French toast occupies a nebulous space in the breakfast continuum. On the one side, you’ve got muffins, doughnuts, and pancakes as sweet breakfasts, then you have eggs, hash browns, and bacon/sausage over on the savory breakfast side. Then you have French toast in this kind of no-man’s-land, some kind of breakfast purgatory, where it’s sort of savory because of the egg flavor, but then you drown it in syrup, and it becomes sweet. Make up your mind, French toast!
Obviously, as a French toast skeptic, I had concerns going into Homestyle French Toast Sticks, the new breakfast item from Wendy’s. However, Wendy’s got around this identity crisis by frying the crap out of these things to the point where classifications like “sweet” and “savory” become lost in an oily confection that makes deep-fried Oreo cookies look healthy. Harsh words? Perhaps, but notice I did not say that I didn’t enjoy it.
According to Wendy’s, this new menu item “delivers a mouthful of flavor, striking the perfect texture balance of a soft custardy interior and crisp, golden-brown crust.” Okay, I will give them that: the texture contrast is really nice. The very deep-fried tasting sticks have lovely little caramelized edges that clash wonderfully with the lightly egg-flavored bread. However, texture and flavor are two different things, and flavor balance is where Wendy’s might have stumbled a little.
When I ordered these, Wendy’s staff told us to move aside from the drive-through line so they could make them to order. Now, I have faith in the Wendy’s work ethic, but I’m pretty sure this did not mean cracking eggs and cooking the sticks in the pan. They are likely fried to order, which is why the overall feeling of “fried” is so strong. Four or six piece sizes are available; I got the six because of course I got the six.
When I dipped my nose into the bag containing these little guys, as one does, the smell actually reminded me of carnival funnel cake, which is weird because I don’t think I’ve had funnel cake in a decade. These treats are a good size too, more like long wedges as opposed to sticks. When I bit into one, the decadent flavor of carbs fried in oil went to work on my tongue while my brain tried to remember that I was still looking for other flavors. There is an egg flavor in there, but it’s a little subtle; this likely does not taste like your grandma’s French toast because it’s just not eggy enough. When you dip these sticks into the syrup provided, the sweetness overrides everything, and the egg flavor is no longer discernible.
That said, these things are hella addictive. I had been planning to save the last strip for my husband, except I got lost in a kind of sugary breakfast haze and inhaled every single one. I was left looking at an empty plate with a few dots of syrup on it, wondering how I got here. It was quite enjoyable, but I think I’ve used up my allowance for fried foods for the rest of the month.
Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 6 sticks
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 490 calories, 25 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 175 milligrams of cholesterol, 550 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.
Great review! When I first read Wendy’s press release a few weeks ago I was hopeful that there was actual custard filling inside. That would be amazing! But alas it was just a description of the texture. I hit mine with some strawberry topping though and I was quite pleased 😀
These look and sound SO. GOOD. Unfortunately, even though I live in the 3rd largest city in the country…and in a particularly popular (and populated) neighborhood…I couldn’t, for the life of me, even tell you where the nearest Wendy’s is. For that matter, I haven’t eaten at a Wendy’s in probably about 10 years.
These kind of remind me of a microwavable breakfast food that my sister and I had, as kids (minus the fried, crispy outside, since, well: microwave). I remember loving those suckers, growing up. So much, so, that on my trip to Target, this afternoon, I scoured the freezer section for them (or something similar). I did find two lone boxes of an Eggo variety…but then (1) realized that they didn’t come with microwavable syrup packets, (2) remembered that I haven’t had syrup in my kitchen for about a decade, and (3) came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to buy an entire, big bottle of syrup, which I’d likely never use before it went bad, just to satisfy a sudden, recent craving.
Syrup doesn’t really go bad.
If you like French toast sticks, you should really try the Farm Rich Cinnamon French toast sticks. I love those. The only problem is, there are only 12 in the box. They need to sell a bigger size.
Haha I couldn’t agree with you more. They are great and I always wonder where the family size is.
I tried the french toast sticks for the first time. What a disappointment! They were tasteless and terrible! Not enough sweetness and they should have cinnamon added to them. The syrup they give you is very thin and not good tasting either. Never going to get them again. Yuck!
Good for you
I agree with Charlene. I tried them today for the first time because the commercial made them look so good. I was very disappointed. I will not be wasting $4 for six french toast sticks that I didn’t even finish. Not worth the calories.
They don’t look ok like there’s any egg on them. Can someone check this out? The original review says it’s barely there – but isn’t the egg what french toast is all about?
Yes! Egg is what makes them unique
You all are ridiculous!
$3.99 for a piece of fried toast? Wow
Come on everyone. At the most Wendy ‘s should be charging is $2.
Most people are gullible.
I doubt you will publish this comment.