Tag: Burger King

After a less-than-stellar experience with the last Philly-themed BK item I tried, I didn’t have very high hopes for the Burger King Chicken Philly Royal Crispy Wrap. However, I tried to keep an open mind, and I’m glad I did because this was pretty good.

When I got the wrap home and removed it from the paper, a bit of the Royal Sauce and veggies had leaked out, but not enough to make a mess. I tasted the veggies outside of the wrap, and my palate was immediately dominated by the fire-roasted red pepper. It’s a really sweet pepper flavor, and it pops nicely in your mouth against the slight tang of BK’s Royal Sauce.

As I dived into the wrap proper, the red pepper kept dominating everything but the chicken. I tried to taste for the onions, but they were also sweet, so they didn’t stand out much. I had the same experience the last time I ate a BK Philly item, where the Royal Sauce and the Swiss Cheese pretty much blurred together into one gloppy entity, mildly pleasant but unremarkable.

It might sound bad that the red pepper was so dominant, but I happen to love sweet peppers, so this was a good choice for me. The textural contrast between the tortilla, the creamy sauce, and the breaded chicken added another dimension to the Philly-themed experience.

This is also a surprisingly filling item. I got the wrap without any fries or a drink, and I figured I would probably need to eat something else at home to complete my lunch, but this wrap filled me up completely. Getting a lunch that leaves you feeling full and satisfied for $2.99 is pretty nice, although I should note that I’m a fairly small person; bigger eaters will probably want to get two of them. C’mon, spend that $6; it’s still not a bad deal.

I don’t really know why Burger King is so hung up on this “Philly” trend, but if it makes me a tasty lunch, I’m a happy camper. This is nothing earth-shaking, but it has a job and does it well. Add two points to the score if you happen to love roasted red peppers beyond all reason.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 360 calories, 20 grams of fat, 6.1 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 2,000 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 15.3 grams of protein.

I thought I’d seen all the shapes fried mozzarella could come in: cylindrical, square-ish, flat (looking at you, TGI Fridays), wedges, balls, curds… but I can confidently say that Burger King has surprised me with its new Mozzarella Fries.

To be clear, it’s not the “Mozzarella” part that’s new, just the conjunction with the “Fries” part. Burger King has had a more traditionally named and shaped order of mozzarella sticks on its menu before, but like its beloved poultry predecessor, the Chicken Fries, this new creation takes those standard sticks and stretches them into a longer, thinner shape (no potatoes are actually involved) and plops them into a cute and colorful carton for convenient—and showy—snacking.

However, I did have some confusion about whether they were intended to be an appetizer or the main event. I ordered mine from the “Sides” section on the kiosk, which seems pretty self-explanatory, but I was also given the more meal-esque option of 4, 8, or 12 pieces and an offer to actually “Make it a meal?” by adding, well, regular fries. That seemed like a bit of a stretch (no pun intended), so I demurred, but I still ordered the largest size and got something that at least resembled a proper dinner in terms of portion, if not nutritional content.

Anyway, the ideal mozzarella stick for me is one with cheese that’s dense rather than stretchy, with the mozzarella and the breading being such distinct entities that you can nibble the breading off entirely without marring the solid contents within. That, as I guessed just by looking at them, is not the experience provided by the Mozzarella Fries. The cheese and the breading here are quite codependent; when you take a bite of the thick, crisp outside, the hot, runny inside instantly loses its shape, oozing out in an Instagram-worthy cheese pull.

The thinness of these sticks makes them quite brittle, too: a good portion of my order was bent or snapped completely in half, which didn’t really detract from the quality but was interesting to note in comparison to the sturdier, stabler conventional mozzarella stick.

And just like it doesn’t have much of its own shape, the mozzarella doesn’t have much of its own flavor either. The toasty breading, which was fried potently enough to give off a powerful smell and had a small bit of zest from a spice I couldn’t identify but whose presence I appreciated, made up most of the taste experience. Even when I nibbled some of the stretchy cheese on its own, I was hard-pressed to come up with a description for it. It was just mild (and perhaps even, as the kids would say, “mid”).

These come with marinara sauce on the side, which seemed like a sensible way to jazz things up… but don’t be fooled. I was mildly concerned upon opening my packet and seeing a dark, gelatinous mass that looked more like barbecue sauce. I should have heeded that discomfort because the sauce was so acidic it tasted like I was dipping my Mozzarella Fries in straight vinegar.

