Fast Food Reviews

Taco Bell Volcano Burrito
Grade: D
This burrito is all bark and no bite. Either the chef grabbed the mild sauce by mistake or the 'volcano' they're getting their sauce from is dormant. The whole thing is so tightly packed with beef, there isn't much room for anything else, save for random strips of red tortilla shell sprinkled throughout. We're assuming they're supposed to add crunch, but they ended up just being soggy from proximity to the greasy beef filling. Sour cream, supposedly included as a cooling agent really just adds a layer of calories, but if you're just in it for the beef, go ahead -- have a cow.

Rachel Been

McDonald's Snack Mac Wrap
Grade: C+
Meet the Snack Mac Wrap, the Big Mac incarnation of the fast-food wraps that are increasingly popular with folks who like thinking they are eating healthily. So what do you get? The signature Big Mac sauce with two squished down meatball patties, a sprinkling of iceberg lettuce strips and two dill pickle rounds. Yes, it is a little less carb and calorie laden but since when is a tortilla a satisfying substitute for the three buns a regular Big Mac packs? In the end, go big or go home. If you really want a Big Mac, eat one. Your taste buds won't be fooled by this wrap unless you're only in it for the sauce.

Rachel Been

Taco Bell Chicken Soft Taco
Grade: B
Lettuce, cheese and chicken in a folded tortilla -- Taco Bell is keeping it simple with this one. And at 89 cents, the only way to describe it is 'pretty good' for a fast-food taco. One qualm -- the filling barely filled the shockingly normal-sized tortilla. With the addition of one of Taco Bell's mild, medium or hot sauces, it might have been able to achieve a B+. Don't let the price fool you though; you need to eat more than one of these to actually be full.

Taco Bell Chicken Burrito
Grade: C-
Two words: overly salted. Rice, chicken and avocado ranch sauce were billed to appear, but we wouldn't know that had we not looked it up, as it just tasted like salty rice. Not even that much salty rice, though, as the giant tortilla seriously dwarfed all the fillings. Well, except for the salt.

Rachel Been

Dunkin' Donuts Wake Up Wrap
Grade: B
Quesadilla, meet your breakfast competition. This 5-inch tortilla filled with American cheese and your standard fast-food circle of scrambled egg solid is a decent on-the-go snack, and you can't beat the price: 99 cents. The wrap shown at left includes cherrywood-smoked bacon (30 cents extra). The Wake Up Wraps are available through mid-July 2009.

Sara Bonisteel

KFC Grilled Chicken
Grade: B
Pardon us, but where did these chicken snobs come from all of a sudden? Folks all over the country were a-cluck over Oprah's free grilled chicken coupon giveaway, wondering how dare she throw her considerable influence behind something so declasse and unhealthy. Were they planning on going home and slow-poaching some tilapia with a pilaf of quinoa and an acai infusion? Because really, this stuff (the portion on the left) is pretty tasty. It's smartly seasoned, nicely juicy, properly cooked and yes, while it might be a wee bit greasy, a paper towel quickly blots off the excess. We're crying fowl on the naysayers.

Rachel Been

Domino's Mac and Cheese Bread Bowl
Grade: C-
This turbo-carbed heart stopper, bubbling over with cheese and penne pasta, was everything we expected it to be. We commenced chowing our way through the center, which was stuffed with a satisfying, if not especially adventurous take on mac 'n cheese and eventually tore apart the puffy crust. No kid in the world could pass this up. Our recommendation -- cut the pie into four pieces and enjoy a small portion. Sure, you could skip the extra starches altogether and order it without the bread bowl, but where's the fun in that?

Rachel Been

Domino's Chicken Alfredo Bowl
Grade: D-
We are grateful in a way that we ordered this bowl, as it led to a period of unexpected introspection. Where in our lives, we asked ourselves, or perhaps in some past life, did we commit offenses against humanity so grave that we were now being made to consume this? We'll give the consistency of the central, gummed-together pasta glob the benefit of the doubt as it may have suffered during transit, but did the journey also cause an entire shaker of garlic powder to upend over the sauce? It sure tasted that way even after the tenth time we brushed our teeth later that afternoon. There's a small mercy found in the outer ring of pleasantly puffy crust, but it just gets more wicked the further in you dare to tread.

Rachel Been

White Castle Pulled Pork Slyders
Grade: C-
Seriously -- tell us what we did wrong and we'll find a way to repent. This sweet, tangy and saucy mess locked our jaws scrunched our faces. While White Castle lovers may rejoice in another slyder option, BBQ fans will find the sauce sweet, soggy and overbearing and the lack of pork will leave their cravings unsated. Stick to what you know, White Castle and don't taunt us like that.

Keith Morrison

McCafe Iced Mocha and Latte
Grade: A
One sip and we were hooked. A nonfat iced mocha loaded up with whipped cream was quite potent, with a strong aroma of Arabica coffee beans. To be honest, if we had been blindfolded, we wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between a Starbucks chiller and these eye-openers. They don't escape without some criticism; decaf is not currently an option. Lattes are, however, available with a shot of vanilla, caramel, hazelnut or sugar-free vanilla.