![\"Hardee](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Hardees-Carls-Jr.-Baby-Back-Rib-Thickburger.jpg?resize=640%2C480\" "\\"Hardee's")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When I was a kid, I thought Checkers’\/Rally’s Wild West Bacon Cheeseburger was the alpha and omega of fast food sandwiches. With two big hunks of beef, a handful of bacon, melted cheddar, two huge fried onion rings, and a fine slatherin’ of barbecue sauce, how could it not be?<\/p>\n
Well, much to my shock and horror, I recently found out that not only has the beloved burger of my youth gone AWOL from the menu, apparently it’s been discontinued for years and years. That makes the latest L-T-O gimmick-burger from Hardee’s\/Carl’s Jr. – the all new Baby Back Rib Thickburger – the closest thing you and I will likely ever get to tasting the second semester of my eighth grade year ever again. <\/p>\n
![\"Hardee](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Hardees-Carls-Jr.-Baby-Back-Rib-Thickburger-2.jpg?resize=640%2C480\" "\\"Hardee's")
<\/p>\n
Except this newfangled burger, in many ways, manages to OUTDO my nostalgic recollections of the fabled fast food that once was. For starters, the boneless baby back ribs are downright superb. You get two fairly large riblets atop your patty, and not only are they flavorful and smoky, they’re also plump, juicy and extremely chewy. Not only is the meat delicious for a fast food joint, it would be pretty dang terrific for an actual<\/em> barbecue restaurant. (And as it turns out, it actually is on loan from a real BBQ place, the Ohio-based Bubba’s-Q Boneless Ribs.)<\/p>\n The sauce (courtesy of Cattleman’s) is also exquisite, representing a nice mixture of honey barbecue and mesquite flavoring. The fried onion straws are super crispy and – thankfully – neither salty or greasy. And the pickle slices are huge, crunchy and refreshingly tart; rest assured, the vinegary flavor gels incredibly well with the barbecue sauce. <\/p>\n Oddly enough, the thing that holds the burger back from being a five star fast food classic is the hamburger meat itself. Granted, the charbroiled patty is plumper and thicker than most burger chain fare, but it just doesn’t seem to complement any of the other elements of the sandwich all that well. How about this for a first; a special edition hamburger that would’ve been even better WITHOUT the actual hamburger!<\/p>\n The buns are pretty bland, too, but at least they do a pretty good job of soaking up the barbecue sauce and pickle juice. In hindsight, this is the kind of burger that really would’ve benefitted from anything other<\/em> than a brioche bun. Man, it would\u2019ve been awesome if it came with a pretzel roll or especially<\/em> a potato roll instead? <\/p>\n Still, I’ve got no beef with these baby backs. When it comes to fast food barbecue sammiches, you’d be hard pressed to find a better offering out there – and yes, that definitely includes a certain seasonal McDonald’s product that shall remain nameless. <\/p>\n (Nutrition Facts – 980 calories, 450 calories from fat, 50 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,910 milligrams of sodium, 94 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of dietary fiber, 34 grams of sugar, and 41 grams of protein..)<\/small><\/p>\n Purchased Price:<\/b> $5.59 When I was a kid, I thought Checkers’\/Rally’s Wild West Bacon Cheeseburger was the alpha and omega of fast food sandwiches. With two big hunks of beef, a handful of bacon, melted cheddar, two huge fried onion rings, and a fine slatherin’ of barbecue sauce, how could it not be? Well, much to my shock […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"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_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1478,1477],"class_list":["post-22138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-carls-jr","tag-fast-food"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19099,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2015\/09\/23\/fast-food-news-carls-jr-and-hardees-tex-mex-bacon-thickburger\/","url_meta":{"origin":22138,"position":0},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger","author":"Marvo","date":"September 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Carl's Jr. and Hardee's latest burger that is thick is the Tex Mex Bacon Thickburger. It features a 100 percent Black Angus beef patty, fire-roasted peppers and onions, thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, pepper-jack cheese, and Santa-Fe Sauce on their Fresh-Baked Bun. It's available with a 1\/3 or 1\/2 lb patty (also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carl's Jr. Tex Mex Bacon Thickburgers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/674\/21643773825_f0b543a432_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/674\/21643773825_f0b543a432_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/674\/21643773825_f0b543a432_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17653,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2014\/09\/24\/fast-food-news-carls-jr-and-hardees-mile-high-bacon-cheese-thickburger\/","url_meta":{"origin":22138,"position":1},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Mile High Bacon Cheese Thickburger","author":"Marvo","date":"September 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"If a slice of bacon is roughly 1\/16th of an inch and there are 63,360 inches in a mile (thanks WolframAlpha), then it would take 1,013,760 slices of bacon in order for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's Mile High Bacon Cheese Thickburger to truly reach a mile high in bacon. Of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carl s Jr and Hardees s Mile High Bacon Cheese Thickburger","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Carls-Jr.