Quick: When you think of a fast food burger, what’s the first thought that pops into your head? Greasy? Boring? Unhealthy? All of the above can certainly be true, but you’d be amazed by how not boring some fast food burgers are, especially international ones. We’ve tracked down nine of the most bizarre fast food burgers to ever be unleashed on an unsuspecting public.
All around the world, fast food companies are desperate to get as many people buying their food as possible — especially American-based chains, which have seen dwindling sales on their home turf. So what’s the best way to attract curious customers? Just ask Pizza Hut, which recently jettisoned their strategy to attract millennials by offering them hip ingredients like sriracha in favor of a pizza with a hot dog-stuffed crust: Come up with the craziest menu item you can get away with, put it on the menu, and let the crowds roll in.
Chains like Pizza Hut, Burger King, and KFC give their international divisions a lot of leeway to come up with new menu items (usually limited-time-only releases) that they think will appeal to the locals while still representing “American” cuisine. And when the popular belief around the world is that American food is grossly outrageous, that tends to create some truly wild offerings. It is true than Americans appreciate a crazy burger; just ask the folks behind places like Philadelphia’s PYT, which sells items like a deep-fried Twinkie burger, a spaghetti-bun burger, a lasagna burger, and a French toast burger.
While it takes some real creativity to invent a burger that’s both wild and delicious, you’d be amazed by the crazy burgers that some of these chains have thought up. Many of these were limited-time offerings, but some of them are permanent menu items. So while it might sound weird, the next time we go to Japan we’ll definitely be stopping by a Burger King. Read on to find out why.
1. Burger King Japan: Pumpkin Burger
(Buger King Japan)
For Thanksgiving 2012, Burger King Japan released a burger with a patty topped with sliced kabocha squash (also called Japanese pumpkin), bacon, lettuce, and a mayo-based sauce with sesame seeds, peanuts, cashews, almonds, and hazelnuts.
2. McDonald’s Mexico: Flaming Hot Doritos Quarter Pounder
(McDonald's Mexico)
Want your Quarter Pounder topped with Doritos and guacamole? Then head on down to your closest Mexican McDonald’s.
3. Burger King Japan: Black Ninja Burger
(Burger King Japan)
This burger, unveiled by Burger King in Japan in November 2014, was designed to look like a ninja sticking its tongue out. The burger includes a Whopper patty, hash browns, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and a gigantic slab of grilled bacon, all piled onto a jet-black bun.
4. McDonald’s China
(McDonald’s China)
McDonald’s in China once served a burger with two beef patties, bacon, and mashed potatoes. Maybe we should have been putting mashed potatoes on our burgers this whole time?
5. Burger King UK: Sprout Surprise Whopper
(Burger King U.K.)
What’s the surprise here? A patty made by placing a combination of fried Brussels sprouts and Swiss cheese on top of your Whopper.
Check out more outrageous fast food burgers.
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