アメリカ美しい (America the Beautiful)
McDonalds JP is back at it again with the Big America series of burgers. You think, being the Japanese branch of a giant AMERICAN corporation, they'd consult some actual Americans in the creation of these burgers...but maybe it's better that they didn't. Sometimes the Japanese interpretation of other people's cultures turns out to be very awesome as it did with a couple of burgers from the previous two Big America ventures. Who can forget the coma inducing Idaho Burger, with a friggen' hash brown thrown on top of a quarter pounder with cheese? Or the Texas Burger with his wacky relish, crispy onions, and BBQ sauce? The Miami Burger from last year was pretty memorable too for its use of crumbled corn chips and salsa. I don't see any obviously awesome sandwiches like I did before, but this group definitely has some potential.
Grand Canyon Burger - What do you think of when you hear the words Grand Canyon? Big ass hole in the ground? People gazing in awe at said hole? Gigantic butts...because they have holes in them? None of those make for good sandwich...although butts do have the soft buns part down pat. Anyway, this burger features an egg, mozarella and cheddar cheese, and a steak sauce made with soy and liquid smoke. Can you taste the Old West flavor yet?!
Las Vegas Burger - I've never been to Vegas, but when I think about it prostitutes, clubs, gambling, desert heat, Italian Mobsters played by Robert Deniro and Joe Pesci, and Sigfried and Roy come to mind. Sadly the Las Vegas Burger doesn't contain tiger meat (or the blood, which is obviously more potent), sand, palm tree leaves, or the chopped off fingers or Wiseguys buried out in the desert. Uh...actually that doesn't sound appetizing at all, so kudos to McDonalds for not going that route. Instead you'll get a fairly normal burger who's main feature is cream cheese sauce and sliced beef to go along with your patty. In that sense it's kind of similar to McDonald's ultra delicious KBQ.
Broadway Burger - New York gets love AGAIN with the Broadway Burger, made from the blood, sweat, and tears of the finest actors to ever walk across a stage. Previously New York was represented by the titular New York Burger (which perhaps represented the entire state at that time), then last years Manhattan Burger took things more local. Now they've narrowed it down to just a street. I guess Avenue of the America's Burger wasn't as catchy (also, clearly jingoistic). This burger features the cream cheese from the Vegas Burger and pastrami bacon ala a New York deli. Intriguing...
Beverly Hills Burger - Cali culture was missing from the second Big America series, but now it's back and distilled into this 90210 themed sandwich. What do people in The Hills eat a lot of? Salad. What's on top of this sandwich? Salad. Caeser Salad to be exact...and an egg. This might be the only burger from the Big America series where the people from the region the sandwich represents would wholeheartedly reject it. Can you imagine Tori Spelling wolfing down one of these?