Discontinued Fast Food Burgers We Wish Would Make A Comeback
From dangerously spicy offerings to prime grade-beef to meatless options, here are the fast-food burgers that need to make a comeback.
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00:00From dangerously spicy offerings to prime-grade beef to meatless options, here are the fast
00:06food burgers that need to make a comeback.
00:09Burger King has never replaced the Whopper from its menu, but it has occasionally added
00:14some variations.
00:15Case in point, the Angry Whopper, which beefed up the regular Whopper by adding cheese, slices
00:21of jalapeno, a sweet angry sauce, crunchy angry onions, and hickory-smoked bacon.
00:27The specific variety of cheese varied by country.
00:30In the U.S., it was American, while the U.K. had Pepper Jack and Mexico got Manchego.
00:36The Angry Whopper originated in the U.K. in 2008.
00:39A year later, it hopped across the Atlantic to the American market, where it lasted about
00:43six years before being replaced by the even spicier, Angriest Whopper.
00:49Then in 2019, the Angry Whopper was re-released for a limited period.
00:53Only time will tell if it makes another comeback.
00:55I'd like an Angry Whopper right inside my angry stomach."
01:00Wendy's short-lived Bacon & Blue was a burger topped with strips of bacon and blue cheese.
01:04Released in 2010, this actually made Wendy's the first fast food chain to use blue cheese
01:09on a burger.
01:10Then in 2015, it kicked the flavor up a notch with a toasted brioche bun.
01:14Liz Garrity, the chain's vice president of marketing, announced at the time,
01:18With specialty ingredients and robust flavors like artisan Wisconsin blue cheese crumbles,
01:22our new Bacon & Blue on Brioche will awaken the hamburger connoisseur in all of us.
01:27We're continuing to deliver consumers culinary-inspired flavors and new premium hamburgers they've
01:33come to expect from Wendy's.
01:34Sure, this particular offering may have been a bit messy with the blue cheese and special
01:39sauce, but if Wendy's is so dedicated to giving its customers what they want, then why isn't
01:44this burger scheduled to make a comeback?
01:46In 1996, McDonald's tried its hand at creating a premium burger for the sophisticated adult
01:52palate by introducing the Arch Deluxe.
01:54The price was higher than other menu items, which wasn't exactly a selling point to customers.
01:59The sandwich consisted of a quarter-pound beef patty, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions,
02:04ketchup, a signature mustard-mayonnaise sauce, and optional strips of bacon.
02:09McDonald's invested a lot in the Arch Deluxe, including the most expensive advertising campaign
02:14in fast food history at the time.
02:16In its first year, the burger was expected to bring in $1 billion, but that didn't happen.
02:21Regardless, McDonald's claimed it wasn't expecting the Arch Deluxe to be the chain's
02:24savior in a time of sluggish sales.
02:26As then-President and Chief Executive Edward H. Renzi put it in a memo,
02:31"...only those who expected a miracle were disappointed."
02:33The year after the Arch Deluxe was introduced, its price was dropped along with other menu
02:38items, which reportedly was not a popular move among franchisees.
02:42One of McDonald's biggest mistakes with this sandwich was marketing it to adults and insisting
02:47that children would hate it.
02:48The chain tried a similar move in 2018 with the launch of their Arch Burgers.
02:52However, they were only available in select regions, and advertising was limited.
02:56Still, there are plenty of fans who would love a nationwide Arch Deluxe comeback, just
03:00without the questionable advertising.
03:02"...I was gonna say that."
03:03"...Me too."
03:04"...So obvious."
03:05Whataburger is known for its extra-large portions and extensive customizations.
03:11That's not to say it doesn't offer specialty burgers as well, like their Chop House Cheddar,
03:15which first hit menus in the summer of 2009 and made a comeback in 2010 for a limited
03:19time.
03:20This burger boasted quite the flavor profile, with two grilled beef patties, grilled onions,
03:25melted shredded cheddar cheese, two slices of bacon, and a creamy steak sauce, all piled
03:30on a toasted bun.
03:32It was available in both regular and junior sizes.
