Place: Arby's|
Items: chicken sandwiches
Price: 2 for $4 special, regularly $3.49 each

Yes, we Lunch Guys are cheap dates. Perusing a national chain's menu, we'll order the $1 sandwich over the $6.49 “entree” almost every time. So when we heard Arby's was having a “two for $4” deal, we stampeded there.

Turns out Arby's was practically giving away its chicken sandwiches -- the Chicken Bacon 'n Swiss, Roast Chicken Club and Chicken Breast Fillet are usually around $3.49 a pop. Arby's gets the props for its roast beef and its “Market Fresh” deli sandwiches, but does the cheap chicken deserve some love, too?

Tom: Arby's doesn't get enough respect. It's like the Rodney Dangerfield of fast food. This chain has what is probably the best non-Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich on the market, yet it's forced into a gimmicky two for $4 deal to get people to try it.

Well, I'm here to tell you the Roast Chicken Club is a great sandwich. It holds its own at any price under $4. If it were served at a fancy place, it would be a signature dish. It's a mound of freshly sliced, super-thin white meat with better flavor and consistency than anything in the national

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tuna, but I soon realized this was chicken in a form unlike anything else at other chains, shaved off a roasted chicken. The clean, non-oily shreds won me over fast. If a chicken farmer was making a sandwich, this is what it'd be.

The Chicken Bacon 'n Swiss completed my two-fer, and its fried breast filet, peppery bacon and cheese were exactly what I was expecting. Nothing special, but it hit my stomach's sweet spot. Within minutes, all that was left was a crumpled wrapper on my tray and a dab of mustardy sauce and chicken grease on my chin.

Tom: Almost gagged? With your anti-Arby's bias, you didn't want to like it – but you ended up loving it. Imagine how good it would have tasted with a positive attitude. Come on, Chris, we're professionals!

Chris: Hey, I'm a professional critic. I wish Arby's would revamp their image around their chicken and the superb deli sandwiches. Those outdated, bland-as-meatloaf roast beef sandwiches, though -- I'll do anything for lunch, but I won't do that (no I won't do that).

Rating: 4 sporks (out of 5)

Food Facts: 520 calories (50 percent from fat), 28g fat, 7g saturated fat, 38g carbohydrates, 1440mg sodium, 29g protein.

E-mail The Lunch Guys:
tomandchris@thelunchguys.com

sub shops. This meat has real substance, like it's sliced off the real thing. Toss a couple slices of pepper bacon, some Swiss, a bit of shredded lettuce and some mayo on a bun, and you have what should be the pride of Arkansas. I've had several of these sandwiches, and they always come out piping hot, melting in my mouth. It's a big sandwich so I take the second of the two and put it in the fridge. The thing is even better cold!

The rest of the Arby's chicken offerings aren't nearly on par with this, although the Chicken Bacon ‘n Swiss puts the big guys' fried chicken sandwiches to shame. I say it's time we start giving Arby's its due recognition.

Chris: I know you've always been an Arby's man, Tom, but I go there about as often as I go bowling. To me, stepping into Arby's feels the same as stepping into decades-old, slightly moist, oddly colored bowling shoes. Something ain't right.