Why We’re Not Buying Burger King’s Whopperrito

Sigh. Have you guys seen this? Burger King is releasing a brand new menu item on August 15: the “Whopperrito”. It’s a “burger and burrito fusion” that “features grilled beef, a creamy queso sauce, Tex-Mex spices, cut tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and pickles.”

Oh BK. How we wish you wouldn’t. Let’s put aside the ambiguity of “Tex-Mex spices” and the fact that no such burger / burrito combo (or toppings!) would be found in authentic Tex-Mex or Mexican cuisine. Our real gripe is this: why must everyone turn everything into a “taco” or “burrito”?

Sushi burritos. Waffle breakfast tacos. What’s next? A rainbow, cronut dessert tortilla? Pass.

Not everything that is tucked into a tortilla is a burrito; not everything folded inside a tortilla is, in fact, a taco. Nor should it be. Look, we’re all about celebrating Latin cuisine and giving it some time in the spotlight, but this isn’t Latin cuisine.

What’s happening here (and in lots of other places), is appropriating a term to capitalize on a trend. Why not try to serve up a real deal, authentic taco with BK’s own spin? Or invest time and money into revamping BK’s classic menu to make it fit with the times? (We’re talking whole grains, organic greens, and more).

Business is business, we understand. But we’re not giving you ours by forking over $3 for this… creation. No, we’d rather save our lunch time allowance for real deal tacos al pastor or a juicy flame-grilled burger, made just the way we like it.