On this date in 1969, in GimletGirl's hometown of Dublin, Ohio, Dave Thomas opened the very first Wendy's Restaurant.
I feel like Wendy's is always running in third, behind McDonald's and Burger King, which never made sense to me, because of the three, if I had to choose, I'd pick Wendy's every time. I've always been a big fan of Wendy's chili and thus, their taco salads, and I like their fries better than those at either McDonald's or Burger King. I do think it's absolutely stupid that Frosties are only chocolate, but I've been known to break down and eat one from time to time, particularly as a "dipping sauce" for my fries.
Wendy's also used to have pretty good fried chicken, though I think they've stopped selling it. In reading about Dave Thomas' life for this post, I learned that that's probably because upon Dave 's return from duty in Germany during the Korean War, he worked with Colonel Harlan Sanders to turn around 4 failing Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises.
So, Happy Birthday Wendy's! Go get yourself some chili and a baked potato, or a square burger to celebrate! So, let's talk about Wendy's, or if you must, fast food in general. Also, feel free to share your experiences at any of the Wendy's International owned chains, which in addition to Wendy's include Cafe Express and Pasta Pomodoro, and up until very recently Baja Fresh, and up there in Canuckistan, Tim Hortons.
And, of course, WFL?
80 comments:
ht: they've recently (in the past year or so) come out with a vanilla frosty.
Add that to the list of why I loves me some Wendy's.
Grew up loving the Wendy's on Trowbridge Rd. in East Lansing, MI.
Even though there was a rumor among kids that they used horse meat. I didn't care. The frosties, the fries, Dave, I loved them all.
And HT they do still serve chicken in selected locations, like the one on K street betwixt Connecticut and 18th street in Washington, DC.
I have an early free lunch at Vie de France but I will have a late lunch at Wendy's in honor of Dave...even though he hated allowing women to control their bodies.
We had a Wendy's on campus at college when I started. It was great. Not sure if it is true or not, but THE Wendy is rumored to have graduated from University of Florida... Just like me.
So she's probably nursing a substance abuse problem and unemployable.
Wow, see, my fellow OWFLers have come through for me with information that pleases! I need to stop going to the ghetto Wendys' by my house and branch out to other locations.
Don't have to wonder what's for lunch today, I'm going to The wendy's on K St. Jo?
I remember when they had the super bar at wendy's, That was second only to ponderosa, but the swim team rarely ever stopped at ponderosa.
Dipso, I agree with your irrational hatred of Ohio, and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Wendy's is the best fast food chain, period. You're crazy Dipso, unless of course you hate McDougals and BK with even more fervor.
The big bacon classic has been my favorite fast food burger since it came out sometime during my junior high days. Its got everything you want in a burger.
I've never been a frosty fan though, or really a fan of their other bells and whistles, just give me the BBC Combo ASAP!
Oh, and Tim Hortons, or "T-Ho's" as I affectionately call it, is no longer just in Canuckistan, its now in Upper Amerida, AKA michigan
i really don't like wendy's in all honesty.. the burgers always seemed floppy and flavourless and the huge pieces of still soaking lettuce always turned me off. a bit ago, some friends and i were walking back from penn's landing and stopped for a must needed liquor induced meal. we all agreed taht the fries were disgusting but initially didn't know why.
after a couple minutes we figured out they tasted like potato.
it was horrific.
i am dreading lunch today.
i have my yearly employee/supervisor meeting with balls today and considering the number of times she has been written up recently i'm sure it will go well.
Probably an argument to be made that it's not at all irrational. Have you spent much time in Ohio (or any of its offspring)? There's a lot to dislike there.
That said, I really really like Wendy's. I consider their fries to be the standard in nationally recognizable drive-through-accessible potato product. Wendy's is my default setting for road-trip meals on Sundays. (The rest of the week, Chick-fil-a has first cut.)
As a kid, I remember being fascinated with the notion of ordering a triple. To date, I don't know if I have ever actually eaten one.
I also used to love the old-timey newspaper motif many Wendy's locations had going on their tables and their bathroom stall walls. For some reason, reading old catalogue entries for hair tonic struck me as endlessly entertaining.
ht, you've sold me. I'm getting Wendy's for lunch today. I'll have a double combo with no pickle, no mustard, no mayo. Dr. Pepper to drink and maybe - just maybe - one of those 99-cent-menu nuggets to round things out.
And, my brother used to live in Dublin, OH. I almost crashed in to the Wendy's compound there while inadvisedly driving to his house from a wedding in Columbus a few Labor Day weekends back.
DIdn't the Harvard house used to sport a retired Wendys old timey newspaper table in the kitchen?
