Every now and again, the Japanese branches of McDonald’s roll out what they call the Big America burgers. Each one is named after a place in the US and has a subtle nod to the region through its ingredients, such as the chili-soaked Texas burger.
The thing is, in the U.S. we don’t call that a Texas burger, we call it a chili burger. Likewise, going into anywhere other than a Japanese McDonald’s and asking for a Broadway or Idaho burger is going to leave the staff confused and you hungry.
It’s always seemed a little strange that there’s no California burger, since that’s an established dish with a standard recipe, being avocado slices on a burger. Well, if McDonald’s won’t do it, Burger King Japan will, and even without a tip of the hat to the Golden State, their new lineup of burgers is packed with avocado.
Burger King has three special sandwiches on offer right now, all of which share the same theme.
▼ And no, it’s not habanero chili peppers.
The cheapest of the bunch, at 290 yen (US$2.85), or 590 yen for a set with fries and a drink, is the Fresh Avocado Burger. It doubles its California connection by coming with Monterey Jack cheese, and also bacon, which has no particular connection to the state but is, presumably, delicious by its very nature of being bacon.
Moving up the price scale, we come to the contradictorily named Fresh Avocado Whopper Jr. Unlike the other two sandwiches, this one has been available at Japanese Burger King branches for a while now, but they’re still being kind enough to knock 50 yen off the price, dropping it to 350 yen by itself of 690 for a set.
And finally, the flagship burger of the campaign is the Fresh Avocado Whopper Premium. 550 yen (910 yen for the set) gets you a full-sized version of Burger King’s iconic burger, covered with an extra-large serving of avocado.
While it’s not that cost-prohibitive, we realize 910 yen is a bit on the pricey side for a fast food meal, and we can almost hear the fiscally shrewd among you saying, “But is there any way I can eat 15 Fresh Avocado Whopper Premium sets for the price of 14?” Why yes you can, our oddly specific readers, by showing a screen capture of the 60-yen-off coupon at the end of this video.
Alternatively, you could show them this capture we’ve already taken for you, thereby saving yourself some cash and possibly introducing the clerk at Burger King to the website created by the Internet’s nicest-smelling team of writers and editors.
None of these avocado burgers are available while the breakfast menu is being served, though, which means you’ll have to stop by after 10:30 a.m. If there’s no Burger King branch close enough to your office for a lunch run, we recommend going for dinner, since that’ll give you more time to savor your burger, and also enjoy one of the whiskey cocktails the chain serves in Japan.
Sources: Entabe, Burker King Japan
Top image: Burger King Japan
Insert images: YouTube, Burger King Japan