I tried Dunkin's new $6 value meal and got a full breakfast for half the price
As fast food becomes more competitive, chains are trying anything they can to bring in customers.
Dunkin' is the latest chain to add a value meal to its menu.
The $6 value meal comes with a coffee, a breakfast sandwich, and hash browns.
Over the summer, some of the biggest fast-food brands introduced value meals to bring in customers amid complaints about rising prices.
One of the latest chains to hop on the value meal trend is Dunkin', which announced a limited-edition $6 value meal as part of the new fall menu in late August.
The meal comes with a medium-sized coffee (hot or iced), a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, and an order of hash browns. Before the $6 value meal was launched, these items together would cost $12, so the value meal is essentially a 50% discount.
I headed to my local Dunkin' to try out the new meal and see if it was a good deal.
I visited my local Dunkin' on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
There are over 170 Dunkin' locations in Manhattan alone. I visited a location on the Upper East Side, close to my apartment.
The meal, which came to $6.53 after tax, has three components.
I mobile-ordered my meal on the Dunkin' app since my local Dunkin' can be a zoo in the morning.
First, I had a choice of an iced or hot coffee. I went for an iced coffee.
I chose an iced coffee, and I added pumps of the hazelnut and pumpkin syrups to make my own version of the Nutty Pumpkin coffee, which Dunkin' added to its fall menu in 2022.
In terms of hot options, you could either choose the original roast or Dunkin' Midnight, which is Dunkin's darker roast.
As part of the value meal, this medium-sized drink cost $2.17. Normally, it'd be $4.29.
The next part of the meal was a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. I opted to put it on a croissant.
The default bread for this sandwich is a plain bagel, but you can opt for another bagel (multigrain, sesame seed, cinnamon raisin, or everything), sourdough bread, a croissant, or an English muffin. I chose a croissant.
The default cheese is American, though you can opt for white cheddar. I stuck with American cheese.
The egg is fried — that's the only option.
Outside the meal deal, this would cost $5.59, but it only cost me $2.82.
The sandwich hit the spot.
I've had these before, so I knew it would hit the spot. The croissant was perfectly flaky, the cheese was melted, and the bacon was crispy.
Is it the best egg sandwich I've ever had? No, but for less than $3, I was pleased.
The final component is the hash browns.
The hash browns normally cost $1.99, but as part of the deal, they were just $1.01.
I like Dunkin's hash browns, but I wish this came with more of them.
These hash browns were addictive. They were salty, crispy, and subtly seasoned. My only complaint is that I wish there were more of them — my order came with five.
This meal would cost $12 if I bought these items separately. The value meal is a discount of 50%, one of the best deals out there.
I can see why Dunkin' is adding a value meal — chains like McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's all have them already. But I haven't heard of any breakfast-focused meals like this one, so Dunkin' seems to be filling a gap in the market.
And at half the cost of the normal items, I don't know why any Dunkin' fan wouldn't eat this meal up. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a permanent addition to the menu.
Read the original article on Business Insider