There Are Five Standard Baked Potato Options In The Us
Whether they’re a fan of Wendy’s baked potatoes or not, the vast majority of people know they exist. We’d also venture that most of us are at least vaguely aware that the item can be served with various toppings. In fact, Wendy’s baked potatoes aren’t just available with a la carte additions, but, according to the website, are sold in five standard varieties as of 2022.
Aside from the classic plain baked potato, the standard menu options include cheese, sour cream and chives, chili and cheese, and bacon and cheese. There’s no shortage of potential additional toppings at one’s disposal, as well. However, the availability of these five classic menu options can simplify the ordering process for the overwhelmed.
While it’s hard to argue that cheese, bacon, chili, or sour cream improves the nutritional appeal of a Wendy’s baked potato, it’s still a better option than fries. After all, the base potato is a healthy canvas on which to build a meal.
Wendy’s Potato Preppers Says They’re Probably Microwaved Not Baked
If you’re making yourself a baked potato at home, the easiest option is to microwave it the traditional baking method can take an hour. But we all know that a hot, foil-wrapped, fresh-from-the-oven potato is going to taste better than one you nuked for a few minutes, which is why many of us who are having urgent spud cravings head to Wendy’s. The official word from Lori Estrada, Wendy’s VP of culinary innovation, is that the chain uses ovens to prepare this menu item . A former employee on Reddit, however, warns they might not always be freshly oven-baked, saying, “If you come during/at the end of a lunch or dinner rush and you order a baked potato, there’s a decent chance you’re getting a microwaved potato.”
When Did Wendys Start Selling Baked Potatoes
Wendys opened in 1969, but the baked potato didnt hit their menu until 1983. In 1985, Wendys added a reduced-calorie menu that also included a tuna-stuffed tomato and a cottage cheese and pineapple salad. Neither of these items made it to todays menu, but the baked potato is still holding strong.
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White Castle Chicken Rings
We’ll admit that the phrase “chicken rings” doesn’t necessarily evoke the same mouth-watering reaction as “onion rings.” But we changed our tune when we sampled this White Castle side dish. It’s the perfect substitute for those of us who love fried chicken but have always dreamed of eating it in the form of an onion ring.
What Happened To Potato Soup At Panera
- It kills me to find out that Panera Bread has removed Baked Potato soup from their menu since the reintroduction of French Onion soup since this reunion has been so thrilling nonetheless, the return of French Onion soup.
- Food the way it should be is the belief slogan used by Panera Bread.
- The food products offered by Panera Bread ought to be easily accessible at their various restaurant locations.
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What Happens To Unsold Baked Potatoes
Its inevitable when preparing food in anticipation of demand for it, that some of the food will go to waste. Though restaurants can anticipate a certain number of orders for baked potatoes, these numbers will never be 100% consistent, and on a day that they expect to receive 200 baked potato orders, they might only receive 195. So what happens to those last 5 potatoes?
Restaurants like to make use of every single ingredient they have at their disposal, and this even applies to leftovers. Restaurants that have leftover potatoes will often choose to use them for different purposes the next day.
The most common usage for leftover potatoes is for soup bases. Many soup recipes contain potatoes, which help to thicken a soup up and give it a more satisfying texture.
Leftover potato can even be used to help create dishes like fishcakes, which make use of potato to make them soft and fluffy on the inside, while still being crispy on the outside. There are so many ways to make use of potatoes, hence why they are such popular and versatile vegetables, both in home kitchens and even in the top restaurants in the world!
Do Restaurants Microwave Baked Potatoes
There may be some restaurants out there that certainly do make baked potatoes in a microwave oven, though very few would ever admit to it. This can help to significantly lessen the strain on kitchen staff, as ovens wont be taken up by potatoes that take up to an hour to bake. This is incredibly useful for small restaurants with small kitchens.
It is unlikely that more prestigious restaurants would use microwaves to make baked potatoes, as it would be a significant hit to their reputation if such a secret were to get out.
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Wendy’s Baked Potatoes Are Sometimes Microwaved
The biggest revelation on Reddit about Wendy’s baked potatoes is that, sometimes, employees nuke the potatoes instead of baking them. “If you come during/at the end of a lunch or dinner rush and you order a baked potato, there’s a decent chance you’re getting a microwaved potato,” one user confessed. This claim is at odds with the official company word on the matter. “We cook them from a raw state, in an oven, wrapped in foil, baked for an hour, just like you would at home,” Lori Estrada, Wendy’s VP of culinary innovation, told Thrillist.
