Double Down

Do you know what day it is?? It’s the much anticipated debut of KFC’s Double Down Sandwich! For just $6.99 you can have yourself a heart clogging meal consisting of two deep fried slices of chicken embracing bacon, cheese and a mayo sauce. If you have yet to hear about this culinary delight, here’s a brief introduction (around the 1:15 mark):



Even though the sandwich has been an easy target for ridicule and mockery, I was none the less intrigued and decided to grab this monstrosity for lunch today. I did a quick calorie check beforehand to brace myself and it wasn’t as bad as I had feared. It comes in at 540 calories, the fat and sodium however are soaring—32 g and 1380 mg, respectively. But when I peeked into my little box, I felt like a victim of false advertising because what I saw looked nothing like the ad pictures.

Here’s KFC’s airbrushed version:

And this is what I got:

Do you see the discrepancy?

At first bite the Double Down is intensely salty and while the chicken is juicy and flavorful, it still is not enough to make up for the gross overuse of salt in the breading of the chicken. My sandwich was also pretty burnt (note the extra dark coloring) so that didn’t help the taste much either. The two slabs of chicken overshadow everything and there isn’t really much else that hits the taste buds. It may look small but halfway through I had had enough and was already full. The $6.99 price point for the combo meal is a bit steep, even with a side and a coke. I wouldn’t order this again but I’m glad I tried it on its grand debut Monday. Are you going to be giving it a try? How was your Double Down experience?