10 Foods We Lost In 2022

In many ways, 2022 was a year of great loss. We took our last enthusiastic bites of burgers, desserts, and sandwich fillings we didn't realize we'd never experience again. If there's one thing that connects all the foods we lost this year, it's that the brands that discontinued them seemed averse to making a fuss about it. And though these companies might have tried to sneak one past us, we're always paying attention.

Here are 10 of the most notable losses to the food landscape this year, for better or worse.

Burger King seemed to suffer from some kind of identity crisis this year, and one casualty of that breakdown was the Ch'King Sandwich. Despite initial rave reviews, including our own, Burger King's Ch'King lineup was on its way out after just 15 months on the permanent menu. The Ch'King, Spicy Ch'King, and Ch'King Deluxe were Burger King's entree into the fast food chicken sandwich wars, and despite being latecomers, these sandwiches were really good, holding their own own in crispiness, size, and spice.

Will it ever return? The Ch'King was pretty quickly replaced by a line of Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwiches, available in original, spicy, bacon and Swiss cheese, and Italian, so it's pretty safe to say that the Ch'King is dead.

For a restaurant like Chili's, chicken tenders have become the bread and butter, as it were—but it turns out that the Original Chicken Crispers, a longtime Chili's classic, have been discontinued. It's important to note: the Original Chicken Crispers feature a tempura-like batter on them, and they're different from the Crispy Chicken Crispers, which have a craggy and crunchy crust. The latter is still on the menu and available plain or doused in Honey Chipotle sauce.

Will it ever return? Despite the outcry from some superfans on social media, the decision to kick these off the menu seems to be rooted in sales—people just weren't buying the Original as often as the Crispy. We need to accept this loss and take comfort in the fact that we have a chicken tender option left at all.

This fast food loss was barely noticed by anyone, except the eagle-eyed egg white fans on Reddit, of course. According to posts on the site, all forms of the Dunkin' Veggie Egg White, which could previously be subbed in for any item with an egg patty, disappeared in January, and it's still nowhere to be seen on Dunkin's current menu.

Will it ever return? The lack of outcry makes it seem like this is an item that hasn't been missed by many, so there's little incentive for Dunkin' to bring it back anytime soon. Not to mention that it feels like a relic of attempts to put "healthy" items on fast food menus, and we as a society don't demand that with the same fervor we once did.

Honest Tea is no more. After being purchased by Coca-Cola in 2011, it was quietly phased out of the beverage giant's roster this year. As with almost all product discontinuations, this is a result of poor sales along with glass supply issues for bottling.

Will it ever return? In a way it already has. Honest Tea co-creator Seth Goldman already has a replacement drink on the market as part of his new business Eat The Change, called Just Ice Tea. The main difference between Honest Tea and Just Ice Tea is that beverages are now sweetened with Fair Trade–certified and organic agave syrup and honey, as opposed to cane sugar in the Honest Tea (which is also Fair Trade–certified and organic). The six Just Ice Tea flavors that are currently available—green tea, honey green tea, Moroccan mint green tea, peach oolong tea, berry hibiscus herbal tea, and half tea & half lemonade—are almost mirror images of their Honest Tea counterparts.

We were devastated to be the ones to have to deliver this scoop. Klondike was seemingly hoping that no one would notice when the company stopped producing Choco Tacos. But oh, we noticed, and so did a swarm of fans who took to the internet to eulogize (or make a pretty penny off of) the discontinued dessert. The loss of the "genius" ice cream novelty item opened up a golden opportunity for other brands to make chocolate taco creations of their own, but there will never be anything quite like the original.

Will it ever return? Klondike still hasn't taken the Choco Taco fully off its website, though in place of the "buy now" button is one that says "no sellers found." Immediately after the dessert's demise, rumors were swirling that Klondike would bring the bar back as an ice cream truck exclusive. Keep an eye out next summer for a possible resurrection.

The Egg White Delight McMuffin at McDonald's was the first (and possibly last) of its kind. The sandwich debuted in 2013, and in April of that year, McDonald's announced it would be adding the McMuffin, which consisted of "100% egg whites, extra lean Canadian bacon and white cheddar served on a new muffin made with eight grams of whole grain," to menus nationwide.

McDonald's confirmed to The Takeout that the Egg White Delight McMuffin was discontinued on a national scale in 2018, but that individual McDonald's locations could still choose to serve it based on customer preferences. However, as of this year, McDonald's no longer lists egg whites as an egg option on its FAQ page. The company seemed to really drag out the death of this particular item over several years.

Will it ever return? Because of how quiet McDonald's stayed about the item's departure, it's hard to see it coming back anytime soon. And like the Dunkin' Veggie Egg White, it seems like the audience for this type of egg preparation simply isn't as big as it used to be.

We're used to the McRib coming and going from the menu, but this year McDonald's shocked us all when it announced this would be the farewell tour of the beloved sandwich. The company seemingly confirmed to The Takeout that this is indeed the McRib's last hurrah.

"After three straight years headlining our nationwide menu, this fall will be the McRib's Farewell Tour – complete with limited-edition throwback McRib merch available for purchase, so diehard fans can forever rock their favorite sandwich even after it's gone from the menu," read a statement from the company sent to The Takeout via email.

Will it ever return? When pressed for clarification, McDonald's response was vague enough that we feel confident this isn't really the last we've seen of the McRib.

"We can't say for certain what the future holds," read a follow-up statement from McDonald's. "But for now, fans should enjoy the McRib while they can, because it won't be returning nationwide anytime soon."

While there may not be another national rollout for a while, this implies that select locations may still serve the sandwich until its inevitable, very carefully marketed return to menus everywhere.

The SnackWell's website is now just a goodbye note to customers, simply stating that the brand is now retired; the note also encourages loyal customers to buy up Skinnygirl diet food products instead. And while we never got clarification on exactly why the company made this decision, we know that many vocal customers have been furious with the company for much of the past decade thanks to recipe changes that have made the Devil's Food cookies allegedly less delicious than before. On top of that, the brand's longtime association with the toxic diet culture of the 1990s just doesn't fit as neatly into the 2022 consumer landscape.

Will it ever return? We certainly hope not. Good riddance!

Subway is no longer offers oven roasted chicken breast, and people didn't even notice until months after the fact. This isn't the same as the grilled chicken strips used in the popular Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki and Buffalo Chicken sandwiches, but rather the chicken breast patty. It's the same chicken that one journalist claimed wasn't entirely chicken—Subway sued the journalist for making those claims and lost.

Will it ever return? Subway is in the middle of revamping its entire image, and that Includes trying to leave less than stellar details about its reputation in the past. I can't imagine why it would want to remind people of this chicken lawsuit, especially now that Subway offers rotisserie chicken as a sandwich filling.

Last September, Wendy's debuted the Big Bacon Cheddar Burger, mostly notable because of its cheddar bun and use of two different kinds of cheeses on the burger itself. It certainly seemed like a limited time offer when it was released, but that didn't make its removal from the menu sting any less for super fans.

One Reddit user on the page r/Wendy's wrote: "Why tf did you guys get rid of it man. I loved that burger. I loved Wendy....I would get that burger everyday and then one day....."sorry sir we don't serve that anymore" why would you break my heart like that Wendy! I gave you everything !"

Will it ever return? Wendy's made a big deal of bringing back its Pretzel Bacon Pub Burger this year, and it also introduced a new Italian menu; all of this seems to fulfill the quota for specialty items on a fast food menu.