Re: Ohio
Cleveland - Primanti Bros.
Cinci - Chili
Toledo - Strip Clubs
And in the last election the whole damned state went Democratic.
Hell I might even root for the Buckeyes this weekend!!!
O-H-I-O!!!!!
EQ, I too have been fascinated by the triple, mainly because it's basically a cube of meat. I've never got it though.
I think they should rename it "Burger Cubed"
Holy crap.
Maybe that's how best to commemorate this anniversary.
Today, I will order the triple!
Pittsburgh. Cleveland.
One middle-America industrial corpse-town is as good as another.
I remember the first Wendy's burger I ever had - I was relatively old - maybe college. I don't know how that happened - I guess there just aren't any Wendy's in Vienna. Hm. Now that I think about it, I think there are only Mickey D's. Hm. I never realized they had such a lock on the burger market there. Anyways, I remember thinking it was the best fast-food burger I'd ever had. And they were square! What crazy thing will they come up with next?! Another time, driving back home from college over spring break, I felt like hell - was on the tail end of a flu & I hadn't eaten for like 3 days, aside from probably some tea and not much else. We stopped at Wendy's & I was so hungry I was nauseous (which I didn't realize at the time was mega-hunger, you know?), but I got a biscuit. It was lifesaving. It was the best biscuit ever. And I felt human for the first time in days. All hail Wendy's!!
Hm. There is a Wendy's near work. I was going to redeem my frequent-burrito card for a free burrito, but maybe I'll keep that for tomorrow & get a Wendy's burger. I have no opinion on their fries, as I try not to order fries, like ever. But maybe I'll get a small today. Hm.
(It's gonna be a good day on the OWFL.)
Is Primanti Bros the ones who put fries and slaw on your sammie?
I apologize profusely HT.
But Cleveland has a joint that makes the SAME sandwich, even though I am convinced it was created in that wonderful city with the funny river names.
My quest to find the name of the Cleveland thief restaraunt begins now!!
Go Buckeyes!
earthquake is cruisin' for a monumental bruisin'
Oh, no you di'n't, EQ. Them's fightin' words, and as far as shitty Rust Belt cities go, Pittsburgh is by far the best. Fuck all yinz all for implying that we're interchangeable with the mistake by the lake.
Oh, Dave Thomas, how I miss you so!
Dipso, I'm going to excuse your anti-Ohio rant by assuming that it's based on Michigan pride. If it helps at all, I always root for Michigan over Ohio State. See, a lifetime of Wendy's food makes you smart.
In Dublin, OH every year they have the "looking for Wendy" contest. Basically, it's a look-alike contest, and the winner goes to car dealership openings and pumpkin festivals and the like. I think there's also a scholarship involved. Since my red hair comes straight from a bottle, I never entered. But in fifth grade a girl from my class won. She was a total bitch.
HT--they serve both vanilla frostys and fried chicken at the Wendy's near my house.
Now I totally want Wendy's for lunch, but will probably have something sketchy from the work cafeteria instead.
GG - I went to the Wendy's near your house in search of fried chicken a couple of weeks ago, and they did not have it. They only had chicken strips and chicken nuggets. I didn't look for the vanilla frosty, as I was unaware it was available. I'll have to check back though.
Ah yes, in Cleveland the joint is called "Panini's".
They call their special sandwiches the "Overstuffed" sandwiches.
Same as Primanti Brothers in several ways yet I am sure it is inferior...
Wow. I'm torn. Do I continue my devious plan to push ht's buttons and, in so doing, find myself in the queer position of DEFENDING Cleveland?
I'm afraid my penchant for mischief-making does not outweigh my principled stance against Ohio. ht, I concede the primacy of Pittsburgh.
(And, gg, it's not really against all of its offspring, just the state itself.)
(Please pull lever 3F to cast your vote for Earthquake as today's Mr. Popularity.)
Sorry to post again so soon, but today is so my perfec topic. If anyone actually does get a Beef Cubed, please let me know how it turns out. In high school, my friend Keith got a triple with bacon and promptly vomitted. In his own words "Too much meat."
And HT, Tim Hortons aren't limited to our neighbors to the north. We've got a couple in Dublin, and the last time I went to southern Ohio for work, I noticed one. But they may just be limited to Wendy's home turf. They have some damn fine soup.
Way to be repentant, Jo. Thank you. Panini's is obviously an inferior copy of the real joy that is Primanti's.
I still say we should have a conference in Pittsburgh.
I must bring you all to my hometown, and you will all see how wonderful it is. Provided we stay for no more than 48 hours, and you don't wander off the tour. We can all stay at my grandmother's house which is almost totally empty. It can be wall to wall air matresses and we'll consume more sandwiches in a weekend, than some small island nations consume in a lifetime!
