Review: Bacon ‘N Brisket Beef ‘N Cheddar from Arby’s

Posted May 23rd, 2019 | 5:19pm by Ryan

The Beef ‘N Cheddar from Arby’s is a fast food classic. A sandwich popular enough to have emerged in the 1970’s and still be a mainstay on the menu today. In 2019, the variety of meat options at Arby’s has reached an impressive level and a result of that is an upgraded Beef ‘N Cheddar. Introducing the new Bacon ‘N Brisket Beef ‘N Cheddar. The Bacon ‘N Brisket Beef ‘N Cheddar is your classic Beef ‘N Cheddar with added pepper bacon and smoked brisket. So the components are smoked brisket, roast beef, pepper bacon, cheddar cheese sauce and red ranch on a classic onion roll. Let’s review: Some will say don’t mess with a good thing, but I’ll give you an example of an iconic item that once received a very worthy upgrade: the Grand Mac from McDonald’s... or how about adding bacon to the Quarter Pounder with Cheese? It’s a subjective opinion of course, but I do believe you can successfully mess with perfection. After 40 years, why not introduce a bigger and better Beef ‘N Cheddar? The original will still be there if it goes too far out of your comfort zone…or food comfort zone… or is it ‘comfort food’ zone? The salty smoke flavors of the brisket overpowered the tamer roast beef and a couple of bites in it’s like they just combined into some meat hybrid. Tender and an easy chew, the tougher contrast of the peppery bacon was a nice way to balance things out a smidge. Unfortunately (or maybe it’s a good thing) the cheddar cheese sauce only had slight impact early on. I really enjoyed the tangy sweetness of the red ranch sauce which meshed well with the meaty flavors and cut the salt overload nicely while providing moisture to the sandwich. I know Horsey Sauce packets and Arby’s Sauce packets are available, but I’m not certain about Red Ranch… if so, get some extra. I love the soft roll with its toasty flecks of onion. I would love it even more if it survived the grubbing homestretch. The sandwich is no slouch clocking in at well over a half pound. At a price of $6.99 for the sandwich alone and $9.49 for the small combo, it’s not cheap. Considering the generous portion of sliced meats you get in between the onion roll, it’s not far out to think it’s a couple of regular sandwiches worth of food. It’s a pricey/meaty sandwich for sure, but not quite Meat Mountain territory. I liked the Bacon ‘N Brisket Beef ‘N Cheddar although it falls short of being great. With a little control over the portion of particular meats, I believe the flavors would have made for a better balanced sandwich. It’s definitely a hearty beast with a hearty price tag to go with it.