McDonald’s Big N’ Tasty, I assume, was retribution for Burger King’s original Big King, a Big Mac copycat that also had a third bun. The Whopper-similar burger from the Golden Arches featured a 1/4 lb. beef patty topped with ketchup, mayonnaise, onions, pickles, lettuce, and tomato on a sesame seed bun.
It made its national debut in 2000 and was part of the Dollar Menu, which was the reason why I ate it often as a poor recent college graduate with an English degree that many asked what I’ll do with it.
It really should’ve been called the Big, Tasty N’ Messy because it seemed like EVERY TIME I ordered one, it would come with an excessive amount of ketchup and mayo that oozed out of all sides and onto my finger and hands when I applied any pressure to the burger. I ordered it from different locations, and they all seemed to be made by trigger-happy condiment gunslingers.
Despite it making my hands look like I was a serial burger strangler, I loved the Big N’ Tasty. It was as big as a Whopper. It was tasty, even with an overabundance of condiments. N’ it was only 99 cents.
But, from what I remember, at some point, it got smaller, less tasty, less condiment-y, and a bit more pricey. It was no longer competing with the Whopper. It was now fighting for its life with everything else on the McDonald’s menu.
While Burger King’s Big King is still around, but being used for a different line of burgers that don’t include a third bun, the Big N’ Tasty has been gone from U.S. McDonald’s menu boards since 2011.
As much as I’d like to see the Big N’ Tasty make a comeback, it probably won’t because we can get something close to it right now at the Golden Arches — the Quarter Pounder Deluxe without cheese.
It’s not a value burger like the original Big N’ Tasty, but if I custom order it with extra ketchup and mayonnaise, I imagine they’ll ooze out from under the bun, just like old times.
(Image via @collectingcandy. Go follow his Instagram to bring back sugary dreams of yore.)