I'm down for a Pittsburgh Conference.
Tim Horton's are all over, I see them as I drive past townns I don't wish to stop in.
earthquake you forget where you are. I think a solid majority of OWFLers call the midwest "home". Your backpedaling self deprecation only fuels the anger of those of us from flyover America.
I can't wait to start the "TV Lunch" section on the new site (diz? m? peep?) so I can drop studio 60 references on everyone.
Unfortunatly, I don't think Pittsburgh is in the midwest. Pennsylvania is East Coast baby.
I liked their airport though. Free internet access, no tax on clothes, quaker state wings. Beer on tap.
Now, since my people are from Philly, I have a natrual disdain for the Pitt, but that wouldn't stop me from conferencing there.
Careful Jo, You don't provoke a southern gentleman unless you're ready to duel.
Bring it.
And Western PA is about as far removed from the east coast as Iowa.
In my perfect world there would be a King McWendy's or a Wendy McKing's...complex somewhere. My meal would consist of a whopper with bacon and cheese, fries and nuggets from McDonalds and the monterey ranch chicken sandwich from Wendy's.
I can't include Chik-Fil-A on this one because I would most likely go on a Sunday and those bible thumpers are always freakin' closed.
You sniffed that out gimletgirl.
Josephus, that's enough.
Pistols at dawn it is then.
(And, for the record, this guy ALSO calls the Midwest home, at least in the origins of life and by genetic tagging. Still, the Midwest was not all created equal.)
A girl I dated in 12th grade and I used to go to Wendy's after her basketball games. Throughout the course of our brief but landmark courtship, I think we patronized every Wendy's location in the greater Savannah, Georgia Metropolitan Area.
Ah, those Glory Days...
I hate the OSU insistence on calling it THE Ohio State University.
How about THE biggest douchebags in the universe, that has a better ring to it.
According to www.wendys.com, there are 10 locations in said area. 4 of them are out in God's Country, where I would rarely, if ever, have had occasion to tread. 1 of them did not exist back when I was going out with high school basketball players.
So, I'll stand by having patronized the 5 reasonably available locations.
Hey peeP,
Fuck you.
I feel like a salad today, maybe a QUIZNOS SALAD. Where did they originate?
I am obviously terribly busy today. Perhaps I should claim severe back pain as an excuse instead of just professional indifference.
Two things to think about while I'm off to Wendy's. First, I am actively debating whether to get the Meat Cube or the NEW! Jalapeno Double Cheddar Melt.
Secondly, ht, I mentioned Primanti Bros. to a proximate coworker who also calls the 'Burg home. She assured me it was perhaps the most disgusting sight she has ever seen and swore that she would never dare take me or anyone else to said establishment.
Based on her dining sensibilities relative to mine, that conversation left me with no doubt that it is everything you claim it is, and I look forward to exploring it at some point in the mid-range future.
Hey, it's not the back injury that's keeping me from being productive today, it's the fact that i came to work today.
I should have asked if I could work from home today... I have uncomfortable chairs and CNN ar the crib.
NY is too uppity for me. Nothing good has ever come out of there.
Lunch 911! I just heard that the Eatzi's (the most wondrous, fancy-pants deli/food emporium ever) located conveniently next to my office is closing. Not that any of the rest of you actually work in Rockville, so this isn't major news for you, but it's a devastating blow to my coworkers and me. We may all starve.
GG, when is the closing date.
Me and the Pinger have to get out there one last time before then.
I've heard both "next Thursday" and "Thursday the 16th". So I'd say, hurry. I was just in there for lunch today, though and it seemed really well stocked, with none of their gourmet food stuff (candy, wine, etc.) on clearance. So being open up until Thanksgiving might make sense.
OH snap! It's Lady A vs Quake this week in Fantasy football.
Thanks GG, We'll have to get on up there
I can't bring myself to cheer for Ohio State. There was a time in middle school when I fancied myself a Michigan fan... I like their colors better at the time, and in Michigan, you had to have an opinion on MSU Vs. UofM. Since then, I came to see tha light.
And On saturday, I think everybody should ask themselves, What outcome would be better for the Gators.
Go Blue!
(I may have just thrown up)
Mission accomplished.
Triple ingested.
Not as overwhelming as the residue of my childhood daydreams would have led me to believe, but it was definitely a different experience from my accustomed double.
And, there were no gasps or scratching of records when I placed my order, such as I imagine would accompany a statement like: "Heh. I guess I'll have the Ol' 96er."
