Tag: Burger King

I’m not sure chicken fries are a product that anyone was really asking for. No one eats chicken tenders and then says, “You know, I’d like these to be thinner. A lot thinner.” At least, I’m pretty sure no one does; you do you.

Needless to say, I was skeptical about the potential appeal here with Burger King’s new Spicy Chicken Fries. I expected them to be dry little strips of chicken fried to oblivion, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I am enough of a fried food enthusiast that sometimes, I actually like over-fried food in a masochistic sort of way. But I wasn’t expecting anything that would be good in any sort of objective sense of the word.

However, after getting these out of their paper carton, adorned with a scowling cartoon chicken (unlike the non-spicy chicken fries, which feature a happier chicken), I took my first bite. My first immediate thought was that I wished the serving size was bigger, which pretty much tells you all you need to know right there. But I am supposed to write more than a few sentences, so I guess I should carry on.

The spice level is just about perfect. These things are about as spicy as the (excellent) Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets, or perhaps just a tad spicier. It’s a zingy kind of spicy that stops just short of making your nose run. If you want something really spicy that’s going to give you a Nashville Hot Chicken kind of feeling, these are not going to do it, but let’s be realistic: nobody goes to Burger King looking for that kind of experience. That said, if you paired these with the quite good BK Mexican Chicken Sandwich I reviewed just a few months ago, it would be a lovely meal for a spice fan.

Perhaps more important than the spice level is the chicken, which is really moist and flavorful. A lot of fried chicken products are dry (like, say, oh I don’t know, DAIRY QUEEN — you know what you did, DQ. Stick to ice cream.) But these are just perfectly moist little mouthfuls that have real chicken flavor, not just that generic, salty fast-food-protein flavor.

The breading is interesting: it’s more like the breading you get on a mozzarella stick than a chicken nugget or tender, which works nicely. But to be honest, I barely noticed the outside shell when I was eating. Logically I know that the spicy flavor comes from the outside layer, but beyond contributing spice, the grainy breading stands back and lets you go to Happy Succulent Chicken Land without getting in your way.

I did not think to try the fries with any of the sauces, but honestly, I think that would be a waste. These things don’t need anything else.

Do you know what would be awesome, though? If BK made these spicy chicken fries in a larger, chicken tender format and really entered the competitive fried chicken world. Give KFC a run for its money, BK. I’ll be rooting for you.

Purchased Price: $3.69
Size: 9 pieces
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 250 calories, 14 grams of fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 750 mg sodium, 17 grams carbohydrates, 40 milligrams cholesterol, 0 grams sugar, 1 gram fiber, and 14 grams of protein.

I feel like there’s some really clever joke that does something with the idea, “Hey, you got your Taco Bell in my Burger King!” but I can’t actually think of the joke; I just know it’s out there, somewhere, in the ether. Maybe “My Burger King may taste like Taco Bell today, but at least my Dunkin’ doesn’t taste like Arby’s!” Nah. I’m going to need to workshop this one.

We’ve been getting some dinners from Burger King lately since the BK in the area is right on the way home from my daughter’s dance class, so it was very convenient to try out this new sandwich. Apparently, there are other special chicken sandwiches on offer right now: an Italian-style and an American-style, but the Mexican is the only new offering — others are returning fare.

I’ve always been fond of the BK long-and-thin chicken sandwich, so it was an appealing package right out of the paper sack. When I opened the sandwich up to see its beautiful innards, I saw a whole bunch of green specks that looked a bit like grains of rice. Later, I would find out these are little pieces of fried (and crunchy) jalapeno. I purposely didn’t look up the components for this item before tasting it so I would take note of what I was actually tasting and not what I was “supposed” to taste, so the little green bits were mysterious at first, although now I can’t imagine what else they could have been besides jalapeno. The other spicy component is a queso that is slathered on the buns.

For the first few bites, it was just a regular BK chicken sandwich. I asked my husband, “Are you sure you got me the Mexican one?” He gave me a “How stupid do you think I am?” look and I sheepishly returned to eating my strangely-oblong sandwich. Fortunately, it was at that point I started biting into the little jalapeno crumbs of joy and a pleasant spice began burning my mouth. This is actually pretty spicy, with the queso cheese bringing most of the heat, but as I’ve mentioned recently, I am new to spicy food so my “really spicy” might be someone else’s “meh, whatever.” That said, this sandwich was about as fiery as my food can get before it becomes a problem and I need a drink (and possibly some consoling), so it’s definitely not bland.

