Whos down in Whoville, and underwater residents of Bikini Backside, there’s information for each of you: McDonald’s and Burger King, longtime fast-food rivals, are going head-to-head. Or, to be extra correct, scary red-wigged, face-painted clown head in opposition to equally horrifying red-bearded crown-wearing head.
On Tuesday, McDonald’s launched The Grinch Meal, and on the identical day, Burger King rolled out its SpongeBob SquarePants menu. So in the event you’re sick of Thanksgiving leftovers and wish some quick meals as an alternative, you’ll be able to resolve in case your style buds resonate with the crabby inexperienced Grinch or the at all times cheerful SpongeBob.
Each are limited-edition choices, so get to your native McDonald’s or Burger King quickly if you wish to check out the meals.
Do not miss any of our unbiased tech content material and lab-based evaluations. Add CNET as a most well-liked Google supply.
McDonald’s Grinch Meal Evaluate
Actually, McDonald’s Grinch Meal is not as inventive as BK’s choices — the place are the green-dyed buns, the inexperienced shake or the McRoast Beast burger? Basically, the Grinch Meal is an grownup Comfortable Meal, consisting of your alternative of a daily Large Mac or a 10-piece Hen McNuggets, fries and a medium drink.
Fries with Grinch Salt (dill-pickle seasoning)
McDonald’s common fries include a bag of Grinch Salt, which is just dill-pickle seasoning. You additionally obtain a lunch bag-sized sack to dump the fries and seasoning in so you’ll be able to shake them up collectively.
McDonald’s gives just one uncommon meals merchandise with the Grinch Meal, and that is an adjunct for the fries. They arrive with a small bag of tangy dill pickle seasoning, labeled Grinch Salt, that you simply’re imagined to shake in your fries for a puckery addition. Pickles, just like the Grinch, are inexperienced and bitter, so I suppose that is the connection right here.
My evaluate: How did they style? Fairly good! I am a pickle fan, and as soon as I shook them up, the fries have been bitter and salty and general pleasant. Two inexperienced, furry thumbs up. I want there was a pickle-flavored dipping sauce too.
Grade: A-.
No Grinch toy, however … socks?
Comfortable Meals at all times include an additional toy or prize of some type. However there isn’t any Grinch stuffed animal or Cindy Lou Who figurine with McDonald’s Grinch Meal, though the field all of it is available in is cute and Grinchy-themed.
Each McDonald’s Grinch Meal comes with one in all 4 totally different pair of Grinch socks, every of which has a scrawled message from the Grinch on them.
As an alternative, you get the one Christmas present that is so cliched there are limitless jokes about it: a pair of socks. There are 4 totally different Grinch-themed socks exhibiting The Grinch, Cindy Lou Who, Max the canine and a few McDonald’s logo-themed ornaments. Every pair additionally has an all-caps, hand-scrawled-looking message from the Grinch.
The blue socks learn: “These socks stink.”
The yellow socks learn: “Nostril Hazard.”
The pink socks learn: “Property of the Grinch.”
And the inexperienced socks learn, “The Grinch was right here.”
My evaluate: I ended up with the yellow pair of socks. They appear to be of first rate high quality, and contemplating how lame some fast-food prizes are, this was a rating for me. I would really put on them.
Socks are a laughed-at vacation present, however for a fast-food prize, they are not that dangerous.
Grade: A
Burger King SpongeBob SquarePants menu
If McDonald’s type of went Grinch-appropriate stingy on its Grinch choices, Burger King went Sponge Bob-overboard with the beneficiant SpongeBob SquarePants menu. SpongeBob followers, you would possibly as properly go all out and order the Bikini Backside Bundle, which supplies you all 4 of the themed gadgets in a pineapple-shaped field.
King Jr. children’ meal in a pineapple field
The SpongeBob figurine that got here with the youngsters’ meal was fairly cute, for a fast-food toy.
There isn’t any grownup meal, however there’s a King Jr. children’ meal, in a field formed like SpongeBob’s underwater pineapple residence. It contains one in all six SpongeBob toys.
