hello everyone this is Running on Empty Food review
well hello ladies gentlemen and everyone watching welcome one and all to this newest edition of The
Running on Empty Food review series I'm your host to the report of the week thanks for checking in
well let's get right into things Wendy's has a new release out compared to some establishments
Wendy's isn't the most frequent uh releaser of new items you could say certainly you have places
like Taco Bell and Burger King which release far more items at a far more of a frequent rate you
could say than Wendy's but then again Wendy's does release more stuff than say McDonald's and places
like that but every now and then Wendy's will release a new item usually it's a new sandwich
a new side a new sauce or something to that extent and I have to say a trend that you've obviously
seen for I mean years at this point is spicy food there's always that appeal there's always that
draw you have one establishment after the next that says oh this is going to be the spiciest you
know whatever this might be the spiciest chicken sandwich the spiciest Wings the spiciest fries
spiciest burrito or whatever and then you try it out and then of course it's it's nowhere near as
spicy as they claim and Wendy's is no stranger to that there have been times in the past where they
say oh we have this new ghost pepper sauce we have this new ghost pepper sandwich etc etc and
I've tried it out before and then nine times out of ten it's nowhere near as spicy as emphasized
but I think we really all know that going in but I will say this just before we even get into the
description of this item this item stands out to me in a unique way and by that I mean this has
to be by far the most extensive incorporation of ghost pepper I have ever seen in a fast food item
because most of the time and like I said I've reviewed many a Spicy sandwich before usually
they have one ghost pepper component if that's the route that they're going to take so it might
be a ghost pepper sauce over ghost pepper cheese you know just One Singular element this on the
other hand has multiple elements that involve ghost pepper and I'm genuinely curious if this
is going to make a substantial difference or not so with that Wendy's has just released the
ghost pepper ranch chicken sandwich and here's what I mean if we break it down by ingredient
it comes with a spicy chicken fillet now that's just the regular chicken fillet where it just has
the spicy mostly like a black pepper seasoning that's in the breading of the chicken itself so
that's going to be the meat of the sandwich then it is topped with a ghost pepper infused American
cheese so there's going to be Spice in the cheese then it has ghost pepper seasoned crispy onions
so it has those little crispy onion strings on it that's going to have Ghost Pepper in it
it has lettuce tomato and then it has a ghost pepper ranch sauce so you have three distinct
components of this that all have ghost pepper and then you have the chicken itself which by
default is spicy it's available for the price of eight dollars just for the sandwich itself
so a little pricey but I have to admit that compared to many of the other items that I
have seen released over the years this does stand out to me uniquely because I have never
seen such an emphasis on ghost pepper usually it's just one component that's it I am just
curious genuinely if this is going to really be a genuinely Spicy sandwich because it seems like
they're really priming it for uh for maximum spice it's just going to be something interesting to see
now granted and I think we all know this but when it does come down to these sorts of spicy items
we know that even if they say that it's ghost pepper it's nowhere near as spicy as like what
you see on some of those food shows where the guy eats a ghost pepper and you know is practically
dying as a result of that you know it's never going to be that spicy but I'm just curious
if this actually is just a bit spicier than than average comes in the wrapping right there
and now let's take a look at the sandwich itself here goes so you can see I don't know how well
you could see it but to me it seems like it does have a little bit more of like an orange Hue to it
so you could see the chicken fillet threaded the little black pepperoni
so the cheese American cheese is supposed to have some ghost pepper in it those onion strings which
again seem a little bit more orange at least from my point of view have ghost pepper and then all
that sauce the white stuff there is also supposed to have ghost pepper you see the lettuce the bun
I'll say on a and you could kind of see right there that little bit of red that's the tomato
and there is the sandwich itself
purely from an aesthetic point of view it does look like a complete sandwich once again there's
a good look at it but the main thing that I want to discern today is whether or not it's spicy and
of course if it tastes good but I am just really curious with all of these spicy elements to it
how hot is it actually so I'm just going to Dive Right In right here get a full taste of that ranch
and all the various toppings let's find out again it's available for the price of eight
dollars just for the sandwich itself the Wendy's ghost pepper ranch chicken sandwich going in
if you're wondering what that is this little Loop looking thing that's an interdimensional portal
and it's a new technology there's a little knob right here that you can kind of turn
and there's these little markers on it and each one is a different fast food establishment
so it saves on delivery costs so I turn it right there and now it's set to Wendy's and
then what they'll do there's another one of these at the Wendy's itself and
the food will just materialize through it when it's ready and it saves on the delivery costs
well there's definitely some spice to this item
I will say because I try to just focus when I when I try out these spicy items
a lot of the time I just want to assess the spice just let it you know sink in a bit and try to see
how how spicy is it really you know and as the spice immediate as they have an aftertaste Etc
I will say this there is some spice to it but given the emphasis that you
see in terms of the ingredients on ghost pepper it's disappointingly underwhelming
