# Something you always wanted to try, and were sorely disappointed with when you finally did **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 5, 2025, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419 "2025-12-05T04:25:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/442 "2026-06-08T05:59:44Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > With beetroot on it. Ha! No, I get it. For those not in the know: Australians like a slice of pickled beet on their burgers. And having tried it when I was in Australia some years ago, I have to say that it’s not bad. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/443 "2026-06-08T18:17:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the taste and texture of a McDonald’s burger is so different from a “real” hamburger that it’s effectively an entirely different product, though nominally comprised of some of the same ingredients. This is especially true of the basic “cheeseburger”, I agree with regards to the thin, flat, discs on the cheeseburger and the Big Mac. But a quarter pounder with cheese def scratches the burger itch for me. Obvs there are better ones available, some at a similar cost, but if I have a craving, a QPwC will solve it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/444 "2026-06-08T18:46:56Z")
I agree about the Quarter Pounder with cheese – it’s closer to an actual hamburger than most of the others, especially since they improved it by using fresh rather than frozen patties. I usually still prefer the Burger King Whopper with cheese. It’s tastier, bigger, with more garnishes, and only slightly more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/445 "2026-06-08T18:49:25Z")
I don’t like the fakey smoke flavor (or is it a hint of propane?) that BK adds. Or did, the last time I had one, which was probably decades ago. In the realm of drive-through burgers I’ll take a Wendy’s bacon burger. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/446 "2026-06-08T18:57:48Z")
100% Pomegranate juice. Tastes like lima beans. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/447 "2026-06-08T19:07:19Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > With beetroot on it. Why are people saying beetroot rather than just beets? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/448 "2026-06-08T19:10:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Why are people saying beetroot rather than just beets? For the same reason some people call a turnip a Swede, or a sweet potato a yam. Some parts of the world just don’t talk right. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/449 "2026-06-08T19:12:06Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > For the same reason some people call a turnip a Swede, or a sweet potato a yam. Yams and sweet potatoes are quite different vegetables. I thought “swede” was a UK term for turnip? But I will agree with you on- > [@TruCelt](#): > > . Some parts of the world just don’t talk right. 😉 🤪 🙀 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/450 "2026-06-08T19:12:10Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I don’t like the fakey smoke flavor (or is it a hint of propane?) that BK adds. They don’t add anything. The patties are cooked by passing through a very hot broiler on a conveyor belt, unlike McDonald’s which fries them on a griddle. The slightly smoky flavour is the natural result of fat drippings hitting the hot elements, just like in an outdoor grill. A premium burger establishment like Harvey’s improves on this by cooking the patties on an actual gas-fired grill, and then assembling the burgers to order. The results are great and closer than any of the others to real homemade burgers on an outdoor grill, but there’s a longer wait time for this custom treatment. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/451 "2026-06-08T19:14:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > They don’t add anything. I disagree. I’m one of those people cursed with the ability to taste chemicals other folks can’t. Fake smoke is one of the things that tastes fine to the vast majority but like industrial cleaner to me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/452 "2026-06-08T19:14:51Z")
The greens of a beet plant can be eaten too. Although generic USAian me has never knowingly eaten a single bite of beet greens. I wonder if the “beetroot” terminology is more common for disambiguation in cultures where beet greens are commonly eaten? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/453 "2026-06-08T19:17:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yams and sweet potatoes are quite different vegetables. I thought “swede” was a UK term for turnip? Yes, and yes. Doesn’t stop people from using the terms incorrectly - or correctly for their geographic region - depending upon your perspective on language. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/454 "2026-06-08T19:18:54Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The greens of a beet plant can be eaten too. Although generic USAian me has never knowingly eaten a single bite of beet greens. Ah, I should have thought of that. My Mother liked “greens”- of course boiled to death. My Dad and I liked to snack on raw turnips, and we’d have to make sure the greens were included. Mind you, I dont remember ever seeing _beet_ greens, but it is possible. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/455 "2026-06-08T19:30:30Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > They don’t add anything. > > I disagree. I’m one of those people cursed with the ability to taste chemicals other folks can’t. Fake smoke is one of the things that tastes fine to the vast majority but like industrial cleaner to me. Your senses are deceiving you. Everything I’ve read, including from former BK employees, says the smoky flavour comes from the fat drippings **[in their unique broiler](https://bk.dukemfg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SS-1275-Flexible-Batch-Broiler-CE.pdf)**. Some models are gas-fired, some are electric, and I believe some are a combination of the two. Your sense that the smoke is artificial may be a side effect of an electric broiler, and perhaps one that wasn’t properly cleaned. Burger King even ran ads in the UK about the taste of their burgers, stressing that “there’s no secret – it’s just fire!”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/456 "2026-06-08T19:30:46Z")