Jereme Allison, who says he worked at Wendy’s, agreed that this was usually the plan, but noted, “There were a few times .. we did use the microwave to rush some potatoes this may have been because we were running low or suddenly received a larger than expected rush on potatoes, but we always tried to keep to oven-baked potatoes for our customers,” he wrote on Quora.
Even when the spud’s perfectly baked, otherwise ill-prepared potatoes have been the source of customer rage on Twitter. “@Wendys your clap backs to your competition are great, but your Baked Potatoes … not so much. Got back to the office and barely a sprinkle of chili. #Disappointed,” tweeted one customer with a picture of a potato that sported only a few lonely beans. Other Twitter complaints mention rotten potatoes, small potatoes and a that looks … pre-eaten?
Taco Bell Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes
They say money can’t buy happiness, but the money we spent on Taco Bell’s cheesy fiesta potatoes definitely made us question that assertion. The basic dish is fairly simple: potatoes, nacho cheese sauce, and sour cream. If you’re willing to pay a few extra bucks, there are toppings galoreâguacamole, creamy jalapeno sauce, beans, rice, and meats are some of the most popular options. After having to say goodbye to this item for a bit before its return to menus, we’ve come to love and appreciate the side dish even more.
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But They Are A Logistical Nightmare
So if the baked potato is such a cheap and healthy option, why is Wendy’s the only fast food chain to currently serve them all across America? Like Arby’s, Carl’s Jr. has previously experimented with serving baked potatoes. And during Burger King’s ill-fated attempt to bring sit-down restaurant vibes to their chain, they introduced a “Dinner Basket” line which featured baked spuds as a side. Why does it seem so hard for fast food restaurants to give baked potatoes a spot on their menus?
The answer comes down to logistics. While the potatoes only really require baking to prepare, it requires a lot of organization, Estrada explains.
“If you’ve ever cooked baked potatoes at home, you know it takes a while,” Estrada said. “And we cook them from a raw state, in an oven, wrapped in foil, baked for an hour, just like you would at home.” Wendy’s also had to introduce new convection ovens to every single one of their locations to make the potatoes — an expensive move.
“It’s a challenge to serve them”
“It’s a challenge, operationally, to be able to serve them, and have them ready for every customer who comes through our doors,” she says. “I can only guess that aspect has made it hard for other places to be willing to put something like this into production.”
The Potatoes Are Baked For 60 Minutes In A Convection Oven
If there’s one trope of substandard fast food joints, it’s an overreliance on microwaves. Now, we’re not here to bash the appliance. Yet, it’s hard to feel anything but frustration when you spend your hard-earned money on an old food item that’s been merely zapped to mimic freshness. Thankfully, as Wendy’s VP of culinary innovation Lori Estrada told Thrillist in 2017, the restaurant’s potatoes are cooked in the oven, wrapped in foil, where they wait for an entire hour.
According to Lancaster Online, Wendy’s baked potatoes are cooked for 60 minutes at 375 degrees. Even though some people argue that you should never bake a potato in foil, doing so helps to retain moisture, helping to ensure that Wendy’s baked potatoes don’t turn into dried-out husks.
Perhaps we should have expected Wendy’s to do things the right way rather than the easy way when it comes to potatoes. While microwaves have a place in the culinary world, part of what makes Wendy’s baked potatoes to delicious is this oven-baked preparation.
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What Are Some Good Soups At Saltgrass Steak House
- Christina Farooq says that the baked potato soup is exceptionally velvety, and that if youre looking for a novel approach to eating salads, you can try a ckn caesar sandwich.
- Mike Pierce Mireles: You should try the Potato Soup since it is quite tasty.
- Saltgrass Steak House, marie Cortez recommends ordering the range rattlers, and you really should!
- I really enjoy the potato soup, along with a beautiful steak or some of the shrimp and tenders:)
How To Make Microwave Baked Potatoes:
Lets talk specifics about the timing.
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Popeyes Red Beans And Rice
Add a taste of Louisiana to your meal with the seasoned rice and beans from Popeyes. Full of flavor, these beans are an option you won’t find at most fast-food restaurants.
We’re also fans of Popeyes mac and cheese, though it’s currently only available at some franchise locations of the chain. Even the late Anthony Bourdain loved this Popeyes dish.
What Are The Side Dishes Of Potato Soup
- If potato soup is being served as the main course at a meal, it is generally served alongside several different types of side dishes.
- The accompaniments that are served with this soup frequently include starch-based components like bread or rice, as well as high-fiber items like salads and other vegetables.