now I say that purely from a spice point of view as far as how the item tastes I have no complaints
but as far as how spicy the item itself actually is it's disappointing because when you see this
and it's bull stood up so much like I said it's Unique in that there were so many components
emphasizing the ghost pepper and I know these days ghost pepper isn't the spiciest thing there's like
a Time 10 15 years ago where ghost pepper was assumed to be one of the uh spiciest peppers
out there but I know now that there are things that are just leagues above that as far as spice
goes but you know ghost pepper nonetheless is still regarded as being pretty spicy
when you have all of these components and I'm able to sit here maintain my composure I don't
even need to take a sip of water or milk or unknown substance Etc to try to quell the spice
calm down the Flames a little bit and I could just sit here and articulate it
then it's not the spiciest thing by any means and I know that for sure because I remember years ago
there was a time where I tried out these wings from an establishment they're like a chain up in
New York and it's called Planet Wings and I try out the spiciest Wings on their menu and those
wings are revealed legitimate spicy thing and the experience is totally different from that of
eating the sandwich when I tried out those really spicy wings I think it was back in in 2013 or so
I took that first bite and it was immediate you know it hit me immediately it was just a unique
feeling I remember it's like all this Blood rushed to my face everything started getting
numb it was just a unique experience this on the other hand I bite into it
chewing all right it could taste a little bit of spice here and there okay
chewing a little bit more I could taste the chicken I could taste the the tomato and the
lettuce and there's the onion you know I'm still eating right swallow it down there's
a little bit of a spicy aftertaste all right the spicy aftertaste lingers on a little bit
and it's gone so when you have something that's emphasized as being super spicy it's got ghost
pepper this ghost pepper that ghost pepper that spicy chicken all of these spicy components
and I'm able to sit here and eat it as though it's just either a mildly spicy item or maybe just like
medium at most then it's disappointing because it's being portrayed as something that it's not
and that needs to be emphasized as far as the taste goes tastes fine chicken is of good quality
this is another thing sometimes with these really spicy items the spice is so potent and so strong
that it it cancels out or I should say perhaps it outweighs the flavors of everything else so
when you eat it all you could taste is the spice this is not one of those items I could distinctly
taste the chicken and it's of good quality it's tender it's juicy tastes good it's flavorful
the ranch you would think that the ranch would have perhaps the most potent spiciness to it
because obviously it's smothered in that ranch and they say that it has the ghost pepper in it
but instead no I could taste the sharpness of the ranch paradoxically it almost seems like
it's got a little bit of a cooling property yet that's supposed to have the ghost pepper in it
same thing with the cheese and the onions
all right yeah you could taste a little bit of a spice from each but it's marginally spicy
I would almost be willing to suggest or to submit that's the right word that the spice that exists
in the onions the cheese and the ranch is almost on the same level as just what you would get in
the spicy chicken filet itself and obviously if you've had a spicy chicken sandwich from Wendy's
before then you kind of know the level of spice it's like a black pepper spice totally doable
odds are you don't really need anything to wash it down with perhaps if you're
a bit sensitive to spice that's one thing but generally speaking it's tolerable it's bearable
it's really no different than that so they could go they could call it ghost pepper
but when the ghost pepper perhaps exists in such limited quantities that it's barely
discernible it's barely detectable Perhaps it is there the name only
you need to be aware of that and unless you're really sensitive to spice the sandwich will make
itself out to be something that's supposed to be really really spicy but generally speaking
it's indistinguishable from any other sort of spicy chicken sandwich out there as a matter
of fact there are plenty of other spicy chickens sandwiches that I would say are spicier than this
it's still Pleasant tasting it's still with good quality the ingredients are fresh I Gotta Give
Them credit the tomato and the lettuce have a nice fresh crisp to them and that's nice to see
and the onion strings have a nice little crunch that really helps texturally
and it works it Blends together nicely with everything it's not a bad sandwich
but as I said when they make this seem like it's so so spicy and then I'm able
to sit here without taking as much of a single sip of any water or other beverage
then just understand this is the same as many other establishments they'll say it's really spicy
in reality it's not it's not a bad sandwich just don't get this expecting this to be the spiciest
thing you've ever eaten because if you go in with that expectation you will be disappointed
so in conclusion not a bad sandwich tastes fine quality wise but if you're getting this
solely for the Spice you will be let down it's no different than just a basic spicy chicken sandwich
they could call it whatever they want to call it but that doesn't change what it is in reality
it's slightly overpriced as well eight dollars for just a basic spicy chicken sandwich that is a bit
disappointing so therefore out of ten what am I going to be rating the ghost pepper ranch chicken
sandwich despite it being of good quality taste wise I also have to factor in the advertising is
it what they say it is no it's not therefore out of ten I am going to be giving it a 6 out of ten
if you're looking for a tasty sandwich sure it's fine if you're looking for a
Spicy sandwich I'd say look elsewhere that's all that I have for you thank
you for watching and until next time I'm your host the report of the week