Update: I just received word that the nutrition education director for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Susan Levine, has issued a letter to Yum! Brands Inc. (operators of KFC) urging the chain not to advertise the Double Down to children. The letter claims the fat-laden sandwich is a "troubling symbol of corporate irresponsibility" and suggests the company should use the FDA restrictions against advertising tobacco to minors as a guide for promoting the Double Down. (read the full version here)
The internets are blowing up today with stories about KFC's new Double Down, a bunless sandwich made with two chicken breasts, bacon, Monterrey jack cheese, pepper jack cheese, and the Colonel's special sauce. The sandwich -- if you can call it that -- made a brief debut last year in test markets before officially debuting nationwide today. Here's a link to the television commercial.
Apparently, people are both incensed and enticed by the egregiousness
of a sandwich in which the buns have been replaced by fried chicken. The
fact that it's filled with both bacon and cheese pushes that button
even more.
But really, is this sandwich all that shocking? People have been
ordering chicken sandwiches without the bun for years now. And as far
as caloric intake goes, the Double Down isn't even half as bad as most
fast-food burgers. The original-recipe fried Double Down with two
strips of fried chicken breast clocks in at 540 calories and 32g of
fat. The grilled Double Down has 460 calories and 23g of fat. Both have
an outrageous amount of sodium, however, 1,380mg and 1,430 mg,
respectively.
Since the Double Down debuted today, the craze to get one is pretty
strong. Will you run out to try it? If so, tell us how you like (or
don't like) it.
