Arby's Melt Sandwich - Vile

[wontonton]

I was recently induced to eat one of these on a business trip. I thought, (childhood memories of Roy Rogers here) how bad can it be? Horrors! I wasn't even sure what kind of meat was in this disgusting little sandwich. Is it really roast beef? What do they do to it? The flavor was strange and unappetizing, hints of ham maybe? Worse than what I'd expect at a junior high cafeteria or hosptial. Plus, the orange melted cheese sauce is just gross. Zero stars.

[ccbweb]

And yet, now I crave them. So funny how that works. Its not good and its not pristine, but I like them nonetheless.

[embee]

If you have fond memories of Arby's from decades ago, it may be because you were eating roast beef way back then. Now you are eating some kind of chopped, formed, compressed substance pretending to be roast beef. It isn't.

[monkeyrotica]

At what point did Arby's decide, "People won't realize or care that we've replaced real roast beef with injection-molded beef scrap lunchmeat with the texture of styrofoam"? Roast beef is their signature product. It's like KFC replacing all their bone-in chicken with nuggets and tenders.

[MsDiPesto]

Makes one wonder if there is a large sack of reddish-brown powder in the back with the instructions: "For Roast Beef, add 5 gal. water to 5 lbs. of Pseudobeef Powder and stir well, then pour mixture into the provided Pseudobeef plastic mold and leave overnight"
I think this is how all the food in my college cafeteria was made.

[Seldomsated]

They must pack a ton of preservatives in that beef. That is my usual complaint about roast beef in most delis and some restaurants. I work close to a Buckhorn's and would eat their beef once in a while, but it has too much of some chemical in it - do like their mashed potatoes tho!

[bakemeacake]

As Homer Simpson so famously said:

"I am so hungry I could eat at Arby's"

I just can't get my head around that place. For a GREAT (chain) RB sandwich one needs to head to the midwest and partake in the deliciousness that is Lion's Choice. This regional chain is hands down the best (and their fries are fantastic!).

[Oh Robin]

Sorry folks but I can't get enough of that fake orange cheese. Probably because I grew up eating it. The best is if you get their potato cakes (fake latke) with a side of that cheese, then squirt a packet of Arby sauce into the cheese and get dipping. Love it! Also their chicken filet sandwich is really good.

[Neely_Ohara]

Yeah, I have some nostalgia for them too -- but truth be told, I haven't had an Arby's RB sandwich in probably 15 years -- maybe it's better to leave my happy memories alone!

[wontonton]

Probably a good idea. Honestly, the flavor of this meat was just odd, orange cheese or not. I was expecting a guilty pleasure, but it only triggered my gag reflex. My hosts ate the same lunch without any obvious side effects, but assuming they frequent Arby's, they have probably developed a tolerance of some kind for this sandwich.

[carinole]

I feel the same way about the RB sandwich but I really like there chicken salad deli sandwich.