Try one, it’s fresh from the Frankenfoods lab

FULL-service restaurants sometimes put crazy food on their menus, as anyone unfortunate enough to have ordered Planet Hollywood’s Cap’n Crunch-coated fried chicken can attest. However, fast-food joints and snack food companies offer odd, outrageous or just plain gross stuff all the time, just to keep you interested.

Here are a few offerings that have popped up recently. It’s too bad “Fear Factor” isn’t around anymore, because a few of these “treats” could have been featured.

Would you eat any of these?

* Wienerschnitzel’s Chili Cheese Fry Burrito: You love chili cheese fries, but not what they can do to your car. Drop a little on your upholstery, and the lingering smell will kill any chance you had of getting the car’s full resale value. The folks at Wienerschnitzel feel for you. They’ve taken a fistful of French fries, smothered them with chili and cheese, and wrapped them in an easy-to-hold burrito. At only 99 cents, your wallet can handle it. But your stomach? Keep some Tums handy. Just in case.

* McDonald’s Swamp Sludge McFlurry: For some reason, ice cream treats are often named for horrific natural disasters. There’s the Blizzard, the Avalanche and the Earthquake. McDonald’s has the McFlurry, which brings to mind a severe, yet cute, atmospheric condition. With the release of “Shrek the Third,” it’s offering the Swamp Sludge McFlurry. It’s a cup of vanilla soft serve with green M&M;’s and tiny brownie pieces mixed in. The M&M;’s are hard, and the brownie pieces are rubbery. However, it turns out you lose the right to complain about a food’s taste if said food contains the words “swamp” and/or “sludge” in its name.

* Diet Coke Plus: There are now six types of Diet Coke; seven if you include Coca-Cola Zero. The latest is Diet Coke Plus. Plus what? Vitamins and minerals, of course. Each 12-ounce can contains small amounts of vitamins B6 and B12, as well as niacin, magnesium and zinc. It has a funky aftertaste, but that’s not really the point. How messed up are you if you’re drinking a caffeinated, artificially sweetened, flavored soda for its nutritional value? “Man, this tastes funny, but at least I’m getting 15% of my daily allowance of zinc!” You want vitamins and minerals in your drink? Go to Jamba Juice.

* KFC’s Chicken & Biscuit Famous Bowl: Last year, Kentucky Fried Chicken introduced its “Famous Bowls.” They weren’t famous, but they were bowls, filled with a bunch of stuff piled on top of each other. Their Mashed Potato Bowl had mashed potatoes, corn, popcorn chicken, shredded cheese and brown gravy. This year, they’ve given us the Chicken & Biscuit Bowl. It’s exactly the same as the Mashed Potato Bowl, but now the gravy is white, not brown, and they’ve crammed a biscuit in the potatoes. The biscuit is the best part. (Oddly, KFC also has a Grilled Mexi Bowl, with Mexican-style rice, jalapeno pinto beans, grilled chicken and pico de gallo, but it’s only sold in Southern California, and only on sale till June 25. It’s far and away their best bowl.)

weekend@latimes.com