Overall, though, these still provided a great experience—the novel fry shape and the joyfulness of mozzarella sticks, in general, were fun enough that I was happy to overlook the fact that they’re ever so slightly lackluster. Apologies for being cheesy, but there is “mozz” to like!

Purchased Price: $6.39
Size: 12 pieces
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 730 calories, 36 grams of fat, 2,350 milligrams of sodium, 71 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of sugar, and 29 grams of protein.

What do Keith Richards and Burger King have in common?

Other than both being famously flame broiled, you’re probably absolutely shocked they’ve made it to their 70th birthdays.

I always expect my local BK to be a shelled-out husk on my next visit, only to be seen again in a YouTube compilation called “Absolute Dumpsters You Used to Eat at as a Kid.”

With that said, I’m a loyal BK defender, and I’m happy they still exist. Despite becoming one of the punching bags of the fast food industry, the King is celebrating his 70th birthday, so let us raise our Coca-Cola Freestyle concoctions in the air and toast – Long live the King. I doff my paper crown to thee.

How does one celebrate their royal seventennial? Well, with a Birthday Pie, of course. Ya know, birthday pies, the traditional capper for any great birthday celebration. A Birthday Pie sounds less real than the word “seventennial,” yet here we are.

BK hasn’t really hit us with many pie options over the years, but its mainstay, Hershey’s Pie, is great, so I was very much looking forward to this one.

I’ve been served Hershey’s Pie. I know Hershey’s Pie. Hershey’s Pie is a favorite of mine. Birthday Pie, you are no Hershey’s Pie. The concept is flawed from jump – it’s a pie filling that tastes like cake? Just give us cake. Let us eat cake.

The Birthday Pie tastes like three slightly contrasting versions of artificial vanilla in a cookie crust. On the surface, that seems appetizing enough, but it’s just very… vanilla. The pie consists of a birthday cake-flavored pie filling, which tastes like blended cake in a weird viscous form, so it kinda leaves you yearning for cake, which you only get in the form of little tease cake bites glued on top of the off-pudding, which is quite off-putting. (Thanks)

The cookie crust is vaguely “graham” flavored, but the filling is so wet it makes the crust limp. It, like me, had no integrity. There’s also whipped topping and sprinkles, so it’s just weighed down with more “sweet” nothings.

This slice just ends up having a vague combination of flavors I can really only describe as “generically sweet.” That’s what “birthday” flavor has become. It’s just sugar. Sometimes it’s confetti cake, sometimes it’s vanilla, but mostly it’s just “sugar flavored!” I think I’m officially over “birthday” as a flavor. Good thing McDonald’s is ushering in the world’s new favorite abstract flavor – “Grandma.”

If you’re interested in a mashup of low-quality vanilla pudding, soft Nilla Wafers, and whipped cream, go for it. Maybe you can make a wish for something better next year.

I should also note this thing has an encyclopedia of ingredients. If a European saw the label, they wouldn’t live to see another birthday.

I actually think this pie is a good metaphor for life because it got old in the blink of an eye. As Keith Richards’ friend, Whatshisface, once said, “What a drag it is getting old.”

Anyway, if you insist on trying the Birthday Pie, get the $6 Birthday meal, or get it free in the app on June 1st.

Now sing it with me, “at B-K, Happy Birth-day. You rule!*”

*Sometimes. Not this time.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 260 calories, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 190 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of total carbohydrates, 21 grams of total sugars, less than 1 gram of fiber, and 3 grams of protein.

I’m a fan of melts in general. Creamy, indulgent cheese smothering an unctuous protein, all wrapped in a warm cocoon of toasted bread, is hard for a tummy-focused girl like me to resist. While my favorite melt of all time is the tuna melt (Let’s hear it! Tuna Fish Protein Supremacy!), I like a good patty melt once in a while, too. Unfortunately, the latest offering from a certain corpulent monarch, the Burger King Philly Melt, is not all that great.

According to BK, the sandwich features two Whopper Jr. patties topped with peppers, onions, Swiss cheese, and Savory Royal Sauce on Toasted Bread. However, there are a couple of problems here.

First, the bread is the biggest disappointment. It looks like the top is toasted to buttery perfection, but looks are deceiving here. The bread has virtually none of the texture of toasted bread and not much flavor; the look is just for aesthetics. I don’t know if they somehow failed to toast it or just toasted it very lightly, but it’s not quite right. Considering how dominant the cheese is here, having that contrasting, crisper texture would have added a lot to the experience.

