A Fast Food Discrepancy

I don't eat a lot of fast food. The only times I really partake in places like McDonald's or Burger King or Subway is when I have a lot to do or have multiple movie screenings in a day and those places are the only choices around.

Luckily, there are other, better establishments near many of the theaters where films are screened for the critics, like Whole Foods and Nando's PERi-PERi (which I love!), so I don't need to jam a Big Mac down my throat very often.

Well, until very recently.

This is me after discovering a pretty big fast food discrepancy.

I was without a refrigerator (my 13 year-old Frigidaire died about 2 months ago) so I ate out at fast food places for a bit.

Nothing really surprising or unprecedented happened until the last two days before my new fridge arrived when I discovered an insane discrepancy between a couple of fast food joints.

It happened when I stopped into my neighborhood Wendy's.

As I always do, I studied the offerings to see how affordably I could purchase a meal of some kind.

Here's a tip: DON'T immediately go for the "value meals" at fast food joints, because they aren't "values." They're usually overpriced and misleading.

Wendy's, however, easily has the most bargain-filled menu and you can eat there pretty cheaply.

Enjoying a tasty (and CHEAP) Wendy's Bacon Double Cheeseburger!

The newest bargain is the Wendy's Biggie Bag, which is shockingly cheap for the amount of food you get. There are $4, $5, and $7 Biggie Bag meals which consist of a sandwich, nuggets, fries and a drink.

That's a solid amount of chow for very little dough, and you don't have to piece your meal together, like a puzzle, to avoid getting ripped off by a "value meal."

I went with the $7 Biggie Bag which consists of a Bacon Double Cheeseburger, 4 Chicken Nuggets, Small Fries, and a Medium drink (from the fountain, refillable...and they have Barq's Orange Cream Soda!)

You also get NUGGIES in your Wendy's Biggie Bag!

The total was just over 7 bucks for a lot of food. The burger was fresh, well dressed, and tasty. The bacon was crisp, the nuggets were delicious, and the fries were very good. I refilled my orange cream soda twice, and it was, overall, a very satisfying fast food visit.

Then, the next day I went to my neighborhood Jersey Mike's to grab a sandwich.

To be fair, the menu at Jersey Mike's is much less complicated and there are not a ton of options. They don't really offer any "value meals," or bargains (unless you sign up to get "points," whatever the hell that means).

Here's me NOT enjoying my visit to Jersey Mike's as much as my visit to Wendy's

I went with a Classic Italian Sub (regular size), a bag of BBQ chips, and a small fountain drink.

OK, the sub was fine, nothing special (at all). The chips were a bit stale and there were no refills on the drink (but, they did have cream soda!) so, overall, it was meh. It did its job by filling me up and it wasn't a terrible experience.

But here's the thing...it cost $10 MORE than the meal I had at Wendy's on the previous day.

Yep, $10 more. I spent just over $17 at Jersey Mike's for an average cold sub, chips and a drink, compared to just over $7 for a bacon double cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, fries and a refillable drink at Wendy's.

All of this food cost just over $7 at Wendy's

This cost $17 at Jersey Mike's. Yes, $10 more.

I gotta say, I was shocked, and I probably won't be going back to Jersey Mike's anytime soon.

So, YAY! to Wendy's and their Biggie Bag deals! I'm a fan.

But…. I'm a much bigger fan of my new fridge.

The real lesson is that I will regularly be eating food that comes from here, and not from Wendy's or Jersey Mike's.

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