{"id":19021,"date":"2015-09-04T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=19021"},"modified":"2023-09-04T21:23:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T07:23:40","slug":"review-mcwhopper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2015\/09\/04\/review-mcwhopper\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: McWhopper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"McWhopper<\/p>\n

Burger King tried to get McDonald\u2019s to combine their two flagship sandwiches into one hybrid behemoth named the \u201cMcWhopper.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was proposed to promote World Peace Day<\/a>. BK built a plan and posted full-page ads in a couple newspapers, reaching out to McDonald\u2019s in the name of \u201cpeace.\u201d It even created a website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s said no.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s all this boring marketing analysis stuff: McDonald\u2019s is recently down in sales blah blah, Burger King has something like half as many stores blah blah, fast food ads aren\u2019t as effective blah blah blah. Whatever. The McWhopper is not going to happen, at least not officially. So the I decided to go ahead and make my own McWhopper to give it a try to see if I \u201clove havin\u2019 it your way, right away, ba da-da-da-dah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since it takes two restaurant trips to construct the chimera, I mapped out the nearest two franchises to the lab, which were .4 miles away from each other. Burger King first, then McDonald\u2019s. At 2:23 p.m. I had Whopper in hand along with a few extra packets of Heinz tomato ketchup. Five minutes later I arrived to the McDonald\u2019s and at 2:33 p.m. the entire shebang was together. An extra trip back to the laboratory took a few more minutes and after all the construction was done, it was 2:55 p.m. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s 32 minutes from the start of the project to eating time. That\u2019s not an ideal amount to wait before eating a fast food burger, sure, and it would be a bit cold. But if you think the McWhopper is a good idea, your time probably isn\u2019t worth that much anyway. And this is considering that all of the ingredients were acquired during relatively off peak hours with little to no wait at the register with locations pretty close in proximity.<\/p>\n

\n\"McWhopper<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Big Mac Parts<\/div>\n

<\/small><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\"McWhopper<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Whopper Parts<\/div>\n

<\/small><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Extraction is stunningly easy. The McWhopper calls for the top bun, one beef patty, the cheese, chopped lettuce, special sauce and middle bun from the Big Mac and the tomato, onion, ketchup, pickles, flame-grilled patty and bottom bun from the Whopper. It is a bit of a mess but other than some sauce and lettuce flung about, the ingredients are simple to separate. The things that aren\u2019t featured on the McWhopper are the Whopper\u2019s lettuce, which is a bit chunkier, and the Big Mac\u2019s pickles and onions, which are dinkier. And in theory the Whopper\u2019s mayonnaise, but that is difficult to get completely off the patty.<\/p>\n

\"McWhopper<\/p>\n

The sandwich is basically a Whopper wearing a Big Mac hat. This method is also necessary, at least in the home version, to avoid being top heavy because the Whopper is considerably wider. The McWhopper\u2019s shape ends up looking like a Machu Picchu pyramid if the Incas worshipped obesity, or Grimace.<\/p>\n

The taste is surprisingly decent for a lukewarm fast food offering. The most striking contrast is the sodium hum of the special sauce against the char-grill patty. The combination accentuates the sweetness of the Big Mac qualities and the earthiness of the Whopper, which completes a satisfying union. The fact that these qualities jump out really underlines what these companies want us to remember about these burgers. On the Big Mac even the meat plays second fiddle to the special sauce, with extra bread to dull out the taste. The Whopper has a facsimile of that coat-the-mouth backyard grill flavor and it ambushes the eater, while all the other ingredients aside from the ketchup work to restrain it.<\/p>\n

I also got an extra order of Big Mac sauce\u2014which came in a four piece Chicken McNugget container\u2014and spread more on with a higher ratio of ketchup from Burger King, which gave it all a tart kick, and a wet slather that eventually spilled out the sides of the sandwich. Shout out to Carl\u2019s Jr.<\/p>\n

