Wendy’s unveils its new Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger

There's no denying that fast food giants appear to be constantly competing to see who can roll out the most outrageous food items. From the KFC's Double Down to Pizza Hut's Cheeseburger Crust Pizza to Burger King's Bacon Sunday, fast food menu items just keep getting weirder.

This is why Wendy's new Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger is a refreshing side-step away from the pack. It's like a tame and mild-mannered relative of the others.

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The Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger hit North American stores on Monday. It includes standard ingredients like a beef patty, warm cheese sauce, thickly-sliced bacon, tomato, lettuce, red onion and smoky honey mustard -- but instead of a regular bun, everything is sandwiched in a pretzel bun.

It's the latest incarnation in a recent string of new burgers that has included Dave's Hot 'n Juicy Cheeseburger, the W Burger, and the double-patty Baconator.

And the company is very hyped about its expected success.

Also see: You won't believe how many patties are on this burger

"Our industry sources inform us that when the Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger was in test, its performance ranked amongst the best of any Wendy’s test items from the last 20 years," writes Janney Capital Markets restaurant analyst Mark Kalinowsk in a May 24 report.

The intention is to keep the burger as a permanent addition to the menu, not a limited item.

And in case you are wondering, hard and soft pretzels have a devoted foodie following at the annual Pretzel Festival in Germantown, Ohio. Wendy's pretzel bun can now be added to a long list of other pretzel uses including desserts, breading crust, and as a topping to replace nuts.