My evaluate: My toy was a figurine of SpongeBob sporting a pirate’s cap and clutching a ship’s wheel. There was imagined to be a Burger King SpongeBob crown too, however my location should’ve forgotten to offer these out. The SpongeBob toy was fairly cool as children’ toys go, although. And the pineapple field is cute.
Grade: A-
Krabby Patty? Nearly!
As each SpongeBob fan is aware of, the cheerful sponge is a fry prepare dinner at The Krusty Krab, serving up Krabby Patties all day lengthy, so he is aware of his quick meals. Burger King has loads of themed menu gadgets, far more than the McDonald’s Grinch choices.
SpongeBob’s Krabby Whopper
SpongeBob’s Krabby Whopper has no crab (or krab), fortunately. The yellow, squarish bun is type of neat, although. That is not a chunk I took out of it, the sting of the bun was simply type of damaged like that.
SpongeBob’s Krabby Whopper is the closest factor to the Krabby Patty from the present. (Wendy’s had a Krabby Patty and Pineapple Frosty final yr, you would possibly recall.) It appears to be a fairly unusual Whopper till you get to the bun, which is sq. and yellow, similar to our spongy hero. The yellow dye is made with pure spices, Burger King says. In any other case, the Whopper is only a common Whopper.
My evaluate: The Whopper just isn’t my favourite burger, however I’ve to say the light-yellow, squared-off bun seems to be tremendous cool. It did not style any totally different, however I appreciated it.
Grade: B
Mr. Krabs’ Tacky Bacon Tots
Mr. Krabs’ Tacky Bacon Tots have been about as likable because the stingy Mr. Krabs himself. That’s to say, under no circumstances.
Mr. Krabs’ Tacky Bacon Tots are crispy, coin-shaped potato tots crammed with cheese, bacon bits and potatoes, served in a treasure chest-themed carton.
My evaluate: Ugh, cross on these. The bogus style of the bacon is fairly terrible, and it dried out in about 3 seconds.
Grade: C-
Patrick’s Star-berry Shortcake Pie evaluate
Patrick’s Star-berry Shortcake Pie was probably the greatest fast-food desserts I’ve ever tried.
Patrick Star is SpongeBob’s finest buddy, and in his honor, you’ll be able to order Patrick’s Star-berry Shortcake Pie. It is a strawberry shortcake pie slice that includes strawberry and vanilla-flavored creamy layers, a crunchy cookie crumb crust, shortcake cookie crumbles and pink star-shaped sprinkles.
My evaluate: Yum! I am not normally a fan of any fast-food dessert, however this was candy and creamy, and the crust was tasty, too.
Grade: A
Pirate’s Frozen Pineapple Float evaluate
The Pirate’s Frozen Pineapple Float was a delight. Suppose a pineapple Slurpee, however higher.
Honoring SpongeBob’s pineapple residence, you’ll be able to order a Pirate’s Frozen Pineapple Float, described as “an icy, refreshing frozen pineapple-flavored beverage topped with tropical-flavor chilly foam.”
My evaluate: This was my favourite merchandise amongst all of the meals. I did not actually detect any tropical flavoring within the “chilly foam,” however the drink was type of like a classed-up pineapple Slurpee, refreshing and candy.
Grade: A+
Grinch Meal or SpongeBob Menu, which tastes higher?
Quick meals is what it’s, however the design of the SpongeBob and Grinch packing containers have been fairly cute, and the SpongeBob figurine and Grinch socks have been higher than most included gadgets in these type of meals.
Is it improper to say I favored the non-edible elements of each meals nearly greater than the meals? The Grinch socks have been first rate high quality and cute, and the SpongeBob figurine was enjoyable.
Meals-wise, Burger King will get factors for the tasty pineapple float and the Patrick pie. The McDonald’s meal is simply McDonald’s meals with the dill-pickle seasoning for fries added. That is high-quality so far as it goes, nevertheless it would not go that far.
My vote, then, is in the event you’re solely going to go to one in all these chains earlier than the limited-edition themed meals go away, hit up Burger King and check out the Bikini Backside Bundle. Until you are an infinite Grinch fan, pickle lover or actually need some new socks.
