Fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken is avidly promoting its brand new Double Down breadless sandwich, and it’s triggering both hunger and disgust.
“I saw the commercial for it,” University undergraduate Anna Gardner said. “It’s pretty gnarly-looking.”
University undergraduate Dylan Udy, who occasionally eats fast food, said he would be willing to try it out: “I’m definitely curious.”
He’s not the only one. The Double Down was featured last week on an episode of “The Colbert Report,” where host Stephen Colbert attempted to eat the sandwich in front of his studio audience. It was also the theme of a skit on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”
While many are mocking the sandwich, it is undoubtedly a fried food fan’s nirvana. The Double Down consists of two pieces of boneless white meat chicken fillets, two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese, and KFC special sauce.
“This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun,” according to the KFC Web site. The lack of a bun allows KFC to market the Double Down as a comparatively low-calorie fast food option.
The Double Down has 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1,380 milligrams of sodium, according to KFC’s Web site. That’s 49 percent of the FDA’s recommended daily fat intake and about 58 percent of the daily recommended sodium intake for someone consuming 2,000 calories a day.
The Double Down is also available in a grilled option, which has 460 calories, 23 grams of fat and 1,430 milligrams of sodium. The grilled sandwich has 80 calories and nine fewer grams of fat than the fried version.
Nutritionists are not celebrating the non-traditional sandwich.
People on the Atkins diet or other dietary restrictions should not flock to their local KFC, local nutritionists said.
“The average person should be doing other things if they want to be healthy,” said Steve Karner, nutritionist at the Eugene-based Balanced Nutrition health supplement store. “Ninety percent of an adult’s food should come from the butcher’s and produce aisles.”
The grilled sandwich fits in with the idea of the Atkins diet, but University Health Center dietitian Jessica Wilson said she would not suggest that diet.
“It has serious carb restrictions. Carbs have so many benefits, like fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients,” Wilson said. Phytonutrients are a group of plant chemicals that are thought to be good for the human body.
The general suggested caloric intake for the average college student, male or female, is 2,200 calories.
“The fried sandwich has 44 percent of their total fat intake,” Wilson said.
Karner said the grilled sandwich option was a step in the right direction for KFC, but sauces and other ingredients the meat is grilled with can make a difference.
The fried version has been selling well at local Eugene and Springfield restaurants.
“We’ve been selling a lot of them,” said Tiffany Blasengame, general manager at the KFC restaurant on West 11th Avenue. “People are buying them like crazy. We can’t keep up.” Jay Shaver, restaurant general manager at a Springfield KFC, said his sales have been “off the chain.”
“The reaction has actually been very positive,” he said.
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