KFC Double Down Review

When news that this monster of a sandwich was coming out 2 months ago, I was ecstatic. What's not to love about a sandwich that forgoes the buns in order to focus on the deliciousness that is meat?
Customers get the choice of grilled chicken or original recipe fillets that hold in two pieces of bacon, two slices of Montery Jack and Pepper Jack cheese, with a healthy dollop of Colonel's sauce.

So Matt and I had planned to sample the Double Down as soon as possible, but busyness took over and we kept postponing it... until this past week.

Unfortunately for me, the hype for the sandwich prompted many people to write their own reviews for the sandwich, and the initial verdict didn't look promising. Complaints of the saltiness, small sandwich size, and greasiness made me start doubting whether the sandwich would be worth it. Compounding this was the ungodly nutritional value of one sandwich: 1420 mg of sodium!! Undaunted, Matt and I still vowed to try it for ourselves and we drove ~15 min to the closest KFC.

First impressions
The packaging is simple. I chose to go with the value meal (suggestions on various blogs and articles highly recommended getting drinks to counter the saltiness) which came with the sandwich, drink, and one side (I got mac and cheese). When we opened the box, it was piping hot, and I could see the cheese already starting to melt which got me pumped. After taking a preemptive swig of Raspbery Iced Tea, I took the first bite. Yup, the sandwich definitely had a saltiness that punches you right in the face. If I wasn't bracing myself for it, I can see how it would be unpleasant, but because I was expecting it, I quickly got used to it.
The original chicken's crisp combined with the gooey cheese was amazing. I really enjoyed the duality of textures, although I'm sure if the bacon was more crispy, it would have been heavenly. As it was, the bacon pieces were a bit in between, part limp and part firm, but it didn't affect the enjoyment too much.

Overall Verdict
If you were to judge each individual component separately, I would say the sandwich would be mediocre at best.

original chicken fillets: great
bacon: below average
cheese: average
sauce: average

What makes it great is the idea that you're eating a sandwich with no bread, and the fact that all those ingredients somehow work together to form this power combination of crispy/gooyness that punches your tastebuds and says, "take it, and like it!"

Unfortunately, after finishing my meal, I was left feeling hungry, but it was a good thing I got a free coupon for a free box meal, so the entire dining experience ended on a super high point. (Nothing beats free food!)

KFC Double Down: 3 out of 4 stars