-and-Hardeess-Mile-High-Bacon-Cheese-Thickburger.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Carls-Jr.-and-Hardeess-Mile-High-Bacon-Cheese-Thickburger.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Carls-Jr.-and-Hardeess-Mile-High-Bacon-Cheese-Thickburger.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45190,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2020\/10\/14\/carls-jr-hardees-prime-rib-and-cheddar-angus-thickburger-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":22138,"position":2},"title":"REVIEW: Carl’s Jr.\/Hardee’s Prime Rib & Cheddar Angus Thickburger","author":"BrandonP","date":"October 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hearing the words \"prime rib\" brings thoughts of a thick slice of premium beef, served medium rare with au jus. For me, those thoughts are even accompanied by memories of special occasions with family during the holidays. But thinking realistically, I set those lofty expectations aside and ventured to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carls-Jr.-Prime-Rib-Cheddar-Angus-Thickburger-Peek.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carls-Jr.-Prime-Rib-Cheddar-Angus-Thickburger-Peek.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carls-Jr.-Prime-Rib-Cheddar-Angus-Thickburger-Peek.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carls-Jr.-Prime-Rib-Cheddar-Angus-Thickburger-Peek.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carls-Jr.-Prime-Rib-Cheddar-Angus-Thickburger-Peek.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17253,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2014\/07\/21\/fast-food-news-carls-jr-and-hardees-texas-bbq-thickburger\/","url_meta":{"origin":22138,"position":3},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Texas BBQ Thickburger","author":"Marvo","date":"July 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Yeehaw! Them cowpokes at Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have themselves a new burger, the Texas BBQ Thickburger. Yeehaw! They lassoed together smoked beef brisket, spicy mesquite BBQ sauce, crispy jalape\u00f1o and onion strips, American cheese, a charbroiled 100 percent Black Angus beef patty, and their Fresh Baked Bun to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carl s Jr Hardee s Texas BBQ Thickburger","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Carls-Jr.-Hardees-Texas-BBQ-Thickburger.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18240,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2015\/03\/24\/fast-food-news-hardees-thickburger-el-diablo\/","url_meta":{"origin":22138,"position":4},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Hardee’s Carl’s Jr. Thickburger El Diablo","author":"Marvo","date":"March 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Hardee's and Carl's Jr are lighting orifices on fire with their new Thickburger El Diablo. Along with the Thickburger's usual 100% Black Angus Beef patty and Fresh Baked Bun, the El Diablo has cheesy jalape\u00f1o poppers, pepper jack cheese, habanero sauce, sliced jalape\u00f1os, and bacon. According to the Hardee's website,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ThickburgerElDiablo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/ThickburgerElDiablo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/ThickburgerElDiablo.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/ThickburgerElDiablo.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20348,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2016\/07\/21\/fast-food-news-carls-jr-and-hardees-bacon-3-way-burger\/","url_meta":{"origin":22138,"position":5},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Bacon 3-Way Burger","author":"Marvo","date":"July 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Carl's Jr. and Hardee's Bacon 3-Way Burger comes with three different bacon products. First, there's Applewood-smoked bacon strips. Second, there's bacon crumbles. Finally, there's a sweet and savory bacon jam that's a combination of bacon pieces, balsamic vinegar, caramelized onions, and molasses. The non-bacon ingredients include lettuce, tomato, American cheese,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carl s Jr and Hardees Bacon 3 Way Thickburger","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Carls-Jr.-and-Hardees-Bacon-3-Way-Thickburger.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Carls-Jr.-and-Hardees-Bacon-3-Way-Thickburger.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Carls-Jr.-and-Hardees-Bacon-3-Way-Thickburger.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22138\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Hardee](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Hardees-Carls-Jr.-Baby-Back-Rib-Thickburger-4.jpg?resize=640%2C480\" "\\"Hardee's")
<\/p>\n![\"Hardee](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Hardees-Carls-Jr.-Baby-Back-Rib-Thickburger-3-1.jpg?resize=640%2C480\" "\\"Hardee's")
<\/p>\n
\nSize:<\/b> 1\/4 lb burger (1\\3 and 2\\3 lb versions also available)
\nRating:<\/b> 8 out of 10
\nPros:<\/b> The ribs are succulent, chewy and smoky. The sauce is phenomenal. The onion straws and pickles definitely add a lot to the gustatory experience.
\nCons:<\/b> The patty itself is pretty unremarkable. The buns aren’t particularly flavorful. Trying to get through an entire review without making an “I Want My Baby Back” Austin Powers reference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"