Place: Hardee's
Lunch: 1/3 lb Most American Thickburger, chicken tenders (w/ranch), orange cream shake
Hardee's and Carl's Jr posted a really tacky teaser image a couple of weeks ago featuring lips painted blue around the upper (with stars) and red and white around the lower, with the lower red and white dripping. A tongue was sticking out licking the upper lip.
The teaser turned out to be for the "Most American Thickburger", a standard Hardee's 1/3 lb Thickburger with the addition of a split hot dog and kettle chips. And no mayo. They skipped the mayo, making me wonder what the dripping white from the lips is supposed to represent.
Who doesn't like hamburgers? Who doesn't like hot dogs? Who doesn't like potato chips? But does that mean mutating them into a single menu item is a good idea? For example, I like baked potatoes, but I don't like mashed potatoes. My grandmother used to argue that they're the same thing, just mashed up. I would argue back that her mashed potatoes had milk in them to make the potatoes creamier, and that completely changed the flavor profile into something gross. This argument always, without fail, ended with her rolling her eyes.
(For the record, I was probably not using the phrase "flavor profile" back then, at the age of six.)
When the sandwich was revealed on the Hardee's and Carl's Jr Facebook feeds, I posed a question..."Wouldn't it make more sense to put a hot dog on the chili cheeseburger?" Think about it, a chili dog cheeseburger.
I know, right?
Nobody cared on the Hardee's page, but the Carl's Jr faithful were TOTALLY behind this. I got more likes and comments than pretty much anything I've ever posted on my Facebook page. People want that burger.
Of course, Hardee's hasn't offered a chili cheeseburger in years, and Carl's Jr apparently discontinued theirs, so I guess it's up to you, Wienerschnitzel.
So how is the "Most American"? It's not very good. I removed the chips about two bites in and finished maybe half the thing. The split hot dog doesn't even cover the patty...a good third of it has no hot dog on it. It just made me wish I had a pastrami burger.
The chicken tenders were great, though.
And the orange cream shake was a total bonus.
