Boo Burger

Most businesses try to leverage holidays for their financial benefit. So I wasn’t surprised when I saw that Carl’s Jr. is selling a “Ghost Burger” through the month of October. Check out this ad:

Here’s how they describe it: “Charbroiled all-beef patty, ghost pepper cheese, two slices of bacon, sliced onion, lettuce, sliced tomato, pickles, and soul-scorching sauce on a seeded bun.” I also saw a print ad that says the burger is “haunted by ghost pepper cheese.”

So this is their Halloween offering, right? Alas, I’m not so sure. Because Carl’s (Carl’s’s?) press release made it sound like their marketing campaign is a play on “ghosting” (i.e., when you are suddenly and inexplicably ignored). I’m not making this up. Here’s an excerpt from their press release:

“Nothing burns more than getting ignored or left on read [I assume he means “unread”?], except for the mouth-numbing heat of our new burger, The Ghost,” said Carl’s Jr. vice president of marketing, Anthony Nguyen. “At Carl’s Jr., we see you, we hear you, and we want to give you burgers … to take your mind off of the burn from ghosting.”

So, is this a Halloween offering, or not? It would have been shockingly remiss for Carl’s Jr’s advertising team to launch a product with “ghost” in its name a few weeks before Halloween and not tie it in to the holiday. So I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they meant to market it with multiple themes.

(As a side bar: Carl’s picked up the “ghost burger” right after Burger King dropped their “Ghost Pepper Whopper.” Check out BK’s commercial. Now they know how to leverage Halloween!)

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, we’re going to review Carl’s Ghost Burger.

Conceptual Soundness: Notwithstanding the possibility that Carl’s walked right past the obvious Halloween connection, this is a good Halloween concept. Adding ghost pepper cheese is legit and substantive as a recipe tweak, and the reference to “ghost” connects it to a fundamental Halloween trope. I would have given it 4 points if they’d played up the Halloween angle, but as it is, I’ll give it 3 points.

Appearance: Well, it’s just a burger. But at least it’s a big, loaded burger. Unfortunately, the only special feature on the packaging is a “limited time offer” sticker on the wrapper.

The “seeded bun” is obviously lacking, but the burger matches the bun’s diameter, and there are generous amounts of bacon, cheese, and vegetables spilling out the sides. It’s a very appealing (if not especially festive) burger. 2.5 points.

Taste: First things first: The ghost pepper cheese (and, to a lesser extent, the “soul-scorching sauce”) get top billing in the advertising. And they actually deliver! This burger has some real heat to it. It’s not just a little spice like you’d get in Hot Tamale candies; this is a real, high-Scoville burn. To be sure, it’s not four-alarm chili, but you definitely feel it and I was even sweating a little bit.

And you have to consider this in context. I seek out spicy food whenever I can, and I’ve developed a high tolerance for it. It used to be when a restaurant server would ask me how hot I want my burrito/pulled pork/barbecue sauce, I’d respond with “tell the cook I dare him to make it as hot as he can.” But then, one time the cook evidently thought he’d teach this Gringo a lesson and laced my burrito with napalm. I don’t issue dares to cooks any longer. Anyway, this Ghost Burger is not inedibly hot, but it definitely gets your attention.

Other than the heat, this tastes like a regular bacon burger. Which is fine, but nothing to write home about. All considered, I’ll give the taste 3 points.

Value: I’m old enough to remember when Carl’s named one of their 1/3 pound burgers with all the trimmings a “six dollar burger.” The marketing campaign claimed you’d pay six dollars for a burger like this in a regular sit-down restaurant (like maybe Applebee’s). And Carl’s only charged like $3.99. Then it went up to $4.99. Eventually inflation brought the cost to the point where they had to charge more than $6 for their “six dollar burger,” so they dropped the name.

This Ghost Burger cost me $7.89, which I’m guessing is pretty standard for fast food these days. A quick Google search tells me a Big Mac is around $5.79, and a Whopper is (shockingly) around ten bucks. Carl’s has always seemed to be a price point higher than other fast food burger places, but they also flame-broil their burgers, generally have a cleaner and more welcoming dining area, and actually deliver your food to your table (if you choose to eat there, as I did). Plus, the restaurant was decorated for Halloween like Mrs. Brigham’s 4th-grade classroom. I’m going to give the Ghost Burger 3.5 points for value.

Total Treat Score: 12 points/16 points. Go get one while they’re available; it’s sure to lift your spirits! (Har)

Tomorrow we come to an end of our month-long investigation of Halloween treats. May I suggest you get your hands on whichever treat was your favorite and enjoy it while you read tomorrow’s Spooktacular Finale.