Wendy's 'Black Label' Burger: Chain Tests 'Upscale' Hamburger

Wendy's has been getting pretty aggressive with its new burgers: in Japan, the chain just launched a foie gras burger and in the States, Dave's Hot 'N Juicy debuted after two years of development. In the process of these new burger launches, Wendy's has dethroned Burger King as the second biggest fast food chain. The company admits that its strategy is to go after fast casual restaurants such as Smashburger and Five Guys, which makes even more sense now as rumors of the "Black Label" burger begin to leak.

A Wichita tipster sent photos and details to GrubGrade. The burger is rumored to come in two flavors: Bacon Portabella ($4.89), which has a a mushroom sauce, muenster cheese, three bacon slices, tomato and pepper sauce; and Spicy Santa Fe ($4.49) which has guacamole, pepperjack cheese, salad greens, tomato, red onion and a cilantro lime sauce. The poster advertising the burger states "The perfect harmony of signature taste and select ingredients."

The name itself isn't actually all that original, given that New York City's Minetta Tavern has had a $26 Black Label burger on its menu for several years. Grub Street reached out to Pat LaFrieda, the meat purveyor that created the custom blend, for comment. "...It doesn't bother us one bit. Will people get confused? No. Will Wendy's steal some magic we created? Maybe, but that's okay," said Mark Pastore, president of Pat LaFrieda.

HuffPost Food reached out to Wendy's for comment and a spokesperson confirmed that Wendy's is testing two Black Label hamburgers, and that tests are in the "very early stages." Both burgers start with 1/4 pound of North American beef on a buttered and toasted bun.

Check out more photos of the burgers over at GrubGrade.

Comments

[stealur]

03:12 PM on 01/19/2012

I miss their old burgers. Not much of a Dave's Hot N' Juicy fan.

[darlenebonny]

12:01 PM on 01/19/2012

If they wanted to upscale for real, they would have the double cheese possum burger.

[BernieTime]

05:10 AM on 01/19/2012

Wendy's has done a good job with Dave's Hot N' Juicy, except for the Pickles. Deli pickles on a standard hamburger may provide a "fresher" bite, but I'd rather have a classic sour dill that provides real flavor.

[DennyCrane]

03:18 PM on 01/18/2012

Five Guys should be called Five Hours. You wait forever for a burger that frankly isn't anything great. Wendy's burgers are better.

[kjm1957]

01:51 PM on 01/18/2012

Shame on you Wendy's..... producing foie gras from geese is one of the most cruel practices on animals. They are literally force fed massive amounts of liiquid food, causing their livers to grow abnormally, almost exploding....it is very painful to the geese. Shame on you Wendy's for promoting this.

[Ryan Smith100153345]

02:53 PM on 11/29/2012

The storage of fat in goose liver isn't abnormal, it's actually an evolved response to the challenges of annual migration. Wild geese practice voluntary gorging in the fall before they fly south for the winter. They essentially store excess calories in their liver that are then burned off on their long flight to wherever they overwinter. Foie gras production takes advantage of this evolutionary quirk, not to mention that it takes advantage of the fact that geese don't have a gag reflex. The sort of feeding tubes used to administer the feed are commonly used by veterinarians to administer medication.

[GraphicMatt]

11:38 AM on 01/18/2012

I admit to a guilty pleasure for Wendy's hamburgers. I treat myself to one once a month.

[plantbasedpunk]

10:19 AM on 01/18/2012

Cilantro? Portabello mushrooms? Guacamole? I have to admit, while there is still not a chance that these items aren't going to get me anywhere near a BK, it is somewhat a breath of fresh air to see a fast-food joint promoting a burger that isn't beef, cheese and bacon with a fancy name. It seems like these places have the exact same menu and promote the exact same burger all year round.

Oh, and Dave's Hot and Juicy? What's next, the McPhallus? Just saying.

[J0E1]

11:21 AM on 01/18/2012

Your use of double negatives implies that these items WILL get you near a BK though why that is when it's Wendy's selling them is still beyond my comprehension.

[plantbasedpunk]

01:52 PM on 01/18/2012

BK, Wendy's. Same thing.

[JediChef13]

12:57 AM on 01/18/2012

Repackaging garbage and calling it something "different" doesn't take away the fact that it is still garbage. The beef patties for Wendy's come from Cargill or some other industrial beef conglomerate. Unfortunately, "Black Label" sounds exclusive and American fast food consumers are suckers for this kind of nonsense, just look at the "Black Angus" or "Steakhouse Select" I mean, one of the fast-food taco joints (Taco Bell or Town or Fiesta or del Rey) was offering "street tacos", are they really threatened by some little hole-in -the-wall taqueria? These fast food companies are starting to sweat because people are starting to demand QUALITY again or they are seeking authenticity. You can see the same sweat and advertising trickery coming from Budweiser, Coors and Miller and their reaction to the micro-brew revolution that's happening right now.

[J0E1]

11:56 PM on 01/17/2012

No, just no.  You can pretend all you want  but if that burger isn't pressed that day and thrown on the grill on an order by order basis then it's not going to be as good as a five guys or smash burger.  You simply can't produce that kind of freshness in a drive-thru without backing up the line of cars for a mile.  The only example where this works is In-N-Out and that's because you have a choice of burger 1 or double burger 1.

[Karl Wilder]

12:22 PM on 01/18/2012

5 guys are horrible. They user the burger smasher to dry out the meat and refuse to salt it. It may be fresh but it is so badly prepared as to be ruined.

[rich3324]

12:25 PM on 01/18/2012

No it's not. It's a great burger.

[AngusC]

11:19 PM on 01/17/2012

I have to admit, I had given up on Wendy's and thought they were finished, but they have done a great job turning themselves around. I would not get them over Five Guys, but if Five Guys is not nearby, they would be my second choice. Because they have gotten so much better, even Burger King is now starting to improve.

[French Toast]

10:41 PM on 01/17/2012

Their strategy of fast casual is a smart one. It's something McDonald's and Burger King would have a hard time imitating, actually. Certain places box themselves in with their demographic, such as Oliver Garden folks being afraid of the pesto because it's "too green" and "weird".

To my mind, Wendy's has not done that and has always been seen as the best of the big three quality wise. McD's and Burger King would almost have to sneak the altered ingredients in.

[stjoshy]

08:53 PM on 01/17/2012

as a cookie monster with a vast range of palatial tastes i do anticipate this boiguh selection with baited cookie breath.... OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM!!!!!

[Kaila]

09:54 PM on 01/17/2012

Do you mean "bourgeois"?

[stjoshy]

10:00 PM on 01/17/2012

nonono boiguh(burger). i am not bourgeois

[keith w oliver]

08:45 PM on 01/17/2012

not too surprising that it could dethrone burger king ... but it's really not on any different level than burget king's, mcdonalds, and other traditional fast food places (with their angus burgers and smokehouse burgers and those types).
red robin and smashburger and 5 guys are on a different level.
it is still basic fast food, but for 1 dollar less, wendy's stick me with either santa fe or mushroom sauce and theyre are at least 2 or 3 things on each sandwich i dont like -- or i can use the extra buck, go across to the 5 guys, and have them make it the way i would at home with grilled peppers and shrooms and a1
it isn't *that* big of a difference, but it'll keep me out of wendy's as long as a 5guys or redrobin are among the choices.

[cameron d]

08:16 PM on 01/17/2012

It sounds good, but I'm certain it will end up tasting like all the other fast food garbage.

[mikeg0477]

08:14 PM on 01/17/2012

I'll have to get one for my dad. He can have it with his Black Label beer.