So, between the jalapeno and the queso, there’s definitely some spicy action going on here, but is it really “Mexican?” I can’t decide. With those two components, the sandwich definitely should taste Tex-Mex, but something about the stolid flavor of the original BK chicken sandwich seems to fight against that. I definitely want to have it again though, so it’s clear BK did something right. Even though they don’t carry the brunt of the spice quotient, those tiny little green jalapeno fried bits are addictive; as soon as I finished my sandwich, I ate all the little jalapeno pieces that had fallen onto my wrapper.

There’s something in me that doesn’t want to give this sandwich a high score because it’s not “really” Mexican, but….so what? More importantly, it was delicious, and deliciously spicy. Now I have a new dinner order for dance class nights.

Purchased Price: $5.29
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 680 calories, 31 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 1900 milligrams of sodium, 75 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 28 grams of protein.

Despite its godawful name, I liked the Ch’King. While it wasn’t Popeyes-level delicious (I mean, what is), it was better than many other fast food chicken sandwiches. But, as with my appreciation for McDonald’s short-lived Arch Deluxe, I was in the minority and the Burger King fat cats 86’d it. So it goes. In its place is the Royal Crispy Chicken line, which, I guess is “Royal” because of the whole “King” thing.

Between us, it just seems to be a pretty standard chicken sandwich patty.

First, I’ll tell you some things I liked about Burger King’s new Italian Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich.

The chicken patty was quite large. Two of its edges hung off the side of the bun, which, as we all know, is a generally agreeable quality in a chicken sandwich. (Well, okay, provided you want to actually EAT said chicken patty.)

Further, this large chicken patty was not dry. I’d stop short of calling it juicy, but I’ve had much drier chicken patties from the King and his many competitors.

And finally, the “marinara sauce” that lightly adorned the sandwich was definitely recognizable as an Italian red sauce, and not just like ketchup with some oregano.

That’s it. Those were the three things I liked: the big piece of chicken wasn’t bone dry and it had a little Prego on it.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know. But then again, if I didn’t like it, I guess I shouldn’t give it a ringing endorsement, right?

Here’s my main complaint with this chicken sandwich: it was completely uninspired. Yes, it was problematic that the execution and ingredients were lackluster; the big-and-not-dry patty was bland and void of any real flavor; the marinara was indistinguishable from a jarred supermarket spaghetti sauce; and the long slice of mozzarella was, for lack of a better word, floppy and tasted like white American cheese.

But aside from the poor ingredients, were we as consumers really clamoring for another burger baron’s take on an Italian chicken sandwich? It feels like everyone trots theirs out every couple of years and none of them are ever very well received, and they eventually fade into the lost land of LTOs, where they silently remain for a handful of years before bursting back onto the scene with an un-triumphant flourish.

I mean, if you’re gonna do it, maybe try something interesting like Wendy’s with its Deep Fried Mozzarella Disc. Or what about doing something with Alfredo sauce instead? But also, do I really want to eat Alfredo sauce from Burger King? And why am I asking so many questions?!

In the end, this sandwich will fade from memory, just as the universe intended. If you liked it, I’m sorry. Take solace in the fact that it will be back again in a year or two, just the way you remembered it.

Purchased Price: $5.49
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 533 calories, 21 grams of fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 5.4 grams of saturated fat, 78 mg of cholesterol, 1641 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of total carbohydrates, 8 grams of sugars, 9 grams of fiber, and 33 grams of protein.

Between pumpkinundation and trick-or-treating, there’s a lot of sugar to consume at this time of year. So it’s refreshing when companies bring something spooky to savory foods for a change. Burger King gave us Halloween Whoppers in 2015, 2018, 2019, and this year it brought the concept back.

Burger King’s website describes the 2022 version, the Ghost Pepper Whopper, as “1/4 lb. flame-grilled beef patty, melty Ghost Pepper cheese, bacon, crispy jalapeños, and queso sauce all on a toasted orange and black sesame seed bun.” Apparently, spicy things are for Halloween now just because one pepper has “ghost” in its name.

When I unwrapped my sandwich, it struck me how beautiful the bun was! A perfectly festive orange with black sesame seeds. It’s stunning, and that alone is worth the purchase. Much better than the greenish bun of the 2018 sandwich. Visuals aside, it’s soft and slightly sweet. It’s just a bun, but it gets the job done!

Let’s go through the toppings from top to bottom:

The queso sauce has a standard nacho flavor but with a kick. I don’t always love queso, but I like this one.

