Burger King's Satisfries launched today, and they are pretty much on everyone's mind.
The Twitterverse is freaking out over these crinkle cut fries that promise the taste of fried potato with 40 percent less fat and 30 percent less calories, with the hashtags #Satisfried and #WTFF getting thousands of hits.
All over Instagram, people are posting pictures of their Satisfry experience. And, apparently, giant Satisfries have taken over Manhattan's Meatpacking District.
What's the big deal? The fries, which were launched today, promise a fry with less fat and calories (30 percent less fat and 20 percent less calories than BK original fries, and 40 percent less fat and 30 percent less calories than McDonald's fries). That equates to 150.5 calories and 6.3 grams of fat in a 70-gram serving of the new fries.
According to USA Today, the fries contain the same potatoes and oil as the classic version, but a reconfiguration of the ingredients allows less oil to be absorbed by the thinner batter. That's all nicey-nicey, but how do they taste?
I went to the nearest Burger King to compare and contrast. Clearly there's a huge marketing push, with signs on the doors and all over the inside of the restaurant. When ordering, you'll find an immediate difference: Price!
A small order of regular fries cost $1.79 and a small order of the Satisfries is $2.09! But that didn't seem to deter the people on the line, who were ordering the new fries out of curiosity. (It doesn't seem to be for health reasons when you're ordering a double Angry Whopper and a large Coke to go with those low fat fries.) In fact, it wasn't quite noon and the restaurant was running low on supplies.
Side by side, there's also a difference. Besides being crinkled, the Satisfries are larger and plumper.
Now for the taste. The Satisfries have more potato flavor. The classic clearly taste more like the oil they're fried in. I was trying to figure out where I tasted the Satisfries before -- then it hit me!
The crinkle cut Ore-Ida fries that mom bakes in the oven! I actually prefer the new Satisfries. They taste like potato -- and lots of salt. But my friend preferred the classic. Why? "They just taste like a "real" French Fry," he said.
While writing this, I just noticed that I had finished off all the Satisfries, with the original recipe sitting in the bag -- cold, lonely, and unloved. Call me "Satisfried."
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