KFC's Double Down Is Double Blech

Sandwich with chicken in place of bread arrives Monday

(NEWSER) - Given the national concern over obesity, Thomas Rogers wondered what in the world KFC could have been thinking when it created the grotesque new sandwich that slaps bacon and cheese, slathered in mayo, in between 2 pieces of fried chicken. Rogers, who writes for Salon , went to food industry expert Darren Tristano for some answers:

• Why the Double Down? "It's unique, it's shocking, it will appeal to younger generations, and people will talk about it." Besides, he says, they don't need to add anything new to the kitchen to offer it.

It's a bacon and cheese sandwich, except with fried chicken instead of bread!

(NEWSER) - Fed up with all haute cuisine? Foodie babble? An organic garden at the White House? KFC looks to have just what you need in the Double Down, a bacon and cheese sandwich in which the bread is replaced by fried chicken fillets! “Forget food porn,” Scott Gold writes for the Faster Times. “This is food weaponry.” Osama bin Laden, you’re on notice. 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."

iPad disabled by the touch of KFC diners

(NEWSER) - While foodies were debating the culinary merits of the Double Down yesterday, two selfless Gizmodo reporters sacrificed their guts and their gadgets to confirm the somewhat foregone conclusion that the sandwich might not pair so well with a touchscreen device. The pair were presumably unsurprised to find their iPad disabled by grease from their sauce-smeared hands. More»

Chain to open hundreds of restaurants in a dozen countries

(NEWSER) - Kentucky Fried Chicken wants to take over Africa. Like McDonald's and other fast-food giants, KFC parent company Yum Brands has been countering the slowdown in American spending with expansion overseas. Having populated China with KFC outlets, Yum now plans to double the number of stores in Africa to 1,200, the Wall Street Journal reports. KFC has had an outlet in South Africa since 1971, but Yum plans to open them, and sister restaurants, in Nigeria, Namibia, Mozambique, Ghana, Zambia, and elsewhere. More»