Review: Steakhouse Burger

If you've watched any TV in the last couple of months you've probably seen the commercials for Burger King's steakhouse burger. I put off trying one for my arteries' sake, but eventually gave in to provide my millions of fast-foodie fans with a review of the big-name burger!

There are two versions of this burger: loaded and non-loaded. The non-loaded versions has an Angus beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, crispy onion strips, and A1 Steak Sauce. The loaded version ditches the lettuce and tomato and adds bacon and a "baked potato topping."

I was not impressed with the Angus beef patty. It has a unique flavor, but I think I prefer the taste of Burger King's standard beef patty. In addition, it was completely the wrong size for the bun, making the eating experience messy. It was rectangular shaped and hung out too far on each side of the burger.



The fried onions didn't do much for me either. They were greasy and lacked flavor. The only thing remarkable about this burger was the A1 steak sauce. But, if you really need to eat a burger with A1 steak sauce, I'd recommend just getting a Whopper and adding your own.

Recommended: Skip it. There are better limited-time burgers out there.
Taste: 5/10
Quality: 4/10
Value: 4/10

Review: Arby's Philly Beef Flatbread Melt

Flatbread Melts are the latest addition to Arby's ever-changing menu. Each consists of a soft flatened bread wrapping a mound of roast beef, grilled onions and peppers. The Philly Beef version then gets melted swiss cheese and a parmesan peppercorn sauce, while the Fajtia Beef version gets pepper-jack cheese and a jalepeno ranch sauce. For this review I tried the Philly Beef.

This is probably on of the best items I've at Arby's in a long time. They did a lot of things right with this one.

First: the construction. Quite often I find fast food items that try to incorporate some kind of sauce, cheese or otherwise, to be messy. The Mushroom Swiss Grillburger I reviewed a while back is a good example of how messy sauces can kill an experience. With this item, all sauces and cheese was applied to the flat bread -- underneath the roast beef. Constructing the item in this method was a good decision for, while some visual appeal is lost by not having the sauce be applied on top of the roast beef, it is much easier to eat without making a mess of yourself.

The grilled onions, peppers, cheese and sauce was great as well. Everything was very flavorful. The onions and peppers were perfectly carmelized with little brown morsels of sauteed goodness.

The size of the melt was a pleasant suprise as well. I think it had something on the order of double the meat of a traditional roast beef sandwhich. It was much larger than I was expecting. Add fries and a drink and you have a very filling meal.

The value on this one is great for Arby's. This is going for $5.00 for a meal with a medium fries and drink. This is Arby's response to Subway's succesful $5 footlong campaign.

Recommended: Highly.
Taste: 8/10
Quality: 7/10
Value: 9/10