The New, Improved Whopper at Burger King

The New, Improved Whopper at Burger King
Location
: 6010 Dixie Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.burgerking.ca/

Burger King has come out with a new “better than ever” Whopper and… it’s fine?  It’s a Whopper?  I don’t know what to tell you.

The New, Improved Whopper at Burger King

Here’s how Burger King describes it: “Already BK Canada’s most iconic burger, the Whopper has been further refined to deliver an even better experience. Made with more than a 1/4lb of 100% flame-grilled beef and hand-cut produce, the Whopper is now served on a more premium, better tasting bun and in a box to help ensure it makes it to Guests exactly the way it left the kitchen.”

The New, Improved Whopper at Burger King

The news stories about this thing also mention a new mayo, but the Canadian press release doesn’t have a peep about that, so I’m guessing that part didn’t come to Canada.

The New, Improved Whopper at Burger King

About a month ago, when the news first came out and before the new Whopper was introduced here, I went and had an old Whopper so I could compare the two, and it was perfectly pleasant.  It came wrapped in paper but wasn’t smushed at all, and the bun was fine.  Maybe a bit too sweet and dense, but totally acceptable.

The New, Improved Whopper at Burger King

The biggest issue was the burger patty itself, which is not being improved, but probably should; it had that smoky flavour you associate with Burger King, which is nice, but it was extremely dry.

The New, Improved Whopper at Burger King

As for the new Whopper, I think maybe the bun was slightly more plush, but otherwise they both tasted exactly the same.  It’s possible that if I had eaten them side by side, the differences would have been more apparent, but a month apart they were basically identical.  The old one?  Fine.  The new one?  Also fine.  Perfectly acceptable fast food hamburger, but definitely not my first choice.

Tasty Sandwiches at Vero Italian Sandwich Co.

Vero Italian Sandwich Co.
Location
: 477 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://verosandwich.ca/

All restaurants are Italian sandwich shops now.  Don’t like it?  Sorry, them’s the breaks.

But you know what?  Based on the quality of places like this and Alfie’s, I for one welcome our new Italian sandwich overlords.

Vero Italian Sandwich Co.

They have a handful of meaty sandwiches on the menu (and one vegetarian).  I went with the Gabagool: “Capicola, Mortadella, Fresh Mozzarella, Giardiniera, Tomato and Arugula.”

Vero Italian Sandwich Co.

Yeah, that’s a top-notch sandwich.  The bread is great (it’s got a nice balance of chewiness and crispiness), there’s a generous amount of good quality cold cuts, it’s nice and zippy, and the fresh mozzarella adds a nice creaminess that rounds things out.

Vero Italian Sandwich Co.

It was a little greasy (it was dripping with oil) and the flavours don’t quite pop like in the best versions of this type of sandwich, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich at McDonald’s

McDonald'sLocation: 5310 Dixie Road, Mississauga
Websitehttps://www.mcdonalds.ca

Next stop on the World Taste Tour: Italy, with the Italian Pesto Chicken Sandwich.  This is a McChicken patty topped with a pesto aioli sauce, shaved parmesan, arugula, and tomato.  It’s served on a “toasted focaccia bun sprinkled with rosemary.”

It’s actually not bad.  It’s definitely a lot better than the Chinese Szechuan Burger, and probably about on the same level as the French Creme Brulee McFlurry.

Like with the Szechuan Burger, the biggest issue here is with the meat itself.

McDonald's

The chicken patty is what it is.  It’s spongy, salty, ultra-processed, and has about as much resemblance to an actual piece of chicken as a Hyundai has to a Ferrari.  They’re in the same general ballpark, but they’re really not the same thing.

It’s junk, but then anyone walking through the doors of a McDonald’s knows exactly what they’re going to get.  Again: it is what it is.  It’s fine.

And everything else was pretty good.  The pesto aioli sauce has a surprisingly vibrant pesto flavour, and the shaved parmesan isn’t bad at all.  Parmesan, pesto, and peppery arugula are a boffo combination, and McDonald’s doesn’t mess it up.  The whole thing is aggressively salty, but other than that it tastes pretty good.

There wasn’t much rosemary flavour from the bun, but it was fresh, hearty, and a little bit chewy.  It suited the sandwich nicely.