I don’t have a kid, but I’ve put some thought into his or her name. I’ve been thinking of names that are hard to make fun of, but that has been a difficult task.
Brandon…Brandumb.
Evelyn…Neverlyn.
Reginald…Reginard.
Catherine…Casserine.
Dick…Dick.
Geez, I’m a natural at this. I should’ve been a bully instead of being the target of bullies.
Burger King’s YUMBO Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwich has a name that’s extremely easy to make fun of. YUCKBO. This sandwich is DUMBO. YUMNOOOO. And those names do a wonderful job of describing how I feel about the YUMBO.
The YUMBO is constructed using slices of black forest ham, two slices of American cheese, Burger King’s sad lettuce, and mayonnaise on the hoagie bun used with BK’s Original Chicken Sandwich. Before I tell you how mediocre this sandwich is, let’s take a quick trip back into time.
The YUMBO is not a new sandwich. It was originally introduced in 1968 and taken off the menu six years later. The original didn’t include lettuce, mayonnaise, or a hoagie bun. You can see what it looked like in this vintage Hungry Jack’s commercial. (Hungry Jack’s is what Burger King is called in Australia.)
Being that I wasn’t born when the original YUMBO was around, I have no idea what it tasted like. But I do know the present version is disappointing. First off, the ham in my sandwich was not hot. Well, to be exact, my entire sandwich was lukewarm, including the toasted bun. Because the cheese was slightly melted, it might’ve had a little warmth during the 30 second walk from Burger King to my car and the 60 seconds I took to take photos, but it had none when I put it into my mouth. Gooey melted cheese is one thing that makes a hot ham and cheese sandwich awesome, but mine was just room temperature.
I will admit my YUMBO appears somewhat appetizing with the salty ham looking like it was placed lovingly onto the bun, but it tastes like a ham sandwich I could make at home with some cheap Land O’Frost meat, half-eaten lettuce stolen from a bunny cage, a free Best Foods/Hellmann’s mayo packet from 7-Eleven, a hoagie bun, and not giving a damn.
After taking a few bites, I decided I wasn’t going to settle for a lukewarm sandwich and ended up microwaving it for 20 seconds when I got home. When the ham is hot and the cheesy is gooey and warm, it’s a noticeably better sandwich. Although if you decide to nuke it, get rid of the lettuce before you do so because heat makes BK lettuce worse than it already is. Actually, why is there lettuce? To be honest, I don’t even think lettuce wants to be in the sandwich because it kept falling out as I ate mine.
The YUMBO Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwich is part of the 2 for $5 menu, so if you don’t want to heed my warnings and try the ham sandwich, you can do so knowing you have a back up sandwich. It’s not YUCKBO when it’s warm, but I shouldn’t have to microwave my sandwich to make it decent. With the YUMBO being a limited time only product, it’ll eventually be taken off the menu again. And if it doesn’t show up again for decades, I won’t mind.
(Nutrition Facts – 490 calories, 24 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 1770 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of sugar, and 23 grams of protein.)
Item: Burger King YUMBO Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwich
Purchased Price: $4.59*
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 4 out of 10
Pros: A better sandwich when ham is hot and cheese is gooey and warm. Microwave ovens. Backup sandwiches.
Cons: Ham was not hot. Entire sandwich was lukewarm. Subway makes a better ham sandwich. Look at what you made me type, Burger King! Not the sandwich from the bell-bottoms generation. BK’s bad lettuce. Stealing from bunny cages. Bullies.
*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.
There was a Yumbo at BK for a short time in the 80’s as well as the original one back in the 70’s. It was totally different than this sandwhich, though.
I went to high school in the early 1960’s in Miami and the Yumbo we had (several times a week) wasn’t anything like they recently claimed to revive. The original Yumbo was shaved ham piled high on a hamburger bun and melted cheese on top.
When I read that BK was bringing back the Yumbo, I immediately went out and bought one. However, it was nothing at all like the original. This new Yumbo was rubbery and flat — like they had a truck run over it before they put it in my take-out bag. It was so disgusting that I couldn’t eat it (and gave it to my son’s pet bears — who will eat anything).
The entire experience was so bad that I haven’t been back to BK since and don’t know what it will take for me to ever try their food again.
This Review sounds more like a Rant of being Anti- Burger King
Doesn’t sound like a rant about BK at all. They just under delivered from what it sounds like.
