Quick bites.(Fast Food - Test)(Buyers Guide)

When it comes to fast-food restaurants, "lean" and "light" have left the building--chains no longer trumpet those terms. Nevertheless, some fast foods do have less fat and fewer calories than others. What's more, some of those slightly better-for-you choices actually beat fattier, higher-calorie offerings in our taste tests.

At major burger and chicken chains--Arby's, Boston Market, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Hardee's, KFC, McDonald's, and Wendy's--we compared the fat, calories, and sodium of some of the most popular offerings: large burgers (with and without bacon), cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches (breaded and bare), chicken nuggets, chicken Caesar salads, fish sandwiches, and french fries. (All of these chains offer nutritional information on their web site or in a brochure that you can pick up at the store.)

To assess taste, we had a sensory consultant sample each item at five different outlets. She traveled to stores in Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The Ratings, beginning on page 46, include details about both taste and nutrition. In most cases, nutrition figures include whatever sauces or extras come along. (You can, of course, improve nutrition by cutting down on certain toppings. For more about making fast food more healthful, see "Strategic Eating at the Big Three," on the facing page.) The highlights:

* Wendy's won our limited taste test: Most of the items we sampled at Wendy's were a cut above those from McDonald's and Burger King.

* Although most items are high in fat, some better-tasting burgers and chicken sandwiches have less than their competitors.

* Chicken sandwiches are usually lower in fat than not only big burgers but fish sandwiches and chicken Caesar salads.

* Fish sandwiches and chicken Caesar salads can have almost as much fat as big hamburgers, on average: about half the daily limit for someone taking in 2,000 calories.