We tried 8 new fast food menu items this year. Here's our 2023 Taste Test Wrapped
From chicken sandwiches to Grimace shakes to Volcano Tacos, we at The Enquirer newsroom were hungry this year. So we took to TikTok to document taste tests of new fast food menu items.
Check out the final ranking of all the taste tests featured on our TikTok this year, with picks from Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Skyline Chili and other fast food staples.
And be sure to follow us on TikTok to keep up with taste tests coming in 2024.
Our 2023 TikTok Taste Test Wrapped
#1. Chick-fil-A's Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich: The perfect hint of sweetness.
Chick-fil-A debuted its Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich in August.
The sandwich is like the original chicken sammy, but topped with pimento cheese and mild pickled jalapeños. It also has a toasted bun drizzled with sweet honey.
To be honest, it was worth all the hype. The combination of sweet and spicy flavors mixed well together, and the chicken was like any other Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich: delicious.
Out of the four of us who tried it, we gave it an average 4.5/5 rating, landing the sandwich as the highest-ranked fast food item in our 2023 Taste Test Wrapped.
#2. Baskin-Robbins' Turkey Day Fixin's ice cream: Reminiscent of a fall candle.
Baskin-Robbins sure raised some eyebrows when they launched their November Flavor of the Month: Turkey Day Fixin's ice cream. The new flavor offered a nostalgic blend of sweet potato and autumn spice ice creams fused with honey cornbread pieces and swirls of cranberry sauce.
We were pleasantly surprised by the turkey day dessert. Out of the four of us who chowed down on this, we gave it an average 4.25/5 rating, with two of us even giving it a perfect 5/5 score.
#3. Taco Bell's Volcano Menu: A solo taste test from Rasputin.
Our features editor Rasputin Todd braved the heat for a solo taste test of Taco Bell's Volcano Menu. The returning menu featured the Volcano Taco, the Double Beef Volcano Burrito, and, in his words, the "scrum-diddly-umptious Lava Sauce."
Though he said the Lava Sauce is "not for the faint of heart," he rated the taco a perfect 10/10 and the burrito a 6/10. So, on average, Rasputin gave the menu an 8/10, or a 4/5.
#4. McDonald’s Grimace shake: The purple treat that broke the internet.
McDonald's introduced the blueberry-ish shake this summer to commemorate the 52nd birthday of Grimace, a member of the fast food chain's character crew from 1971. The odd purple item quickly became a viral TikTok trend.
In a press release, McDonald's said the shake is "inspired by Grimace’s iconic color and sweetness," but kept customers guessing on what the dessert beverage actually tastes like.
In the end, we determined the shake had a certain "purple strawberry," "creamy blueberry" flavor. Our overall rating was 3.6/5.
#5. Chick-fil-A's Caramel Crumble Milkshake: Where's the crumble?
In August, Chick-fil-A introduced their newest milkshake flavor, Caramel Crumble, made with butterscotch caramel flavors, ice cream and blondie crumbles.
Though the new treat sounded delicious, the consensus was poor. The caramel/butterscotch flavors were perhaps a little too strong, which led to trending news reporter Victoria Moorwood saying, "It tastes like vanilla frosting, but not in a good way."
The milkshake received an average 2.75/5 rating from all of us.
#6. KFC's Original Recipe Chicken Tenders: Available only in Cincinnati.
KFC stirred up some chaos in the newsroom once we found out that the fast food chain was testing its new Original Recipe chicken tenders in select locations across Greater Cincinnati.
So obviously we had to try the top-secret Original Recipe tenders, with their iconic mix of 11 herbs and spices.
The consensus? Meh.
Six of our most experienced taste testers tried the new tenders. The rules were simple: Give them a thumbs up, thumbs down or a mid rating. Overall, the tenders were mid (2.5/5), landing them at the bottom of our 2023 Taste Test Wrapped.
Bonus: Burger King's Ghost Pepper Whopper, just in time for spooky season.
Burger King brought back a spooky season favorite from Oct. 13 through Halloween day this year. The Ghost Pepper Whopper carried some heat, specifically a 2.4/5 average heat rating, according to the expert food reviewers in the newsroom.
Honorable mention: Skyline Chili's breakfast menu. Was it worth the drive to CVG Airport?
It wouldn't be a year of taste tests without an appearance from the iconic Cincinnati chili parlor chain. We nearly jumped out of our seats when we heard Skyline Chili was introducing a breakfast menu at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
We made the journey to the airport to test the menu items: the Breakfast Coney, the Breakfast Chilito, the Breakfast Way and the Breakfast Burrito. Was it worth the drive?
In the end, we decided to rank the menu items against each other. Coming out on top was the Breakfast Chilito, followed by the Breakfast Way, the Breakfast Coney, then the Breakfast Burrito in last place. You might just have to book a flight to try the menu yourself at CVG.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Our 2023 Taste Test Wrapped: Which fast food item was No. 1?
