The Other Side: Doubling Down


Doubling down on hype
Fairfield Daily Repulic
By Kelvin Wade April 15, 2010

Have you seen the ad for KFC's new Double Down sandwich? The Double Down consists of two white meat chicken filets, two pieces of bacon, two pieces of Monterey and PepperJack cheese and the Colonel's sauce. The tag line is that it's so meaty, 'there's no room for a bun!'

As soon as I saw the ad for such an irresponsible, indulgent, cardiac killer of a sandwich, I knew I'd have to make the sacrifice and review it for the masses (and hope my nutritionist isn't reading this)!

From the television commercials, the Double Down looks massive. But when I opened the box I had the same disappointed feeling that Michael Douglas' character had in the movie 'Falling Down' when he received a squashed hamburger that bore no resemblance to the plump, juicy Whammy Burger pictured in the advertisements. The Double Down had breasts that looked like they came from a Cornish Game Hen.

This excessive sandwich is built for ridicule. It begs the question, was there no room to squeeze a hot dog in there? Couldn't they have dunked the whole thing in batter and deep-fried it one more time? How about a side of warm butter to dip the sandwich in? And does the combo meal come with a large Coke and a defibrillator?

After sampling half of the sandwich, I must say that it is like a meat party in your mouth. I mean, if you like KFC then you'll like the chicken portion of the Double Down. The bacon is unremarkable. The cheese is tasty and well-melted and the sauce is tangy. Fortunately, there's not a lot of sauce.

It actually could've used less chicken and a bun. (On a side note, my Beagles give it two paws up.)

Before indulging in what has been widely panned as a gastronomic grotesquery, I was fully prepared to ridicule it myself. No, I'm not endorsing the sandwich. After all, the gluttonous consumers who would buy and consume this creation probably shouldn't be eating it. And the people who watch their diet, exercise and eat healthy and therefore could afford to indulge in something like this, wouldn't dare.

But it's not shocking. After all, we're an obese culture that revels in deep fried foods at the state fair. After the doughnut burger, a hamburger with cheese and bacon sandwiched between two buttered glazed Krispy Kreme donuts, swept fairs across the nation years ago, it's hard to be grossed out at anything a fast food chain dreams up.

When you think about it, all you really have with the Double Down is the fast food equivalent of chicken cordon bleu.

And when you compare the nutritional info with other fast foods, KFC's new sandwich doesn't seem so extreme. The Double Down is 540 calories, 1,380mg of sodium and 32 grams of fat.

McDonalds Big Mac has 540 calories, 1,040mg of sodium and 29 grams of fat.

Burger King's Whopper ups the ante at 680 calories, 1,020mg of sodium and 40 grams of fat.

And finally, In-N-Out Burger's Double Double comes in at 590 calories, a whopping 1,520mg of sodium and 32 grams of fat.

So in the final analysis, KFC got what they wanted: a lot of publicity. But is the sandwich worth it? C'mon, you've seen the numbers. Should anyone be eating fast food? Peace.

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