Too Much and Not Enough

It wasn’t that long ago that we looked at the Million Dollar Whoppers, a collection of three burgers, created by fans of Burger King via contest, that the chain sold as part of a special offer. Those burgers were good. Actually, they were really good. Good enough that I’ve been keeping an eye out for other Burger King specials to grab something that seemed interesting so I could review it as well. Burger King has earned some good will from me. They deserved my continued attention.

And now the King had come out with one interesting enough for me to give it a try: the Steakhouse Bacon Whopper. Topped with A.1. sauce, crispy onions, bacon, Swiss cheese, creamy peppercorn aioli, lettuce and tomato, the burger is apparently another creation inspired by guest requests (not unlike the Million Dollar Whopper, although this time not part of a contest). It’s a lot of toppings, and a lot of flavor ideas, so the question was: is this burger something special, like the other guest creations we recently saw?

The short answer is “no”. The Whopper does have a lot of elements to it, and a lot of ideas going on, but on the whole this one doesn’t actually come together. So many of the flavors contradict, fighting against each other, that instead of a burger that’s truly craveable, we instead have something that is far more average and middle of the road. I could see a way that this burger could be good, but the way it’s constructed it just can’t come together. And that’s sad because I think there’s a way this burger could be better if the creators at Burger King had let this sit just a little longer.

To start, the A.1. sauce was honestly the wrong call. I like certain varieties of A.1. (the Bold sauce is thick, sweet, and good), but not the basic flavor of it. A.1. has a rather vinegary flavor, as well as being very thin. It’s not bad on a steak, but there are much better, more flavorful steak sauces out there than the original A.1. I’m sure Burger King saw this as a way to promise “steakhouse” flavor while also getting a promotional tie in with A.1., but this was the wrong sauce for the burger.

I also barely noticed the peppercorn aioli. It’s a white sauce on the bun, not unlike mayo, and, honestly, if you had told me it was mayo (not some special “aioli” sauce, I wouldn’t have known any better. I didn’t taste the peppercorns at all, and only even realized they were there when one got stuck in my molar. I’m guessing they used a very mild peppercorn, one that wouldn’t come across as “spicy” to your average Burger King enjoyer, but if you’re going to promise me peppercorn and garlic flavors (because, as an aioli, it should have very garlic forward flavors) then you have to deliver, and this “mayo” does not.

Beyond that, the only other flavor I noticed was the bacon. It’s mild, fighting for dominance over the swiss cheese (which feels muted and barely there) and the crispy onions (which, after sitting for even just a couple of minutes, weren’t crispy). The bacon added some salt, and a little bit of crunch, but didn’t really feel like a cohesive part of the burger. It was a take it or leave it ingredient, honestly. I was happy I noticed it at all, but when it barely adds anything to the experience, it really isn’t necessary.

Honestly, I think this burger needed to have a number of elements switched out. A Bold A.1. on the bun would taste sweeter and stronger. A better cheese for this flavor combo, like a pepper jack or cheddar, would be ideal. You could keep the onions but maybe ditch the bacon and the aioli. Focus on flavors that can cohesively sing together. Those would make for a burger that both promises big steakhouse flavor and actually delivers. This Whopper, though, falls far short. It’s not inedible, it’s just not very much fun.

Bonus: Cheesy Tots

For a while Burger King has had tater tots on their menu. They’re technically called “hash browns”, and you can normally only get them at breakfast, but we all know what they are. Mini hash browns are just tater tots by another name. And, honestly, they’re pretty good. Warm and crispy and absolutely terrible for you. They’re a nice little snack if you have to be up at a dreadfully early hour (because any time before 10:00 AM is dreadfully early).

Now, Burger King has a version for the rest of their hours: cheesy tots. Naturally these are tater tots filled with cheese, or as Burger King puts it: “BK’s signature coin-shaped tater tots stuffed with melty cheese on the inside and baked until crispy on the outside.” Now, I would debate the “baked” part of this as I clearly saw my tots end up in the deep fryer, but a little hyperbole is only to be expected with a fast food menu. Still, these promise cheesy goodness in tot form, so I had to see if they delivered.

And yes, they do. They are warm and crunchy, even crunchier than the breakfast tots, which I rather enjoyed. The cheese is kind of muted, probably due to it being some kind of american cheese sauce, but it did add some salt and gooeyness to the affair. These were actually a really nice snack, much better than the standard sides fare at Burger King (like their fries or onion rings). They’re a premium item, so you can’t just get them with a combo. If you wanna try them, I suggest getting just a burger and then add these on separately instead of getting fries. They’re worth the extra bit of expense.