Subway Slicers and Taco Bell Hacks: The Week’s Top Fast Food News

When Subway announced last year that it would be removing pre-sliced meat from its assembly line and adding automatic deli slicers to its more than 20,000 locations, the intention was to improve the chain’s overall sandwich quality. Just six months after this systemwide change, however, Restaurant Business reports Subway’s on-site deli slicers are not having the intended effect, and might even be hurting franchise locations. - Angela L. Pagán Read More

The simple, salty, and oh-so-satisfying combination of sausage, egg, and cheese on a buttermilk biscuit is a fast food breakfast staple for good reason. But which SEC biscuit is the best? After several months’ worth of tasting, ranking, and re-ranking these deceptively simple sandwiches, I believe I’m come away with the answers.Let’s get to the biscuit bracket. - Josh Wussow Read More

Subway’s newest menu has officially launched nationwide, and the three new lengthy treats, though equal in size, are not so evenly matched when it comes to quality. The Subway Sidekicks menu doesn’t have a sandwich in sight—it includes a footlong cookie, footlong churro, and footlong pretzel. Which ones are worth ordering? - Angela L. Pagán Read More

Taco Bell recently overhauled its Cravings Value Menu, and it’s definitely an improvement. The revamped menu features several new items, all at a price of $3 and under. That’s obviously a welcome change, as fast food value menus have lost much of their actual value lately. But even more notable is how Taco Bell customers have been taking advantage of the menu changes: some have figured out how to “hack” the value menu to slash the price of quesadillas in half. - Dennis Lee Read More

Becoming “beverage-focused” is a savvy move in fast food. The chain formerly known as Dunkin’ Donuts famously changed its name to emphasize its menu of drinks as much as doughnuts. And as part of its summer menu rollout last year, Wendy’s released a whole lineup of new lemonades in various flavors. Now, McDonald’s has one-upped its competitors by launching CosMc’s, an entirely new restaurant concept dedicated to sips on the go. So far, CosMc’s only has one location in Bolingbrook, Illinois, but that location seems to be off to a very strong start. - Luke Gralia Read More

Jack in the Box recently released two new limited-time burgers, the Smashed Jack and the Bacon Double Smashed Jack, which means we recently taste-tested them. These are Jack in the Box’s take on a smashburger, and while we liked the single patty version (the Bacon Double was too much), the verdict was that its liberal amount of chewy beef doesn’t technically qualify as a smashburger in any sense. As it turns out, though, our opinions hardly made a difference, because these burgers sold out faster than you can say Munchie Meal. - Dennis Lee Read More

Fast food might be getting more expensive, but sandwich joints can still offer a quality, hearty sub at a pretty darn good price. That seems to be pretty universally understood: At the average sandwich shop here in Los Angeles, you’ll see customers with paint on their jeans, a parking lot full of sedans and landscaping vehicles, and suits walking over from their industry jobs at the studios in North Hollywood. Sandwiches, in short, are for everybody. So which sandwich chain serves the best classic turkey sub? - Danny Palumbo Read More

It seems that despite the heavy fines and legal consequences, the fast food industry just can’t stop violating child labor laws. What’s worse is that the violations are only getting more egregious when it comes to major franchises, The Washington Post reports. - Angela L. Pagán Read More

After 40 years of freaky fast sandwich-making in the U.S., Jimmy John’s has decided to take its cold cuts global. The chain’s parent company, Inspire Brands, has just signed two franchise agreements that will expand the business across both the Northern and Southern borders into Canada and Latin America. - Angela L. Pagán Read More