Ronald McDonald clicked his pen. It was the first sound that caught his attention, even though the third quarter numbers had been flying around the conference room for half an hour. A uni-ball Jetstream. Click. The muffled adult-Peanuts voices chorused into a wave of nonsense. Click. Outside the window he could see a hawk. Click. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple knocked against his tie knot. Click. Ronald darkened his previously doodled Stussy “S” on his notepad. Click. Ronald gave a tiny nod. Click.
So another McDonald’s burger finally has special sauce. The Bacon Clubhouse Burger sports a new bun, bacon, and caramelized onions on top of the special sauce. That seems like it should be a bigger deal that McDonald’s put their formerly exclusive Big Mac topping on another thing. Maybe it’s not because customers can ask for it literally any time as a condiment and put it on any sandwich. Or even things that aren’t sandwiches. Bring it home. Put it on some Brussels sprouts. Put it on your cat. Put it on as a facemask, Mrs. Doubtfire style (Hellooo!). Or maybe freeing the sauce is not a big deal because it’s flanked by so many other new components that work together to make a pretty damn good fast food burger. Teamwork, guys. But f’reals, on this Miami Heat of a burger the special sauce is LeBron*.
The bun. Oh, the bun. So soft, so buttery. It sets the tone for the entire sandwich and is probably the softest roll in recent fast food memory. The bun of a burger is like a mattress. You want to have a good one if you’re gonna spend most of your time sleeping on/eating it. Though if the bun is the bed, there’s one hell of a mating ritual going on inside. The special sauce lends a light tang, never overpowering.
The caramelized onions are sweet and deepen the flavor of the sauce, combining with the slice of creamy white cheddar to coat the burger in a very full taste. The pieces of bacon show up every once in a while too, crispy and adding a bit of a salt kick. The sweetness of the sauce-onion combo overshadows the potential smoke and sugar power of the bacon a bit, but the pig also serves as a good textural change of pace. The tomato is fine. The lettuce is fine. Sorry, you guys don’t get in on the mattress fun, but you can watch if you like.
The actual burger patty is tricky. McDonald’s is using their Quarter Pounder patty here, and as any frequent McDonald’s patron knows, sometimes the meat can be a crapshoot. I ate two Bacon Clubhouse Burgers for this review and the first time I was treated to a rubbery, dry disc that really highlighted a problem. With this burger, McDonald’s is setting itself up to compete with other “fancy” burgers, and while the toppings elevate the Bacon Clubhouse in taste, it left me desiring some decent beef. It was like putting lipstick on a pig. I guess that’s a bit confusing, considering there’s actual swine on this. It was like putting lipstick on Robin Williams (It was a run by fruiting!).
The second time I had the burger it was leagues better. The meat was moist and served as a nice base for the meal. The problem remained, though. The star was most definitely the melded combination of toppings and the bun and not the flimsy, thin protein. Nothing like some so-so cow to remind us we’re still eating McDonald’s. That being said, both times I was very impressed by the depth of flavors in the sandwich and I think that it might be the best burger on the menu in a long time, if not ever.
(Nutrition Facts – 720 calories, 360 calories from fat, 40 grams of fat, 15 grams saturated fat, 1.5 grams trans fat, 115 milligrams of cholesterol, 1470 milligrams of sodium, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of sugar, 4 grams of fiber, 39 grams of protein.)
Item: McDonald’s Bacon Clubhouse Burger
Purchased Price: $4.69
Size: N/A
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Great flavors. Cheese, special sauce, onions combine to elevate burger to next level. Burger bun is so soft.
Cons: Burger patty is unimproved.
I loved this review.
Try the chicken clubhouse! It is so darn good I had to have it twice in one day 🙂 I have only had the grilled one so far though so I can’t speak for the crispy one~
Nice job on this review. Informative, about the food, and colorful.
Let’s get this guy more material to review.
Not sure why, but think you would nail cereal reviews!