03:35At the time, Whataburger's director of marketing commented that the Cheddar Burgers' launch
03:40proved to be a hit because consumers enjoyed the nuanced flavors and the use of real cheddar.
03:45Indeed, fans were still thinking about this burger as recently as 2018.
03:50As one enthusiast put it on Reddit,
03:51"...I need it in my life right now.
03:53When are they going to bring it back?"
03:55And there's even a petition on Change.org that has garnered over 1,000 signatures.
03:59We can only hope these pleas will be heard by the powers that be at Whataburger.
04:04Back in 2007, Jack in the Box became the first major fast food chain to put Sirloin Burgers
04:09on its menu, with optional toppings like cheese, onions, and bacon.
04:13It wasn't a bad choice for health-conscious customers, since ground sirloin is leaner
04:17and less greasy than ground beef.
04:19Within two years, Jack in the Box also dated the Sirloin Burgers in mini form, aka Sliders.
04:252009 was a big time for mini burgers, giving Jack in the Box no shortage of competition.
04:30Sadly, when the chain installed new menu boards in 2011, the mini burgers were not included.
04:35That wasn't the end of pint-sized sandwiches, as Sliders experienced another surge in popularity
04:40in 2014.
04:41Since trends are cyclical, maybe we'll go through another Slider boom in the near future.
04:45After all, mini burgers are the perfect party food thanks to their convenient portable size,
04:50and we're sure there would be enough people around to gobble up each bite.
04:53In 2008, Burger King released Burger Shots, mini boiled burgers that came in pairs with
04:59up to three pairs per box.
05:01This wasn't the chain's first attempt at a mini burger.
05:03Back in the 80s, BK offered the similar Burger Bundles and Burger Buddies.
05:08Alas, restaurant kitchens had difficulties with the smaller patties falling through the
05:11slats in their grills, which could explain why the product was discontinued.
05:15But surely there have been innovations in grilling in the past 30 years to combat that
05:19problem, and maybe not everyone has a Whopper-sized stomach.
05:22Case in point, in 2011, Singapore Burger King's marketed Burger Shots to those who weren't
05:27as impressed by the signature burger's larger size.
05:30The chain also promoted the shareability of mini burgers.
05:32If you ask us, this sounds like a great option for families with little hands and little
05:36mouths to feed.
05:37I wish you were little.
05:43We've already established that Wendy's likes to experiment with different kinds of cheese
05:46on its burgers.
05:48In this case, they opted for aged gouda with a Swiss Gruyere fondue sauce, garlic aioli,
05:53and strips of applewood-smoked bacon on a quarter-pound beef patty.
05:57It may have been a bit messy, but it was a real win for cheese lovers.
06:00As Wendy's chief concept and marketing officer, Kurt Cain, announced in 2015,
06:04"...nobody creates a cheeseburger-and-fries experience like Wendy's.
06:08Our oven-baked bacon and fresh, never-frozen beef are already famous for being delicious.
06:12Now we are combining them with aged gouda and a Swiss Gruyere cheese sauce that are
06:16ready to play their own starring role."
06:18After the gouda bacon cheeseburger was discontinued, one Redditor lamented,
06:22"...I miss it every day.
06:23Does anyone know if it's ever going to make a comeback?"
06:26Unfortunately, we've yet to hear a definitive answer to that question from Wendy's.
06:31Fast food joints clearly like to experiment with different kinds of beef in their burgers,
06:35like standard ground beef versus ground sirloin.
06:37In 2006, McDonald's introduced the Angus Burger by giving it a thorough test run in celeb
06:42Los Angeles locations before taking it nationwide three years later.
06:46Angus beef comes from a specific breed of cow, and it's famous for its marbling and
06:50juicier flavor.
06:51So, the Angus Burger was a step toward offering more sophisticated, premium items on the McDonald's
06:56menu.
06:57But then came the rising beef prices of 2013, which were reportedly largely due to drought.
07:01As a result, the decision was made to cut the Angus Burger, which came in at a pretty
07:05hefty one-third of a pound of beef.
07:07Company spokesperson Donya Proud said at the time,
07:10"...while these burgers will no longer be available in our restaurants, they may still
07:13play a future role in our menu."
