Burger King’s Whopperito
One of the best kept secrets in the food industry is that everything is better in a tortilla wrap. Burger King put this to the test in 2016 with the Whopperito, a wrap containing the usual Whopper ingredients with a queso sauce drizzle. Sounds great! Unfortunately, the fast food fusion failed to take off and didn’t last the year.
The McDonald’s Pizza
The holy grail of weird fast food! You know it’s awful for you, but you can’t help but be drawn to like a Mcmoth to a Mcflame. Launching in the 90s, the fast-food giant took on an Italian classic, with surprisingly positive results. The McPizza is still available for purchase in only one location: the corporation’s superstore stronghold in Orlando, Florida.
Whataburger Chop House Cheddar Cheeseburger
The ‘chopped cheese’ sandwich has made a huge resurgence in recent years. Thought to have originated in Spanish Harlem, New York, the concept involved laying the beef, cheese, and onions all onto the grill and then mashing it into a gooey, delicious mess. Whataburger were ahead of the trend back in 2009, and their chopped burger still sometimes pops up in select locations.
Taco Bell Breakfast Waffle
Savory and sweet breakfasts are a dangerous combination. Perfect when balanced, but too much of one flavor runs the risk of reminding you that a sausage and egg waffle dripping with syrup is, morally speaking, unjustifiable gluttony. Taco Bell failed to strike that balance, and their all-in-one breakfast disappeared soon after.
Carl Junior’s Pop-Tart Ice Cream Sandwich
They absolutely nailed the branding on this one, the name tells you everything you need to know. Every word seems like it should be the final element, but anybody who reads this monstrous title is bound to decide they need it. Easy access treats coming pre-packaged across stores! Sweet, sweet success.
McDonald’s Mighty Wings
It seems strange that wings would ever be a success on a McDonald’s menu. With everything there formulated to take as little effort to choose, buy and eat as possible, the presence of a bone would throw off the whole experience. Nonetheless, these spicy wings were a smash hit, only leaving the menu because they were too expensive to produce.
Starbucks Birthday Cake Frappuccino
Launched just before it became a viral food trend, this was released to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary in 2015. With TikTok users now making ‘birthday cake’ flavoured everything, except actual cake, it allegedly still rears its vanilla frosted head on the ‘secret’ menu. I doubt your barista will feel like celebrating if you ask for it, though.
KFC’s Potato Wedges
A chunky fry is perfect for KFC and its sauce-heavy portfolio, so it came as no surprise that their wedges were a big hit. They boasted a larger, crispier surface area for seasonings, BBQ sauce, and gravy to stick to. The insides were so white and fluffy that if you stared at them long enough you see the pearly gates. Tragically, they were discontinued in 2021.
Jack In The Box Ham and Turkey Melt
This was an early internet cult favorite. The lower cal option fit the fast-paced, metropolitan vibe of the 90s West Coast perfectly. Even pre-silicon Valley, pre-social media, the forums were filled with early adopters of the ‘being annoying about food on the internet’ trend. By the 2000s Subway had taken over the ‘healthy’ sandwich market, so fast-food menus moved towards burgers.
Wendy’s bacon mushroom melt
The humble pairing of bacon and mushroom is a tale as old as time. Natural and widely available ingredients come together everywhere, often with delicious outcomes. Despite this, Wendy’s abandoned the classic sometime in the early 2010s and recently brought it back across Canada only.