Review: BK Chef’s Choice Burgers

It seems to me that just a few years ago, the trend in fast food was the value menu. McDonald’s still boasts a Dollar Menu, but others no longer offer such low prices. Burger King, for example, had a double cheeseburger for just a dollar. Then, they took off a piece of cheese and called it a Buck Double. Now, the Buck Double is gone, and the double cheeseburger costs $1.69 in my area. So what gives?

Well, it seems that recently the focus has shifted to higher quality, higher priced items. McDonald’s introduced their Angus burgers back in 2009. Wendy’s came out with Dave’s Hot N Juicy cheeseburgers late last year. A couple months back, Jack in the Box gave their burgers a makeover; they are now 100% beef (were they not before?) and seasoned while they cook. And now Burger King has added the Bacon & Bleu and Bacon Cheddar BBQ Chef’s Choice burgers, which are new versions of the original Chef’s Choice that debuted in October.

Personally, I’m more into value menus than premium items. I feel that the improved quality of the higher priced items is rarely worth it. Would I rather fill up on two or three $1 items, or a $5 burger? Being that I am a jobless 21-year-old, the answer is almost always the former. Maybe the fact that value menus are so cheap just makes other things seem overpriced when really the price is fair, but I would never shell out $4.19 for a Big Mac when the $1 McDouble is basically the same size, just with different toppings (and without the unnecessary filler that is the middle bun). Plus you can just get a McDouble with special sauce for no extra charge if you’re craving that Big Mac flavor.

Back to the Chef’s Choice Burgers. What are they exactly? From the Burger King website:

Our Bacon & Bleu BK® Chef’s Choice Burger is a 5.5 oz. flame-broiled premium ground chuck patty topped with three slices of naturally smoked hardwood bacon, crumbly Wisconsin buttermilk bleu cheese, fresh cut romaine lettuce, red onions, ripe tomatoes, and creamy mayonnaise on an artisan-style bun. Based on the Burger King nutrition facts that could be one hefty meal.

Our Bacon Cheddar BBQ BK® Chef’s Choice Burger is a 5.5 oz. flame-broiled premium ground chuck patty topped with two slices of melted cheddar cheese, three slices of naturally smoked hardwood bacon, fresh cut romaine lettuce, red onions, ripe tomatoes, creamy mayonnaise, and BBQ sauce on an artisan-style bun.

When I went to BK to get these burgers, they were nowhere to be found on the menu, but I was told that they did in fact have them. What a relief! Just what I want – to spend $10 for two average burgers. But I digress.

Each burger came in its own box, labelled for my convenience. How thoughtful! Thanks, Burger King chef/microwave expert.

The first thing I noticed about the burgers was the size. They are quite large. Although they have about 1/3 lb. of beef, same as McDonald’s Angus Burgers, they seemed much bigger. Maybe these have more veggies. They also look pretty good, as you can see in the pictures. More like something you would get at a sit-down restaurant than a fast food joint.

The next thing that caught my eye was the bacon – or lack thereof. Hidden underneath the vegetables, there were two small pieces of bacon on each burger. Although I like Burger King’s new bacon (thicker, more bacon-y), it didn’t seem like much for burgers with bacon in their names. But the real question is, how did they taste?

Related: Meet the BK Angry Whopper 

Let’s start with the Bacon Cheddar BBQ. The main flavor in this burger is the barbecue sauce, which has a good combination of sweet and smoky. The bacon is present, but takes a backseat. The cheddar cheese was not melted; disappointing but not a deal-breaker, as cheddar does not need to be melted to have good flavor. But the cheese was just OK. As you can see from the pictures, there are plenty of veggies. Two good-sized slices of tomato, a large lettuce leaf, and a few rings of red onion. As far as I’m concerned, lettuce and tomato have no place on a burger and are just there for color, but I do like onions and these had a good bite to them. The mayonnaise seemed unnecessary since there was plenty of barbecue sauce. The “artisan bun” was pretty good, soft and a little chewy. 6/10

As for the Bacon & Bleu, the blue cheese really took over the burger. There was a lot of it, and my God was it strong. So much so that when I took a bite of the burger, my eye twitched. Eating this burger is like having a drill sergeant with a buzz-cut yell “BLUUUE CHEEEESE!!!” directly into your ear. So for me, the Bacon & Bleu burger was practically inedible. I would imagine if you like blue cheese you would probably enjoy this burger. Probably a 7/10 if you like blue cheese.

Now, the main part of a burger is the meat, right? So let’s talk about the ground chuck on the Burger King Chef’s Choice burger. It’s weird. It’s very finely ground and has the consistency of a meatloaf, or veggie burger. And aside from that, it tastes weird. It tastes like it is chock-full of salt and pepper. I would have much preferred their regular beef patty, with that delicious flame-broiled taste.

In short, these new Chef’s Choice burgers are meh. The meat is weird and there are too many vegetables. I’m also calling out BK for their spelling of “bleu” cheese. Bleu is the French spelling of blue, not the name of a cheese. Blue cheese is the generic term for a group of cheeses with cultures that give them blue veins. NOT BLEU. Unless you’re French. Then bleu. Anyway, there are a lot of good ways to spend $4.99, but this is not one of them. I’ll take five McDoubles.

Summary

Reviewer

Peter

Review Date

2012-03-23

Reviewed Item

Burger King's Chef's Choice Burgers

Author Rating

2