Food Review: KFC's Double Down Chicken Sandwich

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) came out with a new sandwich that really isn't a sandwich on April 12, 2010. The KFC Double Down caused waves in the media. People started ranting over how unhealthy the sandwich was, how it was potentially lethal, and TreeHugger.com listed an article calling the sandwich the "a beast of a food product." I saw the commercial for the KFC Double Down the day before it was released and my first thought on the product was, "What did stoner's invent this sandwich?" and then I thought, maybe it was just a gimmick and the sandwich wasn't real. They couldn't possibly have figured out a way to make a sandwich with no bun! Well, they have and I tried it.

First lets get the nutrition information out of the way. According to the official KFC website, The Double Down which consists of two pieces of fried chicken, two pieces of pepper jack cheese and two strips of bacon with KFC's special sauce (it is like honey-dijon mustard) has 540 calories (290 calories from fat, 10 grams saturated fat, 0.5 trans fat) and 1380 milligrams of sodium. The grilled chicken version of the Double Down has 490 calories and a higher sodium content at 1430 milligrams. It should be noted that KFC did not bill this sandwich as a healthy sandwich in the commercial. They billed it as a "manly" sandwich meant to let you taste the unhungry side of KFC.

Knowing that this sandwich was unhealthy, I still wanted to try it. I like KFC's fried chicken on the rare occasion and this sandwich appealed to me. Three things I love, chicken, bacon and cheese, all in one sandwich. Yeah, I had to try it. So a few days after it was released, we headed to our local KFC which is also a Long John Silvers. I purchased the Double Down meal which consisted of a drink, fries and the sandwich for $8.78 after tax.

I wasn't too happy with the price as I had seen it advertised at $5.99 and $6.99 prices on the web. But as with most promotions each franchise can decide whether the promotion applies.

I ate the Fried Chicken Double Down. It was delicious. A bite into had me tasting white chicken breast and bacon with an extra kick from the pepper jack cheese. I ate most of the sandwich but just could not eat the entire thing. It was filling and heavy. I couldn't even eat the fries that came with it not that I wanted to since I was more focused on enjoying the Double Down sandwich.

I don't recommend eating this sandwich for every meal. Nor do I suggest eating out at fast food restaurants all the time. I feel consumers are intelligent and should be treated with intelligence. If it looks unhealthy, it probably is. I recommend eating a healthy, well balanced diet but on the rare occasion where you are eating at a fast food restaurant, check out KFC's Double Down. And remember, even though there is a lot of hype about how bad it is, it is actually better for you than Subway's Chicken and Bacon Ranch six inch sandwich which has 570 calories, Burger King's Tendercrisp sandwich (760 calories) and McDonald's Premium Crispy Sandwich (660 calories).