I don't expect fast food to look exactly like the menu-but I expect at least a vague resemblence. This is bad.

Where's the beef?

Did somebody step on it?

Honestly this thing is a lot closer to the picture than a lot of other burgers are. I'm surprised that it looks as close as it does.

Does anyone remember the movie Falling Down. This Whammy burger is pitiful.

The lettuce is obviously off but if the original burger was wrapped it would look squished too

I bought one of those new angry whoppers last week, man it didnt look ANYTHING like the picture, i seriously thought they had just given me a regular whopper. It was bad. No taste difference from regular whopper. I was very dissapointed, esp since I only eat "fast food" like once a month

I'll take the one with all the grease, that's where the flavor lies.

Wonder what Wendy's has to say about this. LOL I too have rolled my eyes when handed one of my rare fast food meals and seen it looks NOTHING like the photograph on the menu.

Wendy's is renowned for having their burgers look like a mess... but jesus, they taste good.

Still looks better than most other fast food burgers by comparison.

Also, that burger and the jalapeno bacon cheeseburger are teh shizznit!

I have always wondered why these fast food places leave the white lettuce.

I mean I know why, but is it really that cost effective? Wouldn't it be better to give someone a product that looks like it should be eaten?

Eh... It does look quite a bit like the menu picture. It's just squished and has a really thick piece of lettuce.

Kinda gross? Yes. Totally unacceptable? Not so much.

That kind of smooshed goo started me on my way to swearing off fast food.

Which reminds me,

@edwardso:

People seem to no take the packaging in account. After all..Why else do you think you hardly see a squished burger in a sit-down restaurant?

I Do think the humongous lettuce leaf Wendy's throws on their burgers is a little absurd. Yes, I love their burgers and it is great to know I'm getting fresh(?) lettuce and not something pre-shredded from a bag - but lordy, cut the frigging thing!

@Coles_Law: Agree. Ew.

Considering what they have to do to the food to make it look so good for the pictures, I prefer the real thing. They apply all kind of stuff, and only half cook if necessary. Plus they pick out just the right pieces to place on the burger and move those pieces around until they get just the 'right' look. They can also coat the food with vegetable or olive oil to make it shiny if needed, just to give it that lovely just cooked look, like it's still hot and greasy. They can't add non food items to food,but can use it around it if it isn't the item advertised.
Take corn flakes as an example, they go through boxes of the stuff, pulling out the perfect flakes, then use white glue as the 'milk' because real milk photographs bluish and since the 'milk' isn't what is being advertised it doesn't have to be real.

That looks like a dog's dinner!

Ooookay... They didn't even try; it looks like a mutant.

@mrscoach:

I was going to post something like this. I used to take these kind of photos. I could make food look really good. Just do not eat it, the food in the photo that is. In real life even as I cook its easier for me when I make any foods here or anywhere else look like the picture, why? We use the real food to make the picture and we take then time. Then again it me doing it not someone getting paid that has no idea how to cook my foods.

it's not that fast food doesn't look like reality, it's - as Mrscoach pointed out - that advertisements of fast food aren't pictures of real food.

Zillions' TV show from PBS back in the early 90's had a great segment on this. Elmer's glue for milk on cereal, cutting a notch in the burger patty to spread it out, ice cream made of crisco for set pieces or advertisements (it won't melt under the studio lights)...

I'd eat that burger. It looks a bit flat, but they probably had it under something else or the person accidentally squished it.

Well, actually, I wouldn't eat it. The mushroom swissburger isn't very good. It's got this 'glop' which is kind of salty and blah on it.

I do generally like Wendy's burgers, though. Much better than McDonald's.

@frodolives35: But I want breakfast!

Those menu photos never look like what you get, since they are all styled to the point they are not edible.

@jakestlm: I don't know that I've ever seen a Wendy's product including lettuce where the lettuce *wasn't* that white lettuce with the rib in it. I think they must buy that part of the lettuce head in bulk.

It mainly looks like a difference in the skill of the photographers involved. Like others above, I prefer Wendy's over the other fast burger franchises.

The real burger is all fuzzy and out of focus, too. I never eat gray rubbery things if I can't even see them clearly.

@edwardso:
Most definitely. I can remember when I used to work at Chilis. Granted its not a fast-food restaurant but when I would make burgers for sit down, they would look much better than burgers made for people togo because the packaging makes you squish the burger down to be wrapped.
As bad as this may look, you have to remember its fast food. To top that off it doesnt help that Wendy's is always on the top 3 of fastest ticket times. If it was busy you are lucky your burger wasnt worse.

Atleast it was made correctly...

Id still eat it.

@obamaramallama: Agreed. Do the same comparison w/ a big mac, and you'll see a much bigger difference between picture and reality than you do here.

this is obviously a slow news morning. this really isnt even newsworthy. to think your burger wrapped in paper from a major fast food chain should look "photo perfect" is beyond naive.

you should be happy it has all of the prescribed ingredients stacked between the buns.

or you can have it just like in the photo, food glue and all. be careful what you wish for.

Yep, that's a Wendy's burger. I just yank the lettuce and I'm good to go.

@Davan:

Did it have the jalapenos and all on it? If not, they might have given you a regular one.

@stephenwdaries: Me too. In fact I kinda want one now. Pizza yesterday, burger today. I need to see some really disgusting things on here, for the sake of my diet

Some of the commenter must be high today....WHEN have you ever had a burger/sandwich /etc that looks like the picture. And seriously - if you are going to Wendy's, McDonalds or the like for gourmet ANYTHING - then its on you.

I know, lets sue Wendy's over the misrepresentation and misuse of the word gourmet..

All I care about is that it tastes ok, and hasn't been spit in.

I don't really expect fast food burgers to look like their publicity shots.

Typical Wendy's garbage, no surprise. I tried Wendy's twice and the food was awful. I thought the first time was a fluke and tried a second time. BIG mistake, I'll never go back, EVER.

@obamaramallama:

Your right. And this was take home packaging. No telling how long the OP had the burger.

Wow i have never had my wendys hamburgers come out looking that bad. I would have brought that back up and asked for a manager.

I see Jesus in the lettuce. If that was my burger I would totally Ebay it.

I tried one of these burgers and it was a drippy, awful mess.

Interesting...the cracks in the buns are the same.

All I can picture is David Hasselhoff inhaling that thing.

Not too bad. Just squished from being wrapped up. That piece of lettuce is kinda thick. I love a good mushroom swiss burger. I would try it.

Whats the big deal? So the burger got a bit squished, yes, but how does it taste? Isn't taste the more important part of food anyway?

I had the burger, and it is delicious. I'm upset that is no longer on the menu in NYC.

BTW: What do you think the burger looks like 1/2 second after you put it in your mouth?

I've totally eaten worse.

@edwardso:

The ad lettuce resembles green leaf lettuce; most places use nasty old iceberg lettuce because it's cheaper.

The real burger lettuce looks like iceberg.

@framitz:

Their chili and potatoes are pretty good. The burgers...meh.

I like Wendy's but must say that they are the worst at presentation. Once you unwrap the item it looks like a burger that came from your neighbor's picnic.

I wish my Wendy's still had the mushroom swissburger. They now just have that fish sandwich which doesn't seem all that interesting...