FastFoodSnob.com

Price: $0.99; paid - $0.00

Promotion: Subway Get Smart sweepstakes, instant-win game

Location: 6843 N. Lincoln Ave., Lincolnwood, IL 60712 (map); phone: (847) 329-8134

Rating: 3 out of 5 - acceptable

I like entering online contests, but some sweepstakes are clearly more giving than others. I was lucky to win more bags of these Flat Earth Baked Veggie Crisps from Frito-Lay than I knew what to do with (thanks, CAG), and the winning e-mails just began to form daily in my inbox like the evening dew. It had been a while since I’d stepped foot in a local Subway sandwich shop, but I knew I was in for trouble when the person working there had never seen my winning redemption e-mail before. Fortunately, the deeper inspections, personal-information taking, and management consultations would come after this initial trip, freeing me to enjoy some free veggie crisps after a brief and relatively pleasant round of counter confusion.

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Price: $1.00

Location: 6261 N. Lincoln, Chicago, IL 60659 (map); phone: (773) 588-1976

Rating: 4 out of 5 - good

The Whopper Jr. was not something I’d been looking forward to revisiting anytime soon, but a late Friday-night attack of hunger pangs forced my hand. (Actually, running out of meat for the new Burger King Steakburgers ultimately did that, but since I was already at the local BK, there was no sense in wasting gas by driving home on an empty stomach.) At any rate, this time around with the Jr. proved to be a surprisingly pleasant experience, as I actually enjoyed my smaller-sized sandwich quite a bit, even after taking my worked-up appetite into account. The key to a good Whopper, it seems, is all in the customizing — having it Your Way, if you will.

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Price: $4.39

Location: 3700 W. Touhy Ave., Skokie, IL 60076 (map); phone: (847) 673-1991

Rating: 3 out of 5 - acceptable

The Baconator is an impressive achievement in protein and carbs; I actually missed having any hint of a solid veggie in the form of a pickle slice. And how does Wendy’s describe its self-describing new sandwich? “Six strips of hickory smoked bacon piled high atop two 1/4 lb. patties of fresh, never frozen, beef. Complete with two slices of American cheese, mayo and ketchup for a mountain of mouth-watering taste.” What it certainly is is a mountain of mass, clocking in at a stomach-filling 840 calories. Yes, I was hungry.

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