The Supertaster Verdict on Wendy’s Hot ‘N Juicy Cheeseburger

Published on Wednesday, October 5, 2011, by James Norton / Edit Post

Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger from Wendy's

Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger from Wendy's

I Paid: $3.49 for a quarter-pound burger (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 4 stars

Marketing: 4 stars

The story (as told by USA Today, among many others) is a good one: Wendy's, a fast-food chain under siege, needs to create a new winning product in order to stay alive. McDonald's is after their market share from below; from above, "better burger" chains like the rapidly expanding Five Guys are pressing in.

So, after two and a half years of secret research (the ridiculously named Project Gold Hamburger), we have the possible savior of Wendy's: Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger, named for chain founder Dave Thomas. The new burger comes in Single (quarter-pound), Double (half-pound), and Triple (three-quarter-pound) sizes.

The major changes from the run-of-the-mill Wendy's burger: The patty is thicker, the bun is buttered and toasted with newly installed $5,000 to $6,000 toasters, there's no mustard, the mayo is whole fat, and the cheese is meltier.

The result: a really tasty fast-food burger. I've had a number of other "fast food goes upscale" hamburgers before (the shameful McDonald's Angus burgers particularly come to mind), and they've always disappointed, tasting essentially like more of a bad thing. But the Dave's Hot 'N Juicy is, well, not the finest burger I've ever eaten, but really not bad, on a par with a well-made bar burger. The buttery, toasted taste of the bun; a hint of smokiness; generous amounts of lovably low-grade cheese; crisp, sharply flavored onion; a large, decent-tasting patty of beef—these all add up to a well-balanced fast-food-hamburger experience that could be described as nearly enjoyable.

Five Guys and Smashburger are still turning out a more craveable product, but Wendy's has a galaxy of existing locations, and the Dave's Hot 'N Juicy option gives people a new, credible reason to actually go there. Only time will tell if this gives the franchise a new lease on life, but my taste buds tell me that it has at least injected a welcome shot of relevance into the chain.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster Daily videos, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. (Click here to see all of James's previous Supertaster work.) You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook.

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POST A COMMENT |15 Comments

COMMENT

  • @ gerardus: Try Cafe Gruter. They have a burger much like Toby's Good Eats. Only one style, but darn good.

  • How could you forget the pickles? They are a big change.

  • Costs more, tastes worst. Hope this works out for them.

  • At the moment I live in Holland which has no history at all in regards to the 'burger' the odd time I give in and go to the Mac or Burger King and it is never the same, some times good sometimes bad, a good hamburger requires a good cook some one taking pride and has the skills to pull it off. I lived in Toronto, Canada, for a while and frequented a joint called Harvey's which in my humble...+READ

    At the moment I live in Holland which has no history at all in regards to the 'burger' the odd time I give in and go to the Mac or Burger King and it is never the same, some times good sometimes bad, a good hamburger requires a good cook some one taking pride and has the skills to pull it off. I lived in Toronto, Canada, for a while and frequented a joint called Harvey's which in my humble opinion produced an excellent, juicy with a choice of , as much as you like, toppings. This all produced right in front of you! I miss a good burger-COLLAPSE

  • There must be some press release that incorrectly states that there is no mustard on the new burger. Almost every news source has reported that. It seems no one actually looked inside the burger to see what they are tasting.

    Wendy's nutritional info on the burger lists mustard
    http://www.wendys.com/food/Nutrition.jsp

    I have had it twice. Both times it had mustard. I have had the new burger...+READ

    There must be some press release that incorrectly states that there is no mustard on the new burger. Almost every news source has reported that. It seems no one actually looked inside the burger to see what they are tasting.

    Wendy's nutritional info on the burger lists mustard
    http://www.wendys.com/food/Nutrition.jsp

    I have had it twice. Both times it had mustard. I have had the new burger because each time I asked and it was prominently advertised in the window signs.

    There is mustard on the burger.

    I agree it isn't a bad burger in its category
    http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/808125#6835581

    I also like that Wendy's gives options for the combo in addition to fries such as chili, salad, baked potato. The combo amounts to two meals for me.

    I didn't like the old burger. I like the new burger enough that I went back and it probably will be my inexpensive fast food burger of choice.-COLLAPSE

  • couldn't have said it better guitarmangarrett

  • I wouldn't trust a place that took 2.5 years to make a simple hamburger that tastes good. It's not that hard to make a good burger, and definatley doesn't take me more than an hour(or two) to do so.

  • Carl's Junior still rules.

  • I think the new Wendy's burger is a big improvement from their previous burger and significantly better than the McDonalds Angus crap. I really like the new toasted buns at Wendy's on all their premium sandwiches. I always felt this was their biggest drawback.

  • If the McDonalds Angus burger is so "shameful", why did you give it a good review? Personally, I found it greasy, salty, a bit livery and nauseating. But two years ago, you found it "SIGNIFICANTLY" more enjoyable than a McDonald's or Wendy's burger, adding "this truly is an OK burger." So where did "shameful" come from?

  • On one hand, yes, it is nowhere near as good as, say Smashburger. On the other, this burger seems to be $3.49. I have never gotten out of Smashburger for less than 14 bucks with fries and soda. I'll give this a try!

  • I got a single, and it had obviously been sitting around for a while. It was the opposite of fresh, and cold to boot. This would not happen at Five Guys or Smashburger. To me, Wendy's is still not relevant.

  • I'm underwhelmed as well. First two bites of a double were tasty. From there to the finish was ordinary fast food flavor. Had too, too much ketchup, no grilled bun. The "looseness" of the two beef patties was a nice feature tho.

  • I'm with jeanmarieok. I don't like their new burgers. I'm a big mustard fan and get irritated that I have to specifically ask for it on there and I can't stand the new pickles. They're more sweet. The late Wendy's burger was the only burger I would ever eat at the major fast food joints. Now I won't be eating any fast food burgers.

  • I tried one of these today. I liked the old burger better. But I don't eat many fast food burgers. I thought this burger tasted maybe a little fishy ? And my bun wasn't really toasted - maybe just waved over the griddle.