NEW YORK CITY, NY – Pizza Hut’s introduction of its Hot Dog Bites Pizza, a pizza with 28 hot dog bites baked into the crust, has taken the fast food industry by storm.

“Pizza Hut’s really raised the bar with this one,” according to Frank Albertson, lead researcher at Fast Food Answers, a culinary think thank based in Tupelo, Mississippi. “We haven’t seen this level of competition in the industry since KFC rolled out the Double Down.”

KFC introduced the Double Down – a sandwich with two fried chicken filets, bacon, Monterey Jack cheese and “Colonel’s sauce” – in 2010. It quickly became a cultural sensation, selling 10 million sandwiches in its first month. In 2014, KFC brought back the Double Down for a few months. Earlier this year, KFC locations in the Philippines sold the Double Down Dog, a hot dog wrapped in a piece of fried chicken.


“KFC is definitely leading the industry in coming up with food that any sane person would consider too disgusting to eat,” according to Albertson. “For years, Arby’s held that title, but that greasy baton has definitely been passed to KFC.”

What is Albertson predicting for the future of fast food? “I have a source at KFC who tells me he’s working on the Double Down Rat Sandwich and it will be in restaurants by the end of the summer,” he said. “For skeptics who think no one would ever eat a fried rat wrapped in a chicken breast, I’d ask you one question: what do you think is in the mini hot dogs Pizza Hut uses in its crust?”

Albertson said KFC came up with the idea after news this week that a California man claimed he was served a deep fried rat by a local KFC. Devorise Dixon, 25, posted pictures of the alleged “rat” coated in breading on his Facebook page. While Dixon wrote that the restaurant manager admitted it was a rat and apologized, KFC’s corporate office has denied the whole thing. Albertson speculated that KFC had to issue a denial, because it didn’t want to ruin the media frenzy when the Double Down Rat Sandwich is introduced in a few months. “It’s going to be a real game-changer, that’s for sure, he predicts.