The crispy jalapeños have the texture of potato chips, and I like them better than fresh or canned jalapeños. They provide a welcome textural contrast, and the crisps bring the heat without the hiccups. BK made a solid choice here.

The bacon is as good as any, and it’s neither too chewy nor too crispy.

The ghost pepper cheese is the only element that’s lacking for me. It just tastes like regular American cheese. If it has a pepper flavor, it’s drowned out by the queso and the jalapeños.

The beef patty was everything I hoped from a BK burger: substantive and with the perfect amount of chew.

Altogether, these elements made for a tasty sandwich. Sometimes I didn’t enjoy having both the cheese and the queso; I might have liked it better without the Ghost Pepper cheese. But that’s just me.

Now, as for the spiciness: I didn’t find the burger that spicy. My nose ran a little, but I ate the whole sandwich without needing to drink anything. People hoping it will be as spicy as an actual ghost pepper will be disappointed. But the mildness means that a larger segment of the population will get to enjoy this fantastically festive burger.

The previous iterations of spooky Whoppers didn’t rise from the dead on subsequent Halloweens. But I wouldn’t mind if this one did.

UPDATE: Thanks to our readers’ helpful comments, I realized that I originally got plain American cheese instead of the ghost pepper cheese it was supposed to be. So I went to a different location on a different day and got the real cheese.

It has a discernible kick, and it’s much better than the American cheese. This burger also came with a more generous helping of jalapeño crisps, so overall it was noticeably spicier. I definitely got the hiccups this time. But still, most people should be able to handle it.

Purchased Price: $6.99
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 750 calories, 44 grams of fat, 17 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 115 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,510 milligrams of sodium, 51.2 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 9.1 grams of sugar, and 38 grams of protein.

Update 11/22/22: We also tried the Italian version! Click here to read our review.

If you’ve browsed Burger King’s menu recently, you may have noticed that the Ch’King is Mis’sing.

That’s right, it appears Burger King has deserted the paper-pouched Chicken Sandwich Wars with the discontinuation of the Ch’King.

Now I don’t know how you all felt about the Ch’King, but I’m not gonna miss it. I’m gonna miss saying it out loud and sounding like a confused rooster or an old-fashioned cash register, but I didn’t think it stood up against the Popeyes or KFCs of the world. It was ok, but it felt like BK was a little out of its element.

The higher-ups must have felt the same way because the new BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwiches are more in line with the traditional fast food chicken sandwiches that existed prior to Popeyes’ game changer. These are less substantial than their big-ticket predecessor but, in my opinion, taste better.

The Classic version consists of a “crispy” white meat chicken fillet topped with lettuce, tomato (not mine. Never mine), and a savory “royal sauce” nestled between a toasted potato bun.

While my chicken wasn’t as crispy as advertised, it was still good. I don’t think it’ll be as highly regarded as the big fat Ch’King patty, and it pales in size to all the other soldiers of the Chicken Sandwich War, but it still passes for a “premium” fast food chicken sandwich.

The big draw of the BK Royal Crispy Chicken was definitely the “royal sauce,” which I think is brand new. I couldn’t find confirmation, so for all I know, this could be a sauce BK has used in the past. Either way, it’s killer. It’s slightly peppery and tastes a bit like parmesan cheese. The flavor profile fits that of a fancy Caesar dressing, and it lives up to its regal name.

Potato buns are just flat out better than the standard sandwich bun, so using them is always a win. Its flavor and texture definitely kicked the sandwich up a notch.

The lettuce was just kinda slopped on my absolute mess of a sandwich, but it was a necessary ingredient. It made this seem like a chicken sandwich topped with a nice savory Caesar Salad.

I imagine the BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwiches may not be as popular as their predecessor, but at least they come in multiple flavors such as Spicy, Southern BBQ, and the Classic topped with Bacon and Swiss Cheese. I’m of the opinion that bacon and cheese do almost nothing to enhance a chicken sandwich, but even I think they all sound pretty damn good.

The original long boy Chicken Sandwich still stands as my BK gold standard, but this new sandwich is a strong showing. So, don’t feel so bad if you are bummed about the Ch’King. This BK Royal sandwich is not as big and flashy, but you can still get a classy chicken sandwich at Burger King. Also, let’s be real, in two years, the chain will probably just ax these and start a “Return of Ch’King” campaign anyway.

No matter what happens, I just hope Burger King lets the royal sauce stick around as an add-on or dipping sauce.

Purchased Price: $5.19
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 670 calories, 41 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 1080 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 23 grams of protein.