The Yumbo Is Back! (I Had Such High Hopes) Plus A Bonus Review Of Bk's Four Cheese Whopper

Where -
Burger King, 55 Godwin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432
Weekday store hours: M-F 9-11
Weekend store hours: Sa-S 10-10
Phone: (201) 652-9841
Restaurant #: 517

What -
The Yumbo...

...and The Four Cheese Whopper

First up, The Yumbo

Build - The Yumbo
Rewind to 1971 -
Fast Forward 42 years -
As with any retail food service, in the fast food world consistency is everything and its success or demise is a direct reflection on the management of a particular location so I'm here to tell you, the management at BK store #517 sucks.
Not much else to say here folks, my photos will speak volumes. For the price I would consider *Frankensteining two Yumbos.
The only thing that will keep this sandwich from bombing is the 2 for $5 price tag; if that goes away, they might as well cancel the Yumbo once and for all.
This flop ends up with a measly 6.8 on the BC rating scale.
*Click the link below to see my article from Feb. 27th 2013 on “Frankensteining"

The Yumbo consists of hot ham and cheese with sliced Black Forest ham topped with American cheese, lettuce, and mayo, all served heated on a toasted hoagie-shaped hamburger bun.

Yumbo Comments -

Although the Yumbo is back, it's disappointingly not the sandwich I remember from the early ‘70s.

I was 10 years old, and I was extremely excited (just like every time I was allowed to eat fast food) to sample my first Yumbo, Burger King's new and generously portioned hot ham and cheese sandwich served on a Whopper bun. So off I went with my friends to the Burger King in Cedar Grove, NJ. This was the place where I first sampled and fell in love with the Whopper. I ordered the Yumbo which came promptly to the counter and off I was to find a seat. As with my first Whopper, I was falling in love while unwrapping the sandwich because just the notion of eating something my mother wouldn't prepare at home was exciting. This new "hot" ham and cheese sandwich was so basic, yet so mind boggling to me. And it was everything BK said it would be and more. The ham portion was much larger than I thought it would be and it wasn't just "hot,” it was "HOT" and the ham had an incredible smokey flavor which, until that day, was unfamiliar to me.

The BK Yumbo is reintroduced in 2014, and it's still served on a sesame seed bun, however now it's a hoagie-shaped sesame seed bun instead of the Whopper bun – why, I ask? Why mess with perfection? If this isn't bad enough, there is the fallacious addition of mayo and lettuce. Why? If you are "bringing back" the Yumbo, why not bring it back in all its original glory, the way original Yumbo fans remember it and loved it and nothing more? Why in God's good name would you change the flavor by adding mayo and lettuce to a hot sandwich? I could see all of those condiments on a Whopper, but not a two (2) ingredient sandwich that's supposed to be served piping hot. By the way, it was not hot... in fact, it was so cold the cheese did not melt at all. Okay, so let's market a sandwich as being ‘HOT” and serve it cold, that'll keep 'em coming in the front door. Just for shits and giggles, I ordered one of my Yumbos old school style with just the ham and cheese. But alas, they were both cold and seriously lacking ham.

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Scroll down for photos and the second review...

Click on any photo to enlarge it

Retro Yumbo...

I don't remember swiss !

Now for The Four Cheese Whopper...

This review is dedicated to my friend and quintessential Whopper w/cheese lover, Owen.

For the record, I don't really look at a fast food burger as being an actual burger – I consider it more of a snack food that defies description. Take a White Castle for example... would you consider it a burger? Ummm, no. But where would we be without them?

Build - The Four Cheese Whopper

The Four Cheese Whopper features a 1/4 lb. (precooked weight) of grilled beef, American cheese, a three cheese blend, cheddar sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions served on a warm toasted sesame seed bun.

The Four Cheese Whopper Comments -

To give fair warning, all you loyal BK fans may want to skip this review. Although the sandwich was pretty good, there is some type of bait-and-switch going on here that BK's marketing department seems to think is perfectly acceptable. And it's the most loyal BK fans that should be pissed.

I'm obviously not one to be picky (I am writing about fast food) however, I've read reviews on The Four Cheese Whopper and now I've eaten one, and I'm here to tell you that contrary to what some reviewers have stated, this burger does NOT contain all the usual Whopper toppings/condiments. In fact, three are missing, and they are three flavors that helped make the Whopper's flavor model the success it is. They are: mayo, ketchup, and pickle. Yup, all missing from The Four Cheese "Whopper.”

Speaking for all BK loyalists from around the globe, calling this sandwich a "Whopper" is nothing shy of an abomination. A Whopper with "special" or "themed" toppings should be just that, a Whopper first – with other toppings added.

As for “The Four Cheeses,” the build ingredients have me quite confused – this is right from the BK website, yet I just don't see how they are arriving at four for the number of cheeses on the burger. Check it out: American cheese, a three cheese blend, cheddar sauce. To me that's either three or five cheeses, not four. If I am reading this wrong or if you can shed some light on the subject, please feel free to send a comment to this post.

The overall taste of the sandwich was okay, however, had it been a fully-blown Whopper with four cheeses added to it, it would have rated higher. The mayo and ketchup on the Whopper contribute largely to the flavor of the sandwich, especially when you are three quarters of the way finished and the condiments along with the toppings have morphed into a wonderful burger sauce that defies description. If you have ever eaten a Whopper with cheese, you know what I'm talking about.

This burger would have received an 8.5\10 if all the original Whopper condiments and toppings were included. I'm giving this a 7.5 rating on the BC rating scale which may sound a bit high, but it really was quite tasty.

One more thing, I tip my hat to Burger King for keeping the toppings where they belong...on TOP of the burger.