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Hardee’s New Patriotic Thickburger Looks Like a Delicious Monstrosity

1 minute read
By Victor Luckerson

There’s nothing more patriotic than a beef patty, a split hot dog and handful of greasy potato chips coming together to form a giant, caloric bomb. At least, that must be the thinking behind the new “Most American Thickburger,” coming soon to Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.

In addition to combining three sports stadium staples that are generally bad for you, the burger will also include ketchup, mustard, tomato, red onion, pickles and cheese. All for the low, low health cost of 1,030 calories and 64 grams of fat, according to the Associated Press.

The company is using sexual-but-patriotic imagery to promote the new meal, which arrives at restaurants May 20. The burger will cost $5.79, while a combo with fries and a drink (which will probably approach the total caloric intake a normal person is supposed to have in an entire day) will cost $8.29.

The new burger follows Carl’s Jr’s recent commercial stunt, which featured model Charlotte McKinney strutting around to promote a new “all-natural,” antibiotics-free patty

The 17 Most Influential Burgers of All Time

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The ordering lingo for this Atlanta staple, which debuted in 1928, is almost as delicious as the burger itself: you get it “all the way” in lieu of “with onions,” and “walk a steak” replaces “to-go.” These branding gimmicks were later replicated by burger chains like In-N-Out, whose secret menu (see: “animal style” and "protein style") has helped lure millions of customers.
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In October, Chicago heavy-metal-themed bar Kuma's Corner launched one of the most outrageous burgers to date: the Ghost Burger—it's named after Swedish metal band Ghost B.C.—was topped with an unconsecrated Communion wafer. The dish sold well, but angered Catholics (and garnered national headlines), prompting the owners to donate $1,500 to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
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In October, Chicago heavy-metal-themed bar Kuma's Corner launched one of the most outrageous burgers to date: the Ghost Burger—it's named after Swedish metal band Ghost B.C.—was topped with an unconsecrated Communion wafer. The dish sold well, but angered Catholics (and garnered national headlines), prompting the owners to donate $1,500 to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
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Although this twist on the cheeseburger—in which the cheese is melted inside the patty—was reportedly invented in the 1920s, when chefs were still experimenting with the burger, it gained national attention in 2008, thanks to a feud between two Minneapolis bars that both claim to have "invented" it. Since then, there have been numerous imitators, proving that a little innovation and a dash of hype is all it takes to reinvigorate enthusiasm for a classic. Correction: The original version of this story misstated the date of invention of the Jucy Lucy. It was put on the menu at Matt's in 1954.
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