This Forgotten '90s Menu Item Took Wendy's Into Southern Diner Territory

If you were around in the early 1990s, you might remember some experimentation on the Wendy's menu, including the burger chain's sandwich rendition of a beloved Southern dish. The Country Fried Steak Sandwich was a handheld version of what's ordinarily a messy, gravy-fueled meal popular in Southern-style diners. Platters of country-fried steak still thrive in Deep South kitchens, but sadly, Wendy's hung up its gravy-splattered apron long ago.

It's really no surprise the sandwich didn't survive long-term, given its contrasting nature to other Wendy's menu items. It was a bold move for the fast-food chain, known more for square beef patties and Frosty dairy desserts. Wendy's rolled out the Country Fried Steak Sandwich in 1990, promoting it as part of its 99-cent Super Value Menu, which also included staples like the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger and baked potato. It was promoted by Wendy's then-owner and founder, Dave Thomas, well-known for personally appearing in at least 800 of the company's television commercials over the years.

In a retro YouTube video featuring the sandwich's debut, Thomas credited the inspiration to his mother's home cooking, saying her chicken-fried steak was so good "we couldn't wait to sit down to supper." He described the Wendy's sandwich version as 100% beef, lightly breaded, and cooked golden brown. Thomas signed off with the adage, "You can take the boy out of the country — but he still has to eat," though the ad also warns, "Dave's only cooking it for a limited time." That unfortunately turned out to be true, and today if you want a good country-fried steak, you'll have to go to a Southern joint that specializes in comfort food.

The Country Fried Steak Sandwich at Wendy's stuck around until 1994, when it quietly slid off the menu with no warning, according to a modern-day Reddit poster who jokingly said, "That's when I stopped going to Wendy's." Part of its departure may have been influenced by rising health concerns over fast food in general. A medical center dietician was quoted by the Tampa Tribune in 1991 as saying Wendy's Country Fried Steak Sandwich derived 50% of its calories from fat, calling it "far too much."

If you haven't experienced a Southern-style country-fried steak, it may be hard to wrap your head around, much less imagine a fast food version of it. As a child of the Mississippi Delta, I've eaten (and cooked) my share of this down-home deliciousness. It's normally a full-plate experience with knives and forks — and lots of puddling gravy, soon sopped up with homemade buttermilk biscuits. It's interchangeably called chicken-fried steak, even though there's no chicken, only beef steak battered and fried in a similar way to fried chicken.

This classic Southern diner comfort food starts with tenderizing an inexpensive cut of beef, typically round or cube steak, then pounding it thin and coating in seasoned flour. It's then pan-fried with a small amount of oil until golden brown. Leftover pan drippings and flour create the accompanying thick, brown gravy. In parts of the South that call it chicken-fried steak, the gravy is peppered and white, similar to what you'd get on biscuits. Regardless, feel free to slide your country-fried steak into a bun like Dave Thomas did decades ago; he was definitely onto something.