Also, $4.59 for a ham sandwich?! Or even $2.50 when it’s part of the 2 for $5 deal?? That should be on the dollar menu and they’d still be making a ton of money off of them.
Throwing a tantrum at Burger King is not a Review! and nothing is wrong with Subway yet for some reason,you,decide to attack them as well. if you can’t give a fair and honesty opinion than please let someone else share a unbiased opinion on these fast food products. This sounded like a rant to me ):
It’s a crappy sandwich what more could he have said about it?
@Penny
He did give a fair and honest review, just like the others who have reviewed this YUMBO sandwich and concluded it’s just not good.
If the last few things you’ve tried at Burger King are not good, its not bias to write a review of yet another mediocre item and show your disappointment at the establishment as a whole.
It’s not bias for me to say that Burger King is the most disappointing of the 3 major burger chains and maybe all of fast food. That’s not me having bias, that’s me saying I have HONESTLY been disappointed with everything I have had there in recent years. Including this nasty YUMBO sandwich that I will admit had just enough promise to warrant trying it. Just like my other Burger King experiences lately, it left me with oodles of regret and dissatisfaction for having chosen the place to begin with.
Oh and Subway really isn’t that great either and that comes from an honest opinion that food tastes better when it hasn’t been sitting on cardboard trays all day in a room just waiting to be heated up by microwave or “toaster”.
There are so many better sandwich shops, local and chains, that can outshine Subway no contest. Just like how there are so many better burger joints, local and chains, that can outshine Burger King no contest.
“I have HONESTLY been disappointed with everything I have had there in recent years.”
You actually got me to reconsider my agreement (below) with the premise that some BKs are better than others. The one near work used to be a “good” BK… but it’s been disappointing since some time in late 2011 or maybe 2012. Same for the one near home… all others tried since have ranged from awful to “wish I’d gone to the Taco Bell next door.” So it does seem to be a chain-wide decline, and it dates roughly to when the company started preparing to go public again (which it did in mid-2012).
Of course, the more mediocre experiences that pile up, the less likely I am to add to the sample further…
There IS something wrong with Subway, tho. Very wrong. Ew.
The only general complaint about BK was about the lettuce. And BK lettuce is, in fact, horrible at all times and places. I would have thought it impossible that lettuce could single-handedly ruin a sandwich, but the King proved me wrong. Even the otherwise-tasty Original Chicken Sandwich suffers from it.
Lol lets just say there is a reason health inspectors will not eat at subway. It is absolutely DISGUSTING. Perhaps try eating some real food once in awhile? Your arteries and waistline will thank you!
@ Marvo, Have you thought maybe it’s your BK location? if you hate them stop going there…
Fast food is supposed to be a standardized product, the same from location to location (except for regional items on the menu). Fast food companies invest millions in standardizing their recipes, ingredients, and procedures.
I agree that quality varies dramatically among BK locations — that’s why I don’t eat there any more — but this is a problem with the chain’s quality control and handling of its franchisees, not a thing that food reviewers should be expected to chase all over town to compensate for.
The Burger King franchises in my area don’t even give drink refills, I never go there anymore. Cheap through and through, and when you’re cheap, you don’t deserve my money.
Wait…but…Casserine?!?
I was trying to figure that one out too!
Man there are a lot of BK apologist here. Sorry folks but it’s a lame over priced plain sandwich. There are good things at BK but this just isn’t one of them.
who knew there are passionate BK fans….. *shrugs* apparently PENNY must love BK, googled YUMBO to see reviews…(or troll reviews sites…) and not understand what sort of reviews this site posts! in fact if Marvo wasn’t so funny, and honest….. we would wonder what is wrong with him 🙂
when I heard the name I thought of Rachel Ray *yummo* SAMMIE bleck!
Just a few years ago, Burger King had a bare-bones ham sandwich on their breakfast value menu. As I recall, it was on a sesame seed bun and was topped with some sort of tasty honey-butter spread. If Burger King is going to bring back a ham sandwich, that’s the one to bring back.
The cheese = liquid plastic?
It was a terrible sandwich in the 70’s too! There’s a reason they took it off the menu.