The pickles, in particular, added a crunch here and there. The tomatoes and onions and lettuce did not add much but did not detract. There is a ton of bread at play here, and with the added heft of vegetables and a larger second patty, it\u2019s a substantial burger. The Whopper\u2019s bread seems chewier than McDonald\u2019s softer bun, but it is tough to differentiate when it\u2019s taken in at once. The McWhopper suffers a little bit from being monotonous texture-wise, but this one is cobbled together from spare parts, so it\u2019s understandable. Frankenstein could walk and talk like a human but he was still green and had bolts in his neck. Pobody\u2019s nerfect.<\/p>\n

\"McWhopper<\/p>\n

The entire McWhopper affair hits some nice notes and really avoids being offensive in any way. The interplay amongst the ingredients works well and for people well versed in fast food burgers there is just about nothing unexpected. If you\u2019ve had both the Whopper and the Big Mac before, you can probably imagine how this would taste, and you would be right. It\u2019s almost disappointing how much of a train wreck the McWhopper isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

In my hazy memories, BK\u2019s Big Mac rip off Big King was bad and Mickey D\u2019s Whopper wannabe Big N\u2019 Tasty was okay. Whatever you think of the Big Mac, it seems harder to deliver a sandwich with a distinct (and maybe boring) taste than it is to make a sometimes-mediocre version of a backyard burger. McDonald\u2019s seems to be in the power position here, which is probably why they nixed the idea. Still, it reminded me of this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another note is the price of each burger. At least in my neighborhood, the price of the Big Mac and Whopper are exactly the same at $4.19\u2014which seems strange\u2014like they are price fixing us, or both companies are really owned by the Koch brothers.<\/p>\n

The McWhopper is surely not an original idea. Thousands of children have probably joked about it and dozens if not hundreds of stoners have carried out the experiment. The time and effort and combined price do not pay out in a way that makes this a regular dining option, although the work put into the construction of the homemade McWhopper gives a slight illusion of cooking, which fosters a feeling of accomplishment. It is an interesting undertaking that seems like it has unique roots in these two signature sandwiches. Who cares if KFC and Popeyes put out a fried chicken? Or Subway and Quiznos made a sub? I wouldn\u2019t eat that. Even for world peace.<\/p>\n

(Nutrition Facts – Big Mac Parts<\/b> – 465.2 calories, 27 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 770 milligrams of sodium, 31.4 grams of carbohydrates, 6.62 grams of sugar, 2.3 grams of fiber, and 22.26 grams of protein. Whopper Parts<\/b> – 338 calories, 20.5 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 595 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 8.5 grams of sugar, 17.5 grams of protein.)<\/small><\/p>\n

Item:<\/b> McWhopper
\nPurchased Price:<\/b> $4.19 (Whopper) $4.19 (Big Mac)
\nSize:<\/b> N\/A
\nPurchased at:<\/b> Burger King and McDonald\u2019s
\nRating:<\/b> 8 out of 10
\nPros:<\/b> Tastes intermingle well. Feels like cooking.
\nCons:<\/b> Time spent making it will leave it lukewarm. Textural monotony. Expensive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Burger King tried to get McDonald\u2019s to combine their two flagship sandwiches into one hybrid behemoth named the \u201cMcWhopper.\u201d It was proposed to promote World Peace Day. BK built a plan and posted full-page ads in a couple newspapers, reaching out to McDonald\u2019s in the name of \u201cpeace.\u201d It even created a website. McDonald\u2019s said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1534,1477,1481],"class_list":["post-19021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-burger-king","tag-fast-food","tag-mcdonalds"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19080,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2015\/09\/18\/fast-food-news-dennys-wayback-burgers-krystal-giraffas-usa-and-burger-king-peace-day-burger\/","url_meta":{"origin":19021,"position":0},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Denny\u2019s, Wayback Burgers, Krystal, Giraffas USA, and Burger King Peace Day Burger","author":"Marvo","date":"September 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"McDonald's rejected Burger King's proposal to create the McWhopper. 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