Arby's Purchase of Wendy's 'Sad Day' for Thomas Family

It comes topped with foie gras

(NEWSER) - For two years, Japan's fast-food lovers were forced to go without Wendy's. Now the chain is back—with a bang. Its first new store to open in the country will serve up the Foie Gras Rossini Burger, which, yes, is topped with foie gras and costs 1,280 yen, or around $16. The Tokyo store will also serve a Truffle and Porcini Grilled Chicken Sandwich and a wasabi-avocado burger, reports the Wall Street Journal . The paper explains that Wendy's pulled out of Japan in 2009, shuttering its 71 stores. More»

It's the first change in the fast food chain since 1969

(NEWSER) - Goodbye, Burger King. Hello, Burger Queen. Wendy’s is about to overtake Burger King as the No. 2 fast food chain in US sales, according to a new report from market research firm Technomic. If that doesn’t sound momentous to you, consider that it’s the first time the big three burger chains have switched order since Wendy’s was founded in 1969, the Wall Street Journal points out. What’s more impressive: Wendy’s sales—expected to be $8.42 billion this year—will come from around 5,800 restaurants, compared to roughly 7,200 for Burger King. How far behind will Burger King be? About $53 million. More»

New version will be thicker, a little less square

(NEWSER) - Wendy’s classic burger hasn’t changed for more than 40 years—but with sales struggling and new competitors emerging, the fast-food chain finally decided it was time for something new. To that end, it has created the new Dave’s Hot ‘n’ Juicy burger, named for the restaurant’s founder, Dave Thomas, the AP reports. It wasn’t an easy task: Execs began working on the new burger in 2009, wrestling with crucial decisions like whether to use red or white onions. More»

Nate Silver finds the KFC monstrosity is really only average

(NEWSER) - So by now you've heard of—or God help you, sampled—the gluttonous monstrosity known as KFC's Double Down , but how does it stack up in the less-than-healthy world of fast food? Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight runs the numbers, creating an index of fat, cholesterol, and sodium in which the Double Down rates a 1. He finds worse chicken gut-busters:

• Panera Chipotle Chicken: 1.49. It's not even considered true fast food, but it runs about 50% more of "the bad stuff."

Here's a preview of your post-health care reform sticker shock

(NEWSER) - Thanks to a fun little side clause in the health care reform bill, fast food restaurants are going to have to start posting nutrition information on their menus. The Daily Beast decided to offer a preview of the 40 most shock-inducing items:

1. Wendy’s Triple Baconator: In a class by itself really, with 1,330 calories, 38 grams of saturated fat, 345 milligrams of cholesterol, and a whopping 3150mg of sodium.
2. SuperSonic Cheeseburger: Sonic only needed two patties to squeeze in 980 calories and 24g of saturated fat.