Posted on 06/11/2006 12:55:28 PM PDT by billorites
Wendy's International Inc. (NYSE:WEN - news), the No. 3 U.S. hamburger chain, on Friday said it would remove the term "Biggie" from its french fries and drinks, switching to the well known terms small, medium and large.
However, the new designations may confuse some diners who are used to such sizing at other restaurants.
At rival McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD - news), the largest burger chain, a 32 ounce soft drink is designated a large. At Wendy's, a 32 ounce drink will now be called medium, instead of Biggie.
Wendy's is also adding a 42-ounce soft drink -- the equivalent of 3-1/2 cans of soda -- as its large. The large drink will come in a more durable, portable plastic cup that fits in a car cup holder for diners on-the-go.
"We felt like the Biggie designation is not what most customers were used to. Most people were used to small, medium and large," a spokesman said.
Wendy's had used the term Biggie since the early 1990s.
Previously, Wendy's sold a 16 ounce soft drink as a small, a 20 ounce soft drink as medium and a 32 ounce soft drink as Biggie. Now, a 20 ounce drink is a small, a 32 ounce drink is a medium and the new 42 ounce drink is a large. The company will still sell a 16 ounce drink on its 99 cent value menu.
At McDonald's, a 16 ounce drink is called a small, a 21 ounce drink is a medium and a 32 ounce drink is a large.
McDonald's famously removed the "Super Size" option from its combo meals after the 2004 release of the film "Super Size Me" -- a documentary in which filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald's fare for a month and tracked his increasingly poor health.
Kids' sized drinks at both chains are 12 ounces.
Under Wendy's new program, the sizes of its combo meals will be small, medium and large. A medium combo will cost 49 cents more than a small, and a large combo will cost 89 cents more than a small.
Customers can still substitute a bottle of Dasani water for a soft drink, and items such as a side salad, chili or yogurt and granola for french fries, regardless of the combo size.
Wendy's has four different sizes of french fries, ranging from the 3.2 ounce kids' size to a 6.7 ounce large size. At McDonald's, a small fries is 2.6 ounces, medium is 4 ounces and large is 6 ounces.
The new sizing terminology, which Wendy's is promoting in stores, comes just a day after the chain said it would virtually eliminate artery-clogging trans fats in its fries and breaded chicken items.
Wendy's restaurants in the United States and Canada will switch to a new blend of corn and soy oil for french fries and breaded chicken items starting in August. The move will reduce trans fats in fries to just zero to 0.5 grams, depending on serving sizes, while all of the breaded chicken will have zero grams of trans fats.
Think outside the pizza box. Nothing wrong with large if the government mandates healthy toppings, like liver, brewer’s yeast, and blackstrap molasses.
I lost around 10 lbs. over a few months just by reducing the amount of soft drinks in my diet. Didn't change anything else in my diet or exercise level during that time. I now drink flavored selzer water (0 calorie) at work, where I used to drink several cans of soda per day. Now, losing another 10 lbs. would get me pretty close to my ideal weight.
While I must point out that this(and other recent moves)by Wendy's is just a lot of P.R.BullSh*T,"Biggie" fries were GREAT for a couple of people!If ONE person ate them all by themselves,then they OVERINDULGED!Is there something in The US Constitution that prohibits this?No,there ISN'T!!This whole fast food scenario has been framed with HEALTH CARE COSTS(The Government)!!!There was a time when each individual(and family)were responsible for their respective HEALTH CARE!!!!!Now that The Government is involved,lokk forward to Government Health Care Workers monitoring WHAT WE EAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish the food police would choke on a veggie and leave my fast food alone! Give me the fat!
I haven't read through all of the replies, but Domino's does have a "Personal Size" pizza. It's too cheap for them to deliver, but if you pick it up, it's just fine.
My other problem is I never used to watch the number of grams in anything. So I find myself eating extra pieces of bread as there isn't a carb supplement that I really like
To me, a 16" pizza IS "personal size." :-)
You should have tried my "low carb" pizza I made at home. Browned ground round spread on the bottom of a glass baking pan, topped with green peppers, onions, mounds of shredded mozzarella and provolone, a few splashes of Ragu pizza sauce, and topped wall to wall with pepperoni and ham. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, and eat.
Sounds good, unlike my vision of hell in #121.
... and who needs high butter fat premium ice cream (me!) ... ? We can all have ice milk. :-(
In a related story, McDonalds says goodbye to Tupac.
Some Friday nights my large family will get two Costco pizzas. We end up eating it for breakfast and sometimes lunch the next day.
I think that would be a good idea. There isn't an obesity problem in North Korea.
It's interesting that you mention soda. Since my last pregnancies I have had a habit of drinking water more than anything else. My husband loves his soda, though. I will only drink it if I am sneaking some out of his cup. Yet, if I am given a 12 oz.can of soda I usually end up leaving exactly half.
That really pissed me off when they got rid of the SuperSize drink... I used to get a SuperSized Iced Tea and a breakfast burrito.
Now, I go to Quik Trip, which is a convenience store. They've got fresh-brewed iced tea, and a 54oz thermal mug. It's great!
You might check out your closest convenience store.
Mark
I remember I tried the Hardees Monster Thickburger the week it came out. I drove 10 miles out of my way and I ordered that, medium fries and a Coke. I am a small and thin man, but somehow managed to eat all that in an hour. That meat just sat in my stomach, I literally wasn't hungry for the whole next day. Good riddance to the Biggie, Super Size and all those, one must really be a lardo to eat all that regularly!
Pizza is always better the next day – like lasagna and spaghetti.
Ouch!
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