Second, the Swiss cheese and the “Savory Royal Sauce” blur together to the point that I didn’t realize they were two separate entities. The overall flavor of Swiss is nice, and while it’s mild, it overpowers the sauce.

The peppers and onions were too soggy to add much texture, but to be fair, I did have to wait until I got home to eat the sandwich; maybe if you get the Philly Melt fresh off the line, the veggies will be a little crisper. I could experiment with this, but to be honest, I don’t feel curious enough to order it again. Flavor-wise, the vegetables break up the wall of cheese a little with a fresher flavor, but it’s fairly subtle; the onions don’t taste caramelized, and the green pepper is neutral as can be. Maybe the flavors would have been stronger if the pieces had been chopped larger, especially the green pepper, but as it stands, they don’t add as much as one would hope.

Obviously, the big draw here is the cheese, and in that department, Burger King delivered. The Swiss flavor is pleasantly mild, and having every bite enrobed in the cheese sauce gives you your money’s worth. They may not have nailed the Philly Melt, but they got the key component right. The only problem with the cheese is that, because it’s so mild compared to the beef, the taste of the flame-grilled patties is very prominent.

Burger King may have reached for the moon with the Philly Melt, but they didn’t land among the stars. They did, however, hit a low-altitude asteroid cluster, so it’s not all bad news. If you love patty melts, this will probably not be an incarnation that will knock your socks off. But taking a pleasant, veritable swim in a pool of liquified Swiss cheese is enjoyable enough that it’s worth a shot.

Purchased Price: $5.49
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 590 calories, 38 grams of fat, 16.1 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 970 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 28.3 grams of protein.

Am I the only one noticing weird weather in the forecast?

It’s almost May, and my weather app says it’s gonna be ice-cold and cloudy. Not only does it say Wednesday is gonna be, what I can only assume is some kind of crazy weather phenomenon, a “Whopper?” Is that a new meteorology term or—ya know what? This is the Burger King app. I’m in the Burger King app. False alarm, everybody.

We good? Ok!

Burger King has a new Frozen Cotton Candy Cloud that is a perfect treat for my actual weather forecast, which looks quite idyllic. The Cotton Candy Cloud is essentially a slush with Burger King’s answer to a coffee shop “cold foam.”

The base drink here is described as a “blue raspberry cotton candy frozen beverage,” but ignore the “blue raspberry” because I think it only applies to the color. It tastes like cotton candy. I never really even clocked any blue raspberry flavor, so if it’s there, it’s negligible.

The slush has a surprisingly soft cotton candy flavor. I expected it to be a lot more cloying. This might be obscure, but it reminded me of the Cotton Candy Swirl ice pops I got from ice cream trucks as a kid. Anything that reminds me of ice cream trucks of my youth gets an instant bump from me. If I could, I would wallpaper my house with photos of all the old Good Humor offerings.

The slush would be just fine on its own, but it’s the “cloud” that really puts it over the top, which might be an intended pun? I don’t know.

The cloud is vanilla ice cream, but the consistency lands somewhere between a milkshake and a cold foam you’d get from Starbucks or Dunkin’. It was the ideal viscosity to plop on an iced drink like this. Vanilla bled into the cotton candy ice, but the cloud managed to mimic its namesake and just float there until I finally decided to mix it in. Apologies for using the words “viscosity,” “plop,” and “bled.”

The churned-in vanilla turned the drink into an icy cotton candy cream milkshake and made for a delicious dessert to my Crispy Royal Wrap that tasted like a deep-fried eraser.

So, this is a cotton candy slush that is not quite like a cold foam coffee and not quite like a soda float, but somewhere in the middle. I would actually love to try this “cloud” in a soda and a coffee to see if it keeps the form it had with the slush.

Did I get brain freeze? Yes.

Did this turn my tongue a little blue? Yep.

Did it give me stomach problems? Sure did.

But did it fill a void in my life I desperately needed to fill? No. It did not.

It’s good though! I knew it would be when the kid at the drive-thru window told me I made “the right choice.” Who knows better than him?

I played a game in the app (horribly, I might add) and got a “free” medium Cotton Candy Cloud with a $1 purchase. Otherwise, it’s $1.49 for a limited time, which is still a great deal. Grab one on the next beautiful day and enjoy yourself.

Purchased Price: $1.49 in the app (probably considerably more without it)
Size: Medium
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 250 calories, 9 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 42 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.