This isn’t a Yumbo. It’s a ham sandwich. What made the Yumbo good was the onion roll and the warm to hot ham and cheese…and no limpy lettuce messing up the texture of the sandwich. It wasn’t very complex or pretentious. It was just different, and that made it good. If you liked it, of course. But this new sandwich isn’t unique, and if you can’t get to a BK for one, anyone else with a sesame roll, ham, cheese, and limp lettuce can make the same thing for you. Calling this generic ham sandwich a Yumbo is just marketing, and anyone who actually wanted the Yumbo to return will feel deceived.
If I wanted a ham & cheese sandwich from fast food joint, I’d much rather get it from Arby’s off their “value” menu. At least those are hot..
I tried one of these the other day, and you nailed it. It was a dismal looking sandwich…..squished flat, ham was cold, cheese was cold, lettuce was just plain weird. I was excited to try it, but now I’m a little sad I did. It was if they had a stack of them made up already from 3 hours prior, and someone just grabbed one and threw it in the microwave, only that person did not understand how microwaves worked, so they never actually turned it on. I would expect this if it was an off time of the day, like middle of the afternoon, or late at night, but it was during lunchtime. Burger King, just stick to what you do well…..whatever that is.
This is NOT the Yumbo of the ’70s. That one was their best sandwich ever. It was on an egg bun with ham and cheese, with the secret being they put a pat of butter between the ham and cheese before 30 seconds in the Amana Radarrange (the microwave of the time). I worked at BK in 1973-76, and made and ate many of these.
This is a poor excuse for a fast food sandwich. The original would sell many more, and cost less to produce.
I absolutely loved the original Yumbo. Putting lettuce and mayo on it absolutely ruins it. I was excited about trying it again, but I certainly don’t want to try this imitation. Go back to the original, and you’ll have a fan again. Isn’t the slogan for Burger King “Have it your way”? It used to be….
You know, if you hate BK lettuce on everything they make, then why not order your sandwiches without lettuce? It really isn’t hard (I do it all the time). Just say “no lettuce on that please”.
🙂
Yumbo.
DISAPPOINTED!!! In the 70s Yumbo was my favorite sandwich. When commercial ads hit the tv announcing the Yumbo revival I was all “HELL YEAH” but remembered the sandwich being on a round bun without lettuce and mayo and able to add any condiment you desired. Mustard was allit took. Beck it was great without anything.
This intruder tastes nothing like the original and Ihaven’t had one since 1974 until tonight.
BK used different ham also. It was very thin sliced delicious ham. Black forest ham is good but it is not YUMBO HAM!!! Brought the second one home, scraped off the mayo and lettuce, heated it up and Damn!! Just a plain old ham and cheese sandwich like you make at home.
BURGER KING? IF YOU WANT TO MAKE MILLIONS OF BABY BOOMERS HAPPY, GET IT RIGHT!!!
IF ITS NOT BROKE, DONT FIX IT!!!!
HELL EVEN KFC DOESNT TASTE THE SAME.
COME ON BK, YOU GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE EXCITED OVER NOTHING. I’M SURE ITS NOT THAT DIFFICULT TO PUT ONE PERSON IN CHARGE OF RESEARCHING BK’s HISTORY AND LOCATING THECORRECT HAM AND A GOOD BUN, THEN LEAVE EVERYTHING OFF THE SANDWICH EXCEPT THE HAM AND CHEESE.
IT WILL BE A TASK WORTH WHILE. IF YOU GET IT RIGHT.
DONT FOLLOW IN COCA COLA AND KFC FOOTPRINTS, JUST DO IT OR SHOULD I SAY,
GOT ER DONE?
I grew up on Burger King and not McDonald’s. However, I believe that BK is continually going downhill. I hate Burger King now and this sandwich looks and sounds disgusting.
When I was in Miami Edison high school in 1964, a group of us would go almost to the nearby Burger King for a Yumbo. I did not make a typo: 1964! Perhaps this was a test site before they released it to other BK restaurants. Regardless, it was a fabulous sandwich of HOT ham & cheese piled high on a hamburger bun.
Recently, I heard that BK was bringing back the Yumbo; so, I stopped and bought 2 an hour ago. What a waste of my time & money! It wasn’t hot; the ham wasn’t piled high, the ham didn’t taste good and when I took the 1st bite, ALL the ham pulled out of the flat bun! I think the best description would be to say that it looks like a truck ran over it before they put it in the bag.
It is such an insult to the original Yumbo that BK should have named it something else.
I’ll be writing to BK offices and I will not be going back to BK for more.
I was born in 1968 but I have never tried one and don’t think I will now. YOLO for Yumbo.