Burger King sat me down today to eat four Whoppers and a New York Pizza Burger. I’m glad I realized I didn’t have to finish each one.
They invited me to the new flagship Whopper Bar in Times Square to meet one on one with BK’s Chef “J†Jason Sullivan and Vice President of Global Product Marketing and Innovation John Schaufelberger. I was little nervous to come meet them by myself …if I was being suckered into something, like how police capture criminals by telling them they won a boat and to come pick it up. I know what I’ve said about their fries and their hash browns.
They were cool though. Besides letting me try Whopper Bar exclusives –Meat Beast Whopper, California Whopper and BK Black & Bleu Steakhouse XT, they let me create my own. I went for spicy –jalapeños, Cajun sauce, angry fries, pepper bacon, cheddar and lettuce and tomato. It was neat to create my own, but it really didn’t stand up against their pre-tested creations.
In retrospect, the BK Black & Bleu XT tasted the best for the first few bites, but became overwhelming with the bleu cheese …or at least I should’ve finished it while it was warm. I think I’d enjoy finishing the Meat Beast Whopper with its bacon and pepperoni. It was surprisingly good for the couple of bites compared to restaurant burgers I’ve had as of late.
The visual highlight was the New York Pizza Burger. I expected a small burger with tomato paste, but this was a huge burger the size of a small pizza. “…four flame-broiled WHOPPER® patties topped with pizza-lovers’ favorites – pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce and Tuscan pesto sauce – all on a 9 ½-inch sesame seed bun.” It’s not bad. Tastes kinda like pizza, but also like a burger. The pesto herb sauce gives it a nice flavor. They should think of adding that sauce to the Whopper menu. Don’t know if it’ll work on a regular burger, but it’s sure tasty.
The sharable NY Pizza Burger ($12.95) is a New York Whopper Bar exclusive and doesn’t come out until September. It looks to be an attraction not only for tourists, but also for the locals that are into crazy ideas like donut burgers and Double Downs. It’s not quite as wacky, but still fun …I just don’t know how they lay four Whopper patties on it, cut it into 6 slices without noticeable meatless gaps?
I did ask the head chef as I was walking out “How do you get all the onion rings the same size?” He said something about it either being pieced together or cut short. I’m not sure I buy that. I really want to think they take out the very one sized ring and throw the rest away.