I decided that there were too many stars in alignment for me to sell out the decades-long walk toward the Triple for a flash-in-the-pan like the NEW! Jalapeno Double Cheddar Melt, although I was briefly entranced by the siren song of that cheddar cheese sauce.
Mmmm. I got a jr. bacon cheeseburger (according to Wendy's nutrition guide, it has fewer calories & fat grams than a regular hamburger, plus it was only $0.99) and a jr. (although I think they gave me a small) vanilla smoothie. It was good, but I think I prefer the choco. Mmmm.
Oh god. I think I smell fried chicken. Which is what I really wanted from Wendy's. Dammit! Where did somebody get fried chicken around here? There's no Popeye's or KFC! God, it smells good.
So turtle... The white silk? Did it get a stain or did you beat the odds and expectations?
Check it.
Somebody's list of the top 100 albums of all time.
I can't be bothered to learn how to link, so cut & paste this... Bitches.
www.time.com/100albums
ugh. wanna know what not to mix? a Guinness and bourbon hangover with beef pad thai from an Asian fusion place with uncomfortable conversation with someone you despise.
yeah. write that down and avoid it.
go buckeyes
UGH... PADTHAIBOURBONSEMIVOMIT.
LT - a "smootie"??? I think you mean a Frosty, young lady.
EQ - I need to meet this coworker of yours and beat her about the head with a keg of Iron City. "Disgusting"? Fucking blasphemous whore.
And, Sunshine - the 'burgh ain't east coast. We're not quite fully midwest either though. But, we say "pop" where I come from, so that means there's no way we're aligning with the east side. Of course, we also have a slew of other made up words that no one else says, midwest or otherwise, so take that for what it's worth.
Despite my advocating Wendy's for lunch, I had cabbage soup at about 10:30 and I've no plans to go to Wendy's. I think I'll go the gym though, before I meet GG at 6:15. (Ugly Mugg on the Hill, if anyone's interested)
I'm so embarrassed! Yes, Frosty! Agh!
I think my silk shirt beat the odds! When I hung it up, I took a close look & it looked fine! However, this does not preclude a heretofore unseen stain materializing next time I wear it. I don't wear that shirt very often, so check back in a couple of months.
M, it sounds like you've had a shitty day. Sorry, man. The only cure for that? More Guinness & bourbon! Woooo! Bring it on!
What's a "Rockville"?
I just got back from a free Ameriprise paid lunch at Vie de France. I think it was the same guys who e-que used for a similarly free meal a short while back at Baja Fresh.
I had the Tuscan sandwich. Basically an italian sub with roasted red peppers on a baguette. Pretty decent on it's own but tasty when it's free.
I will try to celebrate Wendy's around 3:45. By the by I have had the Wendy's jalapeno melt dealio.
Not so good. i will stick to the double wit cheese or the big bacon classic.
One of my worse hangovers sans vomit was after a late night stop at the Dublin House in NYC when I decided to top the night off with several guinesses and jameson shots (I believe it was 5 of each when we lost count). I woke up with a distended belly and what felt like a mouth full of curdled milk.
Not so good.
I just had Wendy's for the first time. I always never go there since it across tha street from the Burger King and I am a wopper man.
How do they get the square burgers?
The frosty was comfusing. The straws were too thin, or something, but I could not get any to come out. I ended up using a fork to get at it.
Baked potato, Chili? What is this place?
the lady at counter did not have mustache or that big growth on her cheek, so it was prettyer on eyes then Burger king.
I not sure, but will now go to there we shall call it 1 out of every 4 times it is fast food restrant nite...Wednesdays.
I don't drink Guinness to excess unless I'm in Dublin. I'll have one here or there, or one in the morning or early afternoon after a hard night out to settle my stomach, but a) it doesn't taste right here, even at the places that are known for doing a good job with it - the export is just different, not bad, but different. And, b) it's always one of the more expensive ways to get your drink on here, whereas in Dublin, it's the cheapest. Plus, it doesn't feel right waking up feeling like you've spent the night before licking metal anywhere but Ireland. All of that said, it's the best hangover cure out there, especially if you have to drink the next day. A Guinness or two will have you right as rain to repeat the debauched idiocy of the night before. So, M, Peep - step up and get yourselves a couple of pints.
I did not enjoy my quiznos salad. Why did I think I would(, LT)?
Dipso...we are trying to get Quiznos to sponsor the OWFL...your previous comment may need to be deleted or else it could count against us on the google search.
We should nominate ourselves:
http://2006.weblogawards.org/
Oh, SNAP!
Did Lady A just scream "SABOTEUR!" in a crowded theater?
And, totstress, you can have at the shit-talker. I don't much care for her anyway.