A buck more and I can get a Five Guys burger. They would have to upgrade the patty to make it worthwhile.
nice review, I looking forward to trying both
Between the bun on this one, and Carls Jr’s new fresh baked, how much better is this one?
Not sure if I like the high price but I’ll give it a shot.
I don’t see the onions in the picture? When I ordered one last week it was buried in onions, they fell off with every bite.
I tried this. I thought it was good. Still disappointed that the discontinued their 1/3 lb angus burgers due to the high market value for beef. Seems that they just love piling lots of different ingredients (including different buns, now) on their regular quarter-pounder beef patties. They’ll do anything to keep that extra 1/12 lb of beef off the bun.
I think I’ll probably get the chicken one next time, since the chicken club is my go-to sandwich.
Look how small that cheese slice is. It always seemed like the Quarter Pounder would change flavor & color from start to finish and would get cold by the last bite. They badly need to improve their patties.
I tried the chicken version tonight, and while it was pretty good, the asking price here is $6.89, and I won’t be buying another for that.
The bun was good, but imo, CJ’s is better
If someone would put a BK tendercrisp on a CJ’s bun at a decent price point, they’d have something
Thought it was terrible.Angus burger ten times better.Bacon not crisp
Not sure why LeBron James wants McDonald’s to say he dribbles special sauce. The radio ad seems really dumb.
I’ve had both the burger and the chicken versions, and loved both of them. McDonald’s has really stepped it up over the years with consistently fresh-tasting produce, and this sandwich highlights that. I was never a Big Mac eater, but the special sauce definitely works here. Between this and their habanero ranch QP, they have some premium price winners in my book (although I’m still partial to the new $1 BBQ Ranch burger).
I remember trying their 1/3rd pounders. Gave em multiple tries & the meat was always dry compared to the quarter patties.
This one I’ll try just cuz I like bacon on cheeseburgers. I usually get a double QP though when I’m slummin it at McDonald’s.
Your review would have been more insightful if it revealed a few other facts, such as the 1470 mg of sodium, the 16 g of sugar, 51 g of carbs, the 1.5 g of trans fats ( hey Mickey D isn’t everyone trying to get rid of trans fats?) and the 40 g of fats. In a nation in which our healthcare costs are driving us nearly bankrupt, it’s nice to see McDonald’s doing their part to help hospitals get more business. As for LeBron, maybe his next ad will be on behalf of hookers in Las Vegas. This burger should really be sponsored by the National Association of Funeral Directors. Isn’t it time we thought about what we eat?
Communist.
stop being a hater if you don’t want that many carbs and fat then eat it in moderation but don’t be saying that those that enjoy the deliciously crisp and juiciness of the burger should watch what they eat . So there you just got told by a just turned 11 year-old
We had both today…love it!!! My only suggestion thought the sauce is good they over did it. It made a mess the while time we were eating it and was so not needed. Just enough on each bun is fine. Please tone down the sauce and u have a winner!
I was really looking forward to this new item and I’m sorry, but it was a complete disappointment. I had the chicken version. First, while I saw the grill marks on the chicken, there was absolutely no grilled taste and the chicken was watery. I had one bite where I could taste any special sauce at all. The grilled onions, which I love, were non-existent. If they were there, they were tasteless. Lastly, the bacon was tough. How you can make bacon tough is beyond me, but I was unable to bite through it. With tax, my cost for this sandwich was $5.53. I might give the beef version of this a shot, but considering the cost, I doubt it. Usually I like McDonald’s food for what it is, but this was an absolute miss for me.
The beef version was even worse!
I tried it and was disappointed when I realized the special sauce was nothing but the big mac sauce. I think it should have its own sauce. Since the arch deluxe is discontinued, why not give it that sauce. Better yet just bring back the arch deluxe and introduce it to a new generation of people. That’s a topic for another day.
The maple bacon burger was probably the worse sandwich I have ever purchased at McDonalds. Everything on it was so dried out and over cooked that I could not eat it. Even the lettuce was wilted and the cheese looked like a two inch square piece of paper with no flavor!