I don’t have a dog in the BK smoke flavor fight, but for curiosity I looked it up. > [@Burger King Basic Whopper Ingredients](#): > > ## Whopper > > ### Per serving > > Calories 710 Cal > Carbohydrates 57 g > Cholesterol 95 mg > Fat 42 g > Fiber 4 g > Proteins 34 g > Saturated Fat 12 g > Sodium 1,250 mg > Sugar 14 g > Trans Fat 1 g > > ### Ingredients > > • Lettuce > • Tomatoes > • Onions > • Whopper Beef Patty: 100% beef > • Salt & Pepper Seasoning: Salt, Black Pepper, Canola Oil (anti-dusting agent) and silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent) > • Ketchup: Tomato concentrate made from red ripe tomatoes, Distilled white vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Onion powder, Spice, Natural flavoring > • Pickles: Pickles, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Lactic Acid, Calcium Chloride, Gum Arabic, Natural Flavor, Extractives of Tumeric > • Mayonnaise: Soybean Oil, Vinegar, Eggs, Egg Yolks, Salt, Sugar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Ground Red Pepper, Dried Garlic, Mustard Oil > • Sesame Seed Bun: Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid), Water, Sugar and/or Liquid Sugar (Water, Sugar) , Soybean Oil, Yeast, Salt, Sesame Seeds, May Contain 2% Or Less Of The Following: Wheat Gluten, Yeast Food (May Contain One Or More Of The Following: Calcium Sulfate, Calcium Carbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Dough Conditioners (May Contain One Or More Of The Following: Wheat Starch, Distilled Monoglycerides, Sodium-stearoyl Lactylate, Ascorbic Acid, [ethoxylated] Mono- And Diglycerides, Calcium Stearoyl-2-lactylate, Calcium Peroxide, Datem, Potassium Iodate), Guar Gum, Enzymes, Milled Flaxseed, Maltodextrin, Ascorbic Acid, Cultured Wheat Flour, Soy Flour, Soy Lecithin, Corn Starch, Vegetable Proteins (Pea, Potato, Faba Bean), Vegetable Oil, Dextrose, Citric Acid > > ### Allergen Information > > Contains: eggs, soy, wheat, sesame from: **[Burger King → Nutrition Explorer](https://www.bk.com/nutrition-explorer)**. Seems like a fairly detailed disclosure. It can’t prove the negative they don’t somehow include fake smoke, but IMO it leans strongly that way. As a separate matter I’m now more scared of their buns than the entire rest of the sandwich. Lotta weird science in there. As for myself, y’all have sold me on a local burger hangout for dinner tonight. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/457 "2026-06-08T19:55:41Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Some models are gas-fired, some are electric, and I believe some are a combination of the two. Your sense that the smoke is artificial may be a side effect of an electric broiler, Far more likely to be a gas one or propane one that isn’t burning clean enough. Or, like I said, things have changed over the decades since I was last grossed out and swore off of them. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/458 "2026-06-08T21:00:31Z")
[mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt) [Guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/g/Registered) [Dec 6](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/84) > Can’t say I always wanted to try it but Dubai Chocolate wasn’t anything to write home about. Likewise! All the bakeries and donut shops in my old neighborhood advertised it, but it tastes like shredded wheat with honey and maltose! ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/459 "2026-06-08T23:35:52Z")
I like Quarter Pounders. They’re good. They’re burgers. Still, just saying in my head that they’re good burgers felt so damn wrong. Which is to say that I understand your reticence about calling McDonald’s fare hamburgers. Nevertheless the fact is that McDonald’s sells ground beef patties in sliced buns. You know, hamburgers. That flavor and consistency is unique, however. It’s good but in such a different way from a homemade burger that the soul shudders at the very comparison. It’s interesting that whatever your favorite style of burger is, you can find a good one at many establishments. Unless you’re favorite style is McDonald’s (there must be a few). The only place that makes a McDonald’s burger is McDonald’s. Like I said, it’s a unique burger but a burger it certainly is. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/460 "2026-06-09T01:46:33Z")
Calling them beets is a North American thing. They are beetroot everywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419/461 "2026-06-09T03:31:45Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the taste and texture of a McDonald’s burger is so different from a “real” hamburger that it’s effectively an entirely different product, I feel the same way about McDonald’s “shakes” and a “real” shake made with hard ice cream (in that they are almost two entirely different products). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/something-you-always-wanted-to-try-and-were-sorely-disappointed-with-when-you-finally-did/1025419.md?page=24)