Dear Burger King,
Please bring back your Big Mac wannabe, the Big King burger, which you introduced in the United States in 1997, but discontinued several years later.
I’d like to see it make a comeback here in the United States because Big Mac clones are popping up left and right, like zits on the faces of one of your teenaged employees manning the deep fryer, and I figure since you’ve made one before, you might as well throw your hat into the ring of secret sauces. These burgers include: Carl’s Jr.’s Big Carl, Hardee’s Big Hardee and the recently released Jack in the Box Bonus Jack.
Actually, I should really say “recently rereleased.” Jack in the Box copied the McDonald’s Big Mac decades before it became cool to do so, introducing their Bonus Jack in 1970, which was two years after the Big Mac was rolled out nationwide. The Bonus Jack contains two beef patties, two slices of American cheese, a pickle slice, shredded lettuce and Jack’s Famous Secret Sauce in between a three-piece bun.
You should rerelease the Big King because the Bonus Jack is a lame facsimile of the Big Mac. The beef patties in a Big Mac are small, but the ones in the Bonus Jack are a little more petite, and not a cute petite, like Christina Ricci. Because there’s not a lot of meat, I mostly tasted the bun, which isn’t a bad thing if I’m Cool Whip wrestling with two petite women in bikinis in a baby pool, but it’s bad when it comes to any burger.
The secret sauce did taste like Thousand Island dressing, like all the other secret sauces, but there wasn’t enough of it in my Bonus Jack to have that flavor in every bite. A couple of bites did sort of taste like a Big Mac, but overall there was a lot of bread.
Another reason why you should bring back the Big King is because Wendy’s or some other fast food joint is going to come out with their own version, and if they do, you’ll be all alone. This is bad because while all the other fast food places with Big Mac clones are comparing each other, you’ll be all by yourself, nowhere to be found, allowing the other fast food joints to assume you’re either crying or masturbating, or as they will call it, “whipping up your own secret sauce.”
Sincerely,
Marvo
(Nutrition Facts – 1 burger – 540 calories, 33 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 1 grams of trans fat, 88 milligrams of cholesterol, 1062 milligrams of sodium, 374 milligrams of potassium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 25 grams of protein.)
Item: Jack in the Box Bonus Jack
Price: $4.99 (medium combo)
Size: 1 burger
Purchased at: Jack in the Box
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: About the same size as a Big Mac. Secret sauce tasted like Thousand Island dressing. Cool Whip wrestling. Christina Ricci.
Cons: Beef patties were petite. Mostly tasted the bun. No sesame seed bun. One pickle. No additional onions. Unhealthier than a Big Mac. Zits. Fast food places calling their sauce “secret” when we know it’s Thousand Island dressing.
Talking about whipping up your own secret sauce is sure to put everyone off of this burger.
I think that you’ll likely see fewer big burgers because of the trend toward downsizing food in the U.S. due to the desire on the part of people to save people from themselves on the junk food front.
I didn’t even know they had this burger before. When I was younger I use to always eat Big Macs at McD’s. It could of also been the reason why I was a fat kid/teen.
Hopefully @Orchid64 is right about the downsizing of bigger burgers in the U.S. market. Hell go to an amusement park or the midwest and you can just see the aftermath of these burgers. (note: I use to live in the midwest and therefore can make fun of it!!)
I think it’s hard to improve on a classic. The name “Bonus Jack” sounds pretty lame anyhow…like a term describing the special of the day at the Mustang Ranch or something.
That photo has meat in it? I thought it was a bagel or grilled cheese.
“Jack in the Box Bonus Jack” is probably the most pornographic-sounding name for a burger that I’ve heard yet. They need to put JIBs in international airport terminals and really confuse/upset people when they realize it’s just shitty food and not what it sounds like otherwise.
A little know secret is that Jack always has their secret sauce available if you ask for it. It’s like Christmas morning when they give me more than 1 packet.
You’d think the term “secret sauce” at an eating establishment would be changed by now.
Isn’t BK Stacker sauce kinda comparable to Big Mac sauce? A Double Stacker ordered without bacon would be a decent substitute for the Big King…
This once again makes me happy the nearest Jacks is about… an hour away from me (if the border has no line). 🙂
Marvo you really ought to have your dr test your cholesterol soon…
It looks boring. Might make a good grilled cheese tho.
Um, just the photo alone is kind of offputting, and again I’m open to burger as I am a male in the 25-34 year old demographic, but still, I see no reason to go for somthing that seems inferior to the original in just about every way
hmmm I’ll pass, it looks kinda gross, and I’d be more likley to order somthing that didn’t look like a utter ripoff
I agree, BK should bring back the Big King. It was damn good. So what do they bring out instead? “fire grilled ribs” – crappy ass riblets.
@Orchid64: Oh I hope all the fast food restaurants don’t jump on the mini burger bandwagon because, as editor of a product review blog, I’m going to have to eat them all.
@amanda: I don’t think it’s a midwest thing, fat asses are prevalent throughout the country.
@Chuck: But sadly, you would still have to pay extra for the Bonus Jack at the Mustang Ranch.
@Jay: Yes, it does have meat, but very little. If you look closely at the picture, on the left edge, you’ll see some meat patty.
@Justin: BK Burger Shots is also quite a pornographic sounding name.
@Review Spew: I guess I’ll be adding their secret sauce the next time I order a Jumbo Jack.
@Adrian: I’m not sure about that. It’s been awhile since I had a BK Stacker.
@Lex: I’m going to guess my cholesterol level is about the same as my IQ, which is around 200.
@Bunny: No, it will not make a good grilled cheese. It would make a good sauce mop.
@The Crisper: You can eat it for nostalgia’s sake, since it’ll be around for only a limited time.
@The C. I wish they would bring back their Colossus burger. I would describe it for you but doing so might give me a heart attack.
@slurm: Don’t forget BK Chicken Fries!
Love the name… IN is without a JIB, but I am always amused by the stuff they make. Btw, does anyone ever like the middle bun concept?
@WIBIA: According to Wikipedia, the middle bun in used for stability and to prevent spillage. Although I don’t know about the spillage prevention. The Big Macs I order has sauce and lettuce all over the place.
It’s just BUNS! Radioactive cheesy Buns!!
I have to say, I’m actually quite interested in this burger. I remember finding an old commercial on Youtube last summer and then later a petition to bring it back, which I might have even signed–so now the fact that I could potentially try it is a bit exciting.
Another factor, though, is that I’m in the minority of people that love the third bun (even a fourth bun, if it could ever come to that). It’s always seemed sloppy to me when things like the Big King, the Carl’s Jr. imitation, etc., were made without it.
Jillian: Are you looking as my bum?
Andrew: I really wish JITB would bring back the Colossus Burger. I forget what was in it, but I know it wasn’t good for me.
That is just too much bread.
@Ryan: They should’ve called it the Bonus Bread.
I had one of these Bonus Jacks. I failed to recognize what made it bonus. My biggest complaints, however, is that horrid Secret Sauce. It was more like French Dressing, the most awful and poorly named of all dressings, rather than 1000 Island, which comes in a close second.
in eddie murphys film coming to america, mcdowell describes a bonus jack when giving the difference between his big mac and mcdonalds lol there are no sesame seed buns.
Burger king still sells it in Europe and they also have the XXL huge size big king.and its popular,,the big mac is a copy of the big boy so they are not that original and tooooooooooooo small,its been getting smaller over the years,they should change the name to micro mic.Burger king has overtaken maccas(Mcdonalds) here in Spain in popularity.