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There’s a famous quote that says, “A business that doesn’t grow dies.” And this is invariably true. In order to stay afloat, businesses must adapt to the changing world, try new things, and keep the attention of their audience. When it comes to fast food restaurants, their menus tend to have a lot of consistency. For instance, the Big Mac will probably be served at McDonald’s for as long as they stay in business. However, there’s definitely still pressure on fast food chains to add new menu items and give their customers reason to be excited about eating at their establishments.
But, sometimes, these fast food chains go a little too far (or way too far) and add some seriously strange items to their menu. Why in the world would anyone ever add buffalo sauce to a latte? Or make a slushie that tastes like pickle juice? Yes, at times, it seems like fast food execs are looking more for a gasp than to create an actually edible food item.
So, while I would never in a million years order any of these items at a fast food restaurant, it’s fun to look back on the history of the fast food industry and remember some of the most ridiculous fast food menu items of all time.
1. Tim Hortons Buffalo Latte
Let’s start off this list with perhaps the most disgusting beverage that’s ever existed on planet Earth: the Buffalo Latte from Tim Hortons. If you’re unfamiliar, it was originally a coffee shop chain in Canada that later branched into the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. They now also sell food, and it’s not half-bad. If you’re from the West Coast of the U.S., then there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve never heard of Tim Hortons and an even better chance that you’ve never heard of the Buffalo Latte. Consider yourself lucky.
According to Tim Hortons, the drink is made with “freshly brewed espresso, steamed milk, mocha, and bold Buffalo sauce flavor.” Yes, we’re talking about the same buffalo sauce that people put on chicken wings. Now, I could deal with pumpkin spice lattes (albeit they aren’t my favorite), but this is an abomination. The drink was only served in Buffalo, New York, as an homage to the city’s famous sauce. In my opinion, that’s not a valid excuse.
2. Burger King Halloween Whopper
Burger King is literally no one’s favorite fast food restaurant. And, back in 2015, they released a food item that lowered the bar even further for this abysmal fast food chain. It was called the Halloween Whopper and it was awful. The sandwich was simply a normal Whopper; however, instead of its bun being the color of bread (like it should be), it was black.
In general, if you see a piece of bread that’s black, you should definitely not eat it. Doing so could make you very sick. However, the Halloween Whopper’s bun was simply dyed black with food coloring, meaning that it was not a hazard to your health. But, this food coloring did come with one very concerning side effect: it turned your poop green. Yes, after eating the fabled Halloween Whopper, you would sit down on the Big White Hoop to discover that your poop had turned green. Needless to say, the Halloween Whopper was born and died in 2015.
3. Arby’s Meat Mountain
Only in the United States could such a thing as the Arby’s Meat Mountain exist. Apparently still a part of Arby’s secret menu, this sandwich is composed of eight different meats, a bun, and a few slices of Swiss cheese. The name for this sandwich is very fitting because eating it, in fact, might be more strenuous on the body than climbing an actual mountain.
The eight meats slapped on this sandwich are as follows: breaded chicken tenders, Angus steak, bacon, brisket, corned beef, ham, roast beef, and turkey. If you’re going to attempt to climb the Meat Mountain, I would highly recommend canceling all of your p[lans for the rest of the day. Digesting this sandwich successfully is a feat akin to climbing Everest.
4. KFC Double Down
This is probably the most famous menu item on this list, and for all the wrong reasons. The sandwich outraged dieticians and public health advocates around the world when KFC released its nutrition facts. The sandwich contained about 600 calories, about 1,400 millgrams of sodium (about 60% of the daily recommended amount), and about 11 grams of saturated fat (about 60% of the daily recommended amount). While KFC spokespersons said that the sandwich was only intended for occasional consumption, many claimed that it was irresponsible for KFC to sell this sandwich to the public.
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In terms of the actual construction of the Double Down, it was comprised of two strips of bacon, a slice of cheese, and the Colonel’s secret sauce all encased in two fried chicken filets. If you were wondering whether I forgot to mention the bun, I did not. This sandwich has no bun, meaning that you’re expected to hold the greasy chicken filets with your bare hands. I’ve never had a Double Down before, but I sure hope that they served it with a knife and a fork.
5. Sonic Pickle Juice Slush
Now, from what I understand, there are people in the world that enjoy drinking pickle juice. And, while that sounds like a cute way to say “I have a crippling addiction to salt,” I’m not here to judge. In fact, Snookie from MTV’s Jersey Shore is a known fan of pickle juice. And we should all strive to be more like Snookie. But, I have to say that Sonic’s Pickle Juice Slush doesn’t sound like something I want to try.
However, it would appear that I might be of the minority opinion her because, apparently, the Sonic Pickle Juice Slush is wildly popular. In fact, a Sonic spokesperson said of their last run of Pickle Juice Slush drinks, “Our pickle-forward menu innovations have become some of our most popular, so much so that they’ve often sold out quicker than we anticipated.” If you’ve tried a Pickle Juice, please reach out to me with your review. It sounds atrocious, but what do I know?
6. Taco Bell Cap’n Crunch Delights
If there’s one thing that we know about the fast food industry, it’s that they will deep-fry anything, including breakfast cereal, apparently. This limited-run dessert menu item consisted of small deep-fried balls made of ground-up Cap’n Crunch Berries cereal and filled with a “sweet cereal milk” icing. Honestly, this dessert sounds semi-good. It’s mostly just weird that it’s being sold at Taco Bell. Who really wants a deep-fried cereal ball after eating a taco, Gordita Crunch, or Chalupa Supreme?
Taco Bell has been known to make some wacky food combinations in the past as well. This is the same fast food chain that brought the Waffle Taco to the world. That’s a folded-up waffle containing scrambled eggs and a sausage patty. I’ve yet to try one, but it sounds immaculate. Taco Bell has also released a Cinnabon-flavored coffee drink (sounds amazing), a taco shell made from Fritos (also amazing), and a Starburst-flavored frozen drink (sounds entirely too sugary).
