Arby’s has always been kind of a fringe fast food chain. You can find it all over the country, but it isn’t exactly on every corner. Perhaps this is the reason it has taken me so long to review them. Or perhaps the reason is because I once heard their meat begins its life as a liquid. Whatever the case, a golden opportunity to chow down on some potentially formerly liquid meat presented itself at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport.
Being an airport restaurant, this Arby’s wasn’t sporting the crazy cheap sandwiches they are typically known for, but the prices weren’t terribly bad. I opted for their Classic Beef ‘n Cheddar Sandwich. This thing started with a roll and was filled with slices of roast beef, a cheddar sauce and some sort of strange red sauce. With Mexican food, you don’t question the red sauce, but with Arby’s I was a bit confused. Yet, it didn’t scream “veggie” and neither did anything else on the sandwich, so I accepted it. I then upgraded to a combo for some curly fries and a drink.
Before I even filled my drink cup, my sandwich was ready for eating. Chowing down, I found exactly what I expected: salty, mostly texture-less beef. Coupled with a cheese sauce that’s a slight upgrade from nacho cheese, this was fast food personified. The roll was pretty good and actually would have worked well on a burger, too. It wasn’t anything crazy, but it did its job. Finally, there was the strange red sauce. This stuff definitely wasn’t ketchup, but it did have a slight tomato-vinegar flavor. Hell, the ladies behind the counter didn’t even know what it was. They also had never heard the name Zachary before, so I don’t know what I was expecting when asking the about the sauce.
Oh, by the way, the fries are awesome. Definitely the best fast food curly fries since A & W gave up on good food.
It’s hard to give Arby’s a bad rating or a good rating. It knows it isn’t pumping out high quality sandwiches, but it does make them fast and free of veggies. I hear their Market Fresh Sandwiches are pretty good, but who goes to a place like Arby’s for something fresh?