Sandwich with OSU theme to appear on menus next month
New Orleans is known for its jambalaya, Buffalo made a name for itself with wings, and Memphis is a barbecue haven. And Columbus?
That was a problem for Wendy’s when the fast-food chain began developing its new Brutus Buckeye Burger to link the company with its sponsorship of Ohio State University athletics.
For most Americans, Columbus grub is probably tied more closely with restaurant chains, such as Wendy’s, White Castle or Bob Evans, than any specific food.
Faced with that reality, Wendy’s decided to focus on the Ohio State football experience for its sandwich idea, and it came up with four burger concepts that were considered for the new offering.
The runaway winner, selected yesterday by a dozen OSU staff members, band members and cheerleaders, was a burger designed to echo the stadium-food experience.
The Brutus Buckeye Burger features a quarter pound of beef, sweet relish, mustard relish, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, American cheese and an abundance of onion slices on a roll.
The ingredients aren’t that much different from those used to make a Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic single, except it has two types of relish rather than pickles and mayonnaise.
"That’s the one I like best, and it seems most of the others did, too," said David Brown, OSU’s associate athletic director for marketing, who participated in the blind taste test.
The winner beat out more eclectic offerings: a burger that added a sausage patty and Swiss cheese; an entry with Tabasco and blue-cheese sauce; and a sandwich with scarlet and "gray" in the form of a red jalapeno ranch sauce.
The Buckeye will be offered only at Wendy’s 125 central Ohio restaurants. It is scheduled to join the menu Aug. 28, just be- fore the Buckeyes’ home opener, and will remain through the football season.
To enhance the Buckeyes theme, Wendy’s also will add to its local menu a Fix n’ Mix Frosty that has mini Buckeye peanut butter-and-chocolate candy.
Wendy’s is a long-time OSU sports partner and a scoreboard sponsor at Ohio Stadium and the Schottenstein Center.
The Brutus Buckeye Burger is just the third regional signature burger created by Wendy’s and the first in more than a decade. It joins the Carolina Classic and Texas Double Cheeseburger.
The Carolina Classic is a quarter-pound burger topped with coleslaw, Southeasternstyle chili, mustard and onions, and made available in the Carolinas and parts of Virginia and Georgia.
Wendy’s Texas Double Cheeseburger, sold in several Southwestern markets, features two 2-ounce hamburgers, mustard, onion, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes.
The idea of adding regional sandwiches is something the company is considering as a way to help boost sales, which had struggled for nearly two years before a series of new menu items introduced in recent months helped turn that around.
"We’re exploring a whole range of items," Wendy’s spokesman Bob Bertini said. Among them are foods that feature "more taste experiences with a local flair."
In October, the company’s restaurants in the Cincinnati area are expected to introduce a Who-Dey Burger to tie in with the city’s National Football League team, the Bengals. That burger, named for a chant popularized by Bengals fans, will include chili, shredded cheese and onions that are standard for Cincinnatistyle chili hot dogs.
