Review: Burger King’s Angriest Whopper

Recently, Burger King unveiled their latest creation: an addition to the Angry Whopper line that they have dubbed the “Angriest Whopper.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMFhSyW9G5Y

I normally shy away from foods which profess to be as hot as the center of the earth, but the allure of the red bun and reviews from Dinosaur Dracula and Brand Eating only served to pique my interest. So once I saw that it was available in Canada (for a limited time only, of course), I was compelled to try it.

Described as “a savory flame-grilled WHOPPER® beef patty, topped with crispy bacon, melted cheese, fresh lettuce, ripe tomatoes, angry onion petals, spicy jalapeños, creamy mayonnaise and spicy angry sauce all layered between a red bun that has hot sauced baked in,” I admittedly had some reservations. Well, just one, actually: the jalapeños had to go. Sorry, but I just can’t do peppers like that.

I have similar reservations about onions, and one of the cashiers brought up the issue of the “angry onion petals” which also adorned the burger. Burger King has always been good to me on the onion front, specifically when they’re coated in batter and deep fried beyond resembling an onion. I asked if these were like the onion rings in that regard, and though it was denied, they allowed me to try one for myself. Happily, it was very much similar to the onion rings, at least in the way that mattered to me, so I happily allowed them to remain on my sandwich.

I hurried the sandwich home to eat, and once I pulled back the admittedly high-quality wrapper, what I found was kind of sort of disappointing. The sandwich wasn’t bad — far from it, but for a sandwich they literally promoted with a trip to the center of a volcano, I expected something — well, hotter, to be blunt.

Expecting something rather spicy, I purchased a chocolate milk (it’s good for when you eat spicy foods) for my wife and myself to go with it, but we never even had to open them. Now I realize that I might be to blame here, what with having removed the spicy jalapeños, but I didn’t think that they were doing all the work in providing the heat here. “Angry” onion petals, a “spicy angry” sauce, and a bun that purportedly has hot sauce baked in, I expected a harmony of heat, not one ingredient performing a guitar solo while the rest of the band catches a smoke break.

Truth be told, Nadia was okay with this, since she tends to shy away from hotter spiciness, and I’ll admit I’m much the same way, albeit not as much. The sandwich was fine, if a bit busy — there was just a little bit of heat/spicy flavor to what was left, thanks to the sauce and the bun (which has a little more of a crumbly texture than I was expecting), though one might be hard-pressed to single them out from everything else that’s going on with the sandwich. I tried a bit of the bun and beef alone, and got a sense of the flavor that way, and the sauce goes well with the mayo.

All in all, it’s not bad. In fact, I quite like it, and hope to get another. I might even go so far as to recommend it over the regular Whopper, if only for that gloriously lovely red bun that goes with it. But if you’re looking for something to fry your taste buds to a smoldering crisp, this sandwich is probably not for you. That is, unless the jalapeños really do provide that much of a kick to bring it up to the advertised level. Personally, I’m fine with not finding out.

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.