- Are you curious about the accompaniments that go with potato soup?
- Lets go to the most fascinating portion of this now, shall we?
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You Might Not Be Able To Get The Potato Toppings You Crave
Potatoes aren’t the only ingredient Wendy’s sometimes runs out of the goodies that go on top of those taters can be in short supply as well. The Wendy’s menu lists five different baked potato options: plain, sour cream and chive, cheese, bacon cheese, and chili & cheese . This seemingly wide assortment is all talk according to one marketing blogger Moz, who was jonesing for a bacon cheese potato, only to be told that sour cream and chive was the only option a response that prompted an outburst of profanity from this bacon-craving customer. “So, basically I drove all the way to Wendy’s for the sole purpose of getting a bacon and cheese baked potato which was advertised on their website, only to find out that they don’t carry those any more,” the blogger raged, adding that this false advertising is the very example of a poor customer experience.
Others felt similar heartbreak when the chain removed the broccoli and cheese option from the menu. As one customer vented on , “Hey Wendy’s the broccoli and cheese potato was literally the only thing I liked at your establishment and had been eating it for years. I wonder how many other customers you are because you decided to take 1 little item off your menu. Not that you care that I walked out the door at my local restaurant this evening. I’ll never be back.”
Wichita Baked Potato Delivery And Pickup
With Uber Eats, you can enjoy the best Baked Potato Wichita offers without ever having to leave your home. The places that offer Baked Potato for delivery or pickup may vary depending on your Wichita delivery address so be sure to check out which spots offer delivery to home, work, a friends housewherever it is that you may want to enjoy some delicious Baked Potato. If youd rather get your Baked Potato order yourself, see if there are any businesses in Wichita offering pickup.
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How Do Restaurants Bake Potatoes So Fast
Whenever you decide to have baked potatoes at home, it requires a little more than an hour to prepare them traditionally. The baking process is time-consuming, and you will drool at the thought of having your hands on them.
On the other hand, the same dish is ready in about 15 to 20 minutes at a restaurant. It can be confusing because some customers may believe that restaurants do not serve fresh dishes since it seems impossible to prepare baked potatoes so quickly.
Let us assure you that this is not the case. Restaurants use a combination of methods to bake potatoes quickly. They cannot keep the customers waiting for long periods. Hence they have to come up with alternatives that ensure tasty potatoes in less time. We will discuss the tips below on how restaurants bake potatoes so fast.
Where Can You Find Wendy’s Baked Potatoes
If Wendy’s does decide to do away with their baked potatoes, it would truly be a disservice to spud fans across the country. Aside from a select 250 Arby’s locations scattered around the U.S. and Canada that serve baked potatoes, the chain remains to be the sole fast food eatery to dish out this side at almost every freestanding Wendy’s . While you can grab this item across multiple countries, Taste of Home reports that these items are not on the menu at the chain’s locations in Mexico.
Foodbeast estimates that the brand has been able to turn its spuds into a menu item that brings in around $2 million a week. Logistics plays a key role, according to Wendy’s VP of Culinary Innovation Lori Estrada, who explained to Thrillist that the chain’s baked potatoes have to cook for an hour in convection ovens that were installed into every restaurant location at a pretty hefty cost. “It’s a challenge, operationally, to be able to serve them, and have them ready for every customer who comes through our doors,” Estrada said. “I can only guess that aspect has made it hard for other places to be willing to put something like this into production.”
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What Are The Best Side Dishes With Potato Soup
The following mouthwatering side dishes are ideal companions for potato soup: blt chopped salad, mashed potato puffs, brussels sprouts salad, dinner rolls, spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, sauteed kale, pomegranate wild rice salad, german pretzels, coleslaw, chicken legs, garlic bread, baked beans, strawberry spinach salad, corn on the cob, and herb.
What Is The Best Potato To Use For Soup
Any variety of potato, including Russet potatoes, may be transformed into a flavorful soup, although the waxy species tend to create the most satisfying end product. Potatoes such as Yukon Gold potatoes, red potatoes, and fingerling potatoes have a moderate level of starch and are able to maintain their form quite well when cooked in soups.
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Sonic Chili Cheese Tater Tots
In case you needed additional proof that fries are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potato-based side dishes, Sonic’s chili cheese tater tots are here to drive home the point in the tastiest way possible. In addition to chili and cheese, the tots come smothered with onions, pickled jalapenos, and ranch dressing. Honestly, we’re starving just thinking about it.
What Fast Food Places Have Soup
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