Let me begin by going on record to say that I do not consider Burger King to be barbecue in any sense of the word. That being said, I was admittedly a little intrigued by their recently-unveiled Summer menu, which contains several "BBQ" selections. I suspect that the term "BBQ" is being very loosely applied here, but since Burger King is only a two-minute walk from my apartment, I decided to try out a few of their new sandwiches.
This Burger King location has recently reopened after undergoing a major renovation, so I was interested to see what the outcome would be. The interior looks much nicer, and has a more welcoming feel than the Burger Kings of yesteryear. They do still have the paper crowns available at least, so it hasn't changed all that much.
I ended up ordering two of their new Summer menu items: the BK Rib Sandwich and the Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, along with a standard order of fries. Burger King has sweet potato fries available as part of the summer selections, but I thoroughly enjoy their regular fries, so I passed for today.
The BK Rib Sandwich is surely their answer to the McDonald's McRib. I've never been a fan of the McRib, but somehow the BK version seemed a little better than its competition. I enjoyed the artisanal bun, which was an improvement over the standard sesame seed version. Although they didn't look very appetizing, the bread and butter pickles offered a good sweetness, but I think dill pickles would have been a better pairing. The barbecue sauce tasted more like a sweet ketchup. The "patty" or whatever looked like three ladyfingers waiting to be part of a tiramisu. My brain kept telling me, "They can't call it a rib sandwich if it isn't rib meat," but my taste buds refused to believe it. Overall, the BK Rib Sandwich was slightly tastier than the McRib, but that really isn't saying much.
Thoroughly disappointed by the Rib Sandwich, I moved on to the Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork. Rather than the neat pile of pulled pork pictured on the Burger King website, what I received was a balled-up mass of pork shoved onto a bun. The meat (if you can call it that) was very mushy and had the consistency of uncooked hamburger meat. It was well-suited for people with dentures, but not for those of us who have acquired the evolutionary advantage of teeth. The crunch of the onions gave this sandwich its only texture. According to the menu description, this sandwich has a Memphis-style barbecue sauce and a "sweet southern dressing," though I'm not sure I understand the need for both. The sauce was pleasantly sweet, but I can get better sauce from the Kroger next door. Basically, this was nothing more than a sweet sloppy joe.
If I could have given this meal zero stars, I would have. Wait. It's my blog, and I can do whatever I want. Negative one stars! Instead of trying to outpace McDonald's in the arena of fake barbecue, perhaps Burger King should instead focus on making a better hamburger.
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Burger King
5456 E. Mockingbird Ln.
#400
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 828-9146
http://www.bk.com/en/us/index.html
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