REVIEW: “Good Mood Food”

I think it was The Simpsons that coined the expression, “I’m so hungry, I could eat at Arby’s.” For the majority of my life, that was an accurate representation of my feelings toward that particular fast food chain. Arby’s has always seemed sort of low-rent and “mid-west” to me, like the restaurant equivilent of a Walmart. The idea of eating at Arby’s was a joke. It was something nobody would sincerely want to do, which is why the whole “I’m thinking Arby’s” campaign crashed and burned (I’ve been present for a lot of lunch discussions over the years, and never, not once, has anybody not suggested going to Arby’s with anything but cutting sarcasm).

But I work at a mall nowadays, and one of the food choices within easy driving distance is an Arby’s, at which I have eaten twice in the last couple months. Both times I have enjoyed the food there. The first time, I got one of their “Roastburgers”, which is just an Arby’s roast beef sandwich prepared and served like a hamburger, and the second time, which was yesterday, I got a toasted sub with Angus beef, cheese and bacon. It was delicious.

I ate at Arby’s and it was delicious.

I think the secret to a successful visit to Arby’s is to steer clear of their signature roast beef sandwiches and stick to their newer, fancier options. The roast beef sandwich is still made the way it always has been: thin-sliced roast been sloppily piled on a dry bun, awaiting one of their  two drab sauce options (Arby’s sauce, weak barbecue sauce, sorta; and “Horsey Sauce”, a white cream that has a horseradishy flavor). If you go with the old-school stuff, you are going to be disappointed, unless you like the flavors of the 70’s (in which case, by all means, pop open that Diet Rite and have at). But if you check out the new stuff, you’ll find it’s all pretty good. They are actually trying.

Their new motto is “Good Mood Food,” and I’ll admit being in a better mood when I left than when I entered, but that’s probably just because I was in the middle of my hour-long lunch and had just eaten something.

THE METRICS

• Yumminess: 3 of 5
• Cleanliness: 4 of 5
• Friendliness: 3 of 5
• Promptness: 2.5 of 5
• Mood Exiting Vs. Entering: 3.5 of 5
• Average: 3 of 5