Kicking Back With Jersey Joe: I Survived the Burger King New York Whopper Pizza
It’s a Whopper! It’s a pizza! No, it’s both and it’s certainly a mouthful. Burger King is once again experimenting with new menu items and they’ve gone way over the top on this one! I recently had the pleasure of giving this artery killer a try.
The New York Pizza Burger is as huge as the name suggests. This giant pizza/sandwich hybrid is 9½ inches wide, featuring 4 Whopper patties, and then topped with pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, and a Tuscan Pesto sauce.
Burger King has opened a new small spin-off chain called The BK Whopper Bar, which as of now only operates in a few select locations in the United States, Germany, Venezuela, Singapore, and Spain. The concept behind the restaurant is a smaller style kiosk counter that can fit into tighter areas (such as an airport food court, casino, or sports arena) and only feature a limited menu of Whopper sandwiches, Angus sandwiches, and Tendercrisp sandwiches; while also serving beer.
Last week, I paid a visit to the Times Square location that opened this summer. The menu contains Whopper sandwiches that you cannot find at a typical Burger King. The California Whopper for example contains a slice of avocado, a Meat Beast Whopper that contains pepperoni, bacon, mayo, lettuce, onions, American cheese and ketchup. The restaurant also features an open semi-circular counter where you can see your food being prepared.
There was quite a line on the Friday evening that I stopped by. After about a five minute wait (they were only operating one register, which was bad since there was a line now to the door) I made it to the counter. I ordered the New York Pizza Burger and the cashier informed me that it was suggested for more than one person. Fortunately, I was there with a small group, so it all worked out. He then told me that it would be about a four minute wait. I stepped to the side and sure enough, he was right.
The product arrived in a small style pizza box and cost $12.99. The product was cut into six pieces which made it perfect for sharing. Some of the slices were melted together and took a little bit of tearing to get them apart, but most of the pieces came out easily, with only a few shards of Whopper left behind.
It took two hands to hold onto the wedge while I took a bite. I immediately tasted the mozzarella cheese and the marinara sauce. For me, the marinara sauce was a little sweet. It’s identical to the processed sauce many restaurants serve in those little plastic cups with mozzarella sticks. I also then got a hint of garlic from the Tuscan sauce. That sauce was a clearish white with specks of green mixed in. It wasn’t overpowering, more of like a finale on each bite.
I was able to make it through about 2½ pieces before I had to call it quits. This thing is really, really filling. It felt like I had consumed a couple of Whoppers, which in reality I had.
I feel that the whole Whopper Bar concept is a great idea. I can see this working well in airports, including the New York Pizza Burger, which needs a little work on the overly sweet and generic marinara sauce. The sandwiches come out at a pretty fast pace, but you have to wait a few minutes for the pizza burger. If you have a family of four, this would be a neat novelty item to try. Also, the New York location does not (but will soon) serve beer. I don’t think scarfing this down with a bloating beer would be a good mix as it was already filling enough. Buy I did drink a large Coke to wash this bad boy down.
Now for the bad news… the calorie count. The Whopper itself already contains a high amount of fat and calories, but adding four patties with tons of condiments and you know this isn’t for the waist watchers. Each pizza is a massive 2,500 calories. That’s the equivalent of three sticks of butter, 17 cans of soda pop, or 42 slices of American cheese. Definitely more than your recommended daily calorie intake, but as the ads, flyers, and employees note “it’s meant for sharing.”
THE 411
THE NEW YORK PIZZA BURGER
What: Whopper sandwich / pizza hybrid
Where: available only at the BK Whopper Bar, Times Square, New York City
Cost: $12.99
JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS: It’s definitely something to try once in your life. But don’t eat the whole thing yourself. I ate a large part of mine and was massively full. All the fat and cholesterol didn’t give me a heart attack, but I can definitely see this ending up on an episode of Man vs. Food on The Travel Channel. Our group and those sitting around me definitely got a kick out of seeing it. Just a warning: it’s very, very filling. I can eat regular pizza cold or reheated after it sits in the fridge overnight, but would you do the same with a Whopper? Think of that if you are going to take the leftovers on the subway ride with you back home. Again, I do applaud Burger King for again pushing the envelope with a new novelty menu item. The last time it was ribs, now this.