Drive-Thru Gourmet
Put an egg on it: Burger King's betting the Farmhouse you'll like its new burger
This week I reached out for a Farmhouse King, the ultimate double-decker burger from Burger King, with 13,000 restaurants spanning the globe.
The creepy King is bagging up goodies from Old MacDonald’s Farm — beef, bacon, cheese and, here’s something different, an egg. Think of this as a burger, and breakfast, all in one.
Here’s the Farmhouse King breakdown
Two all-beef Whopper patties, two slices of American cheese, hickory-smoked bacon, a fried egg, crispy onion strips, ketchup, and creamy signature sauce on a toasted sesame seed bun.
I got full just writing that.
Total calories: 1,220. Fat grams: 80. Sodium: 2,050 mg. Carbs: 62 g. Dietary fiber: 2 g. Protein: 63 g. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $6. Your mileage may vary.
Whew! I got double-full just writing that.
It takes two hands — and maybe a spotter — to handle this Farmhouse King burger. We’re talking a lot of everything — plus the big difference, a fried egg sitting on top of the bacon ‘n’ burgers. Nothing says wakey-wakey like bacon and eggs.
If you’ve never had an egg on your burger, be prepared to change your burger habits forever. The first time for me was several years ago, when I ordered the “Dumb Texan Burger” at a joint called The Bird on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany. I thought “Dumb Texan” was a little personal, but eggs on burgers is very Euro, so I gave it a shot.
It was a spiritual awakening. I saw the light. The egg came sunny-side up, staring me in the face, and when I picked up the burger, the yolk burst and ran all over the burger patty and bacon. I had sticky yellow yolk on my hands and chin, and didn’t care.
Things are a little different at Burger King stateside, where rules about sunny-side up eggs are stricter. So Burger King fries its eggs thoroughly for the Farmhouse King. The egg is firm, so the yolk’s not on you.
You still get the fried egg flavor, so all’s not lost. Especially when you’ve got more than half a pound (pre-cooked) of BK’s flame-grilled patties, lots of gooey melted cheese, thick-cut bacon, crispy onion strips, ketchup, and creamy sauce on this monster burger. Clearly the Farmhouse is a headliner in BK’s couture line of burgers.
Of course you pay for all that heft, and 1,220 calories and 80 fat grams is a mighty hefty bill. So this can’t be your regular daily burger. Add large fries and a high-octane soda, and you’ve passed the recommended number of everything for a whole day. And I know you, you’ll be hungry again around dinnertime.
Bottom line: this is a watershed burger, but be careful you don’t get swept away.