07:15If you continue to crave a McDonald's Angus Burger nearly a decade later, you'll probably
07:19have to take a trip to Australia, or just keep hoping and praying that it returns stateside.
07:24In 2019, The New Yorker ran an article discussing the introduction of vegan burger brands Beyond
07:30and Impossible hitting the fast food market.
07:32Then in October of that year, fast food chain Hardee's partnered with Beyond Meat, and thus
07:37the Beyond Thick Burger was born.
07:38A charred-boiled Beyond Burger patty was paired with a toasted bun, and toppings including
07:42lettuce, tomato, onion, dill, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise.
07:46Despite the initial excitement, many customers took to social media a year later to vent
07:51about their struggles obtaining these plant-based burgers.
07:54As one person tweeted,
07:55"'Went to Hardee's for the Beyond Burger and they said they discontinued them because nobody
08:00was ordering them.
08:01Do I look like nobody to you?"
08:02"'I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan!'
08:06Another tweeted,
08:07"'Y'all need to go support the Beyond Burger.'"
08:09According to Gallup, in 2020, one in four people in the United States reported eating
08:13less meat than they used to, and this trend is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
08:18With this in mind, Hardee's should seriously rethink its decision to discontinue the Beyond
08:22Thick Burger.
08:24Turkey is generally lower in saturated fat than ground beef, which many in the medical
08:28community believe lowers the risk of heart disease.
08:31This could be one reason why the consumption of red meat in the U.S. has been steadily
08:35declining over the past several decades, while the consumption of poultry has increased considerably.
08:40Considering all this, it only makes sense for fast food chains to offer red meat alternatives
08:44on their menus, and Burger King needed this call, at least for a little bit.
08:48In 2013, the chain put a turkey burger on its menu.
08:51BK head of global innovation Eric Hirschhorn commented at the time that turkey burgers
08:55were becoming more and more popular in the restaurant industry.
08:58Reception on social media was mostly positive, so it's a little bewildering that it was eventually
09:03dropped.
09:04Maybe they'll reconsider this foul decision.
09:06"'I thought it was a turkey, I swear to God!'
09:11In 2017, McDonald's launched its specialty Signature Crafted line of sandwiches to compete
09:17with the premium burgers offered at other fast food chains like Wendy's.
09:21History repeated itself when the line was pulled two years later.
09:23This time, it wasn't a matter of failed marketing or low sales.
09:27Instead, it was the longer assembly process.
09:29The premium sandwich that fans really seem to be mourning the most is the Garlic White
09:33Cheddar, which was available as both a burger and as a grilled or crispy chicken sandwich.
09:38In addition to lettuce and tomato, the artisan bun was piled with a slice of white cheddar
09:42cheese, fried garlic chips, and garlic aioli.
09:45When McDonald's asked in 2022 which classic menu item it should bring back, one person
09:49answered on Reddit the Garlic White Cheddar sandwich off their Signature Crafted menu.
09:53"'I used to get it with chicken, and it honestly was my favorite fast food sandwich.'"
09:58Despite the Taco Bell slogan, think outside the bun, this popular fast food chain did
10:02once have a burger on its menu.
10:04Called the Bell Beefer, it was made of the same spiced beef, cheese, lettuce, and tomato
10:08as the chain's tacos, but layered onto a bun rather than a tortilla.
10:12While this may sound strange, there are plenty of folks who have fond memories.
10:16As one person put it on Reddit,
10:17"...I grew up eating these in the late 70s, early 80s, before they discontinued them,
10:21and absolutely loved them as a child.
10:23It's honestly great, very different than anything they currently have, simply by adding a hamburger
10:28bun."
10:29The Bell Beefer lives so fondly in many people's memories that there are two Facebook accounts
10:33devoted to it.
10:34One's called Taco Bell, Bring Back the Bell Beefer, while the other goes by Taco Bell,
10:38Please Bring Back the Bell Beefer.
10:40There's also a Change.org petition, although as of early 2023, it has less than 90 signatures.
10:46As far as comebacks go, this would probably be the easiest on this list to achieve.
10:51Taco Bell already carries most of the ingredients for its basic menu items, so the only thing
10:55they'd need to add would be hamburger buns.