm and the amount of meat on the sandwich was rediculose... Maybe about two table spoons of meat. I think there was more slaw than meat but not much of that either. I opened the box and actually thought they just put a bun in there!! Horrible...