One night at The Villager Tavern in Nashville, I found myself in a perfect storm as I sat at the end of the bar with two of the heaviest hitters in the Earthquake Personal Alco-Hall of Fame. You know it's a big night when you drink a Tennessee dive bar out of PBR cans and then switch to Guinness for the last couple hours of the night.
There was a poor kid with delusions of grandeur who tagged along and didn't know he was going to be party to a Ride of the Immortals. He threw up a lot that night. Fortunately, we were also skilled in the warning signs and managed to tell him, "Dude, you're on the sidewalk or in the bathroom RIGHT NOW because I'm not getting thrown out of here on your account, and I'm not sitting at a pukey bar.
God, I miss those guys.
No wendy's for lunch for me, sigh.
Though I did once date a red-headed freckled girl named Wendy.
Is that relevant? Not really.
Ironically she smelled like horsey sauce from Arby's.
Mmmm...horsey sauce.
Does drinking 5 liters of Yuengling on Saturday and passing out at like 8:22 disqualify me from the Quake Alco-Hall of Fame?
I ask because that act kept me from making it to our drinking date? not because 5 liters is a trifle of PA beer.
I'm being censored!?
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
QUIZNO SALADS SUCK
Back to the post title, peeP, 'member when clara peller was in the blossomtime parade?
Admirable performances always help, but, as with any respectable Hall of Fame, high-perfomance and longevity and consistency factor in. You're not disqualified, but you're not in yet.
PS - You missed a good show Saturday night. Between my ill-advised decision to wear an Onion Public Service announcement t-shirt that reads: "Let the fucking begin" to a lesbian folk music show and my insistence that I was another "different kind of lady" whom we were celebrating with "A Different Kind of Ladies Night," I was in rare form, and that was at 9PM.
The Wendy's Triple is sitting remarkably well. I almost regret not getting the bacon on it.
beer can do no wrong. i blame my current state on the pad thai.
i don't remember the guinness being especially expensive.. (i also don't remember missing my train stop and having mau pick me up at 2something.. hahah.. she was asleep)... i'm pretty sure the bartender kept sliding Peep free drinks..
did anyone ever read the blog of that guy that actually did the guiness diet for a full week?
Dipso...THAT'S IT...I'm putting you ON the posting schedule multiple times next month!!!
And guess what those posts are gonna be about...
miso,
pick up some of whatever ham, other meat & cheese are on special in your supermarket's deli, along with some rolls and make sammies at work.
Deli at Work!
That has a nice ring to it...
Dipso, I'm going to ignore your last post, and surmise that you didn't get the flatbread chopped salad. The garlicky flatbread is the key to a good salad.
Or maybe the Quizno's near you just bites.
Oh my god!! I just googled 'quizno's salads' and we've slipped to 4th place! Behind quizno's, quiznosroseville (some local quizno's - in Minnesota of all places), and some fucking site called carbwire. WTF?!? Who the hell are they slipping into our #2 spot?!?!?
It was a chopped, and the flatbread was the best part, no doubt. But the greens and fixins seemed far from fresh and the bacon looked like baco-bits soaked in water.
BEAUJOLAIS NOVEAU IS TONIGHT!
yes DC friends...i sent a bunch of people emails on it tonight, but i only have enough room for 6 people. sorry for last minute, but we'll be doing it again at les hallese (1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW) and the reservation is at 10pm. let me know if you wanna do it...they've got good steak...yum! and of course, i promise not to buy a really expensive wine this time (that was seriously an accident...swear to god!)
everyone else needs to do it tonight where ever you are. it's a blast!
BEAUJOLAIS NOVEAU IS TONIGHT!
yes DC friends...i sent a bunch of people emails on it tonight, but i only have enough room for 6 people. sorry for last minute, but we'll be doing it again at les hallese (1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW) and the reservation is at 10pm. let me know if you wanna do it...they've got good steak...yum! and of course, i promise not to buy a really expensive wine this time (that was seriously an accident...swear to god!)
everyone else needs to do it tonight where ever you are. it's a blast!
Quake,
Was KaBoom the place that you apply to out of habit? Cuz they're advertising a position on Craigs List.
You bet. I once went there for an interview after lunch.
They build playgrounds. After the first four years, I just started including a copy of my resume with the Christmas card I sent every year.
Wow, way to steer this train back on topic.
And to continue the trend:
Lunch today was not from Wendy's. I couldn't make the 3.3 blocks. So I went to the Park Place Gourmet and got me a Georgetown Club on a sub roll. It was savory and didn't require careful planning to eat it without having the layers sliding and falling apart.
Have you seen their new viral campaign? It is weird: http://www.bbv99.com/default4.aspx
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