REVIEW: Burger King Whiplash Whopper

As you probably know, my love of "limited time only" menu offerings borders on shameful. If a fast food joint was to somehow offer up a sandwich of yarn and top soil with "secret sauce" (read that "Thousand Island dressing"), there's a good chance I could talk myself into trying it by the time I saw the fifth commercial for it on ESPN.

Which explains why I told my daughter we were going to the "Burger King McDonald's" today.

Turns out Burger King had hitched their wagon to the upcoming IRON MAN 2 and was hawking a Whiplash Whopper, named for Mickey Rourke's villain in the flick. Described as a Russian who harbors a deep resentment for Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Whiplash (aka Ivan Vanko) constructs his own power suit which features a pair of whips powered by his suit's chest piece.

Frankly, I'm not sure what any of that has to do with the sandwich's blend of pepperjack cheese, crispy (ie, fried) red peppers, and spicy mayo but guess what? It works!

I'm usually the first to rain on the King's specialty menu parade (I'm looking at you Angry Whopper, Loaded Steakhouse Burger, Burger Shots, Top Soil Whopper, etc.), but not only did the Whiplash Whopper take me by surprise with the zesty punch packed by its fried pepper strips, but the lettuce and tomato were as crisp as any I've had at Burger King.

Oh sure, the sandwich artist in the back still plopped 'em on opposite sides of the burger like they were participants in a turf war. Yes, both combatants looked like they were on the losing end of a fight with a dull knife, but when's the last time you bit into a BK burger and didn't wonder why the produce was so limp?

The Whiplash Whopper certainly isn't going to steal any thunder from the KFC Double Down and, hey, why should it? It's not like they put a pork chop on it or something, it's just a doctored up burger. But as doctored up, limited time only fast food burgers go, I'll give the King a solid B+ on this one.

Here's hoping the actual flick is as satisfying.