Fast food is in a fierce competition, where chains are creating something to capture our attention. But sometimes, there’s a bizarre creation that leaves us scratching our heads. From pineapple patties to hot dogs with fried chicken buns, some ideas are just too strange to survive. Today, we’ve rounded up 10 of the most memorable fast food failures that were simply too weird to last.
10. KFC’s Cheese Donut
Back in 2013, KFC Indonesia released the Cheese Donut to pair with their world-famous fried chicken. However, it gets weirder as it was a standard, glazed donut topped with a generous layer of shredded cheese. To say the least, it was a head-scratcher for many. The Cheese Donut quickly faded away.
9. Pizza Hut’s Kit Kat Pizza
In 2012, Pizza Hut in the Middle East did just what any pizza fan never expected. Instead of pepperoni, their new pizza featured individual Kit Kat bars wrapped and baked inside a sweet dough. While it might sound like a dream come true for a kid with a sweet tooth, the combination of savory pizza dough and melted chocolate candy bars was just too bizarre for most adults. Not to mention, it’s too sweet for everyone’s liking.
8. McDonald’s Gracoro Burger
In 2012, McDonald’s Japan introduced a burger that would make most Americans raise an eyebrow. The Gracoro Burger wasn’t your typical beef patty. Instead, it featured a breadcrumb-crusted patty filled with a creamy mixture of macaroni, shrimp, and white sauce. While the burger has a dedicated following in Japan and makes seasonal appearances, the concept is just too strange for most Western palates.
7. Buffalo Wild Wings’ Mountain Dew Wings
Did you know that Buffalo Wild Wings once offered wings flavored with Mountain Dew? The bright citrus-flavored soda was used to create a sticky and sweet sauce for their chicken wings. While it generated a lot of curiosity and media attention, the flavor combination was just too strange for most people to enjoy. The wings were reportedly overwhelmingly sweet, with a chemical-like aftertaste that didn’t complement the chicken. Safe to say, it was a short-lived experiment.
6. Dunkin’s Dry Pork and Seaweed Donut
In the early 2010s, many Dunkin’ locations in Asia introduced a weird donut flavor. The Dry Pork and Seaweed Donut was a savory creation that featured a yeast donut topped with dried pork floss and shredded seaweed. This combination of sweet and savory is common in some Asian cuisines, but it was a shocking departure from the actual Dunkin’ brand.
5. KFC’s Double Down Dog
In 2015, KFC Philippines introduced the Double Down Dog, which features a combination of your dreams (or not). This creation replaces the hot dog bun with a piece of fried chicken. The result was a greasy, hard-to-eat meal. If you think about it, the Double Down Dog was a logistical nightmare to eat and a nutritional nightmare to even consume.
4. Taco Bell’s Seafood Salad
In the 1980s, Taco Bell decided to venture into the world of seafood with its Seafood Salad. This dish features a mix of shrimp, whitefish, and snow crab and was served in a taco bowl. It was also topped with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and olives. While it might have seemed like a good idea at the time, the combination of fast food and seafood proved to be a risky one. There were widespread rumors of the salad causing food poisoning, which quickly tarnished its reputation. Whether due to poor sales or food safety concerns, the Seafood Salad was quickly discontinued.
3. McDonald’s Hula Burger
In the 1960s, McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc came up with a meatless burger. It was none other than Hula Burger, a sandwich that replaced the traditional beef patty with a thick, grilled slice of pineapple, topped with a slice of cheese. It was a tropical twist that nobody asked for! To say the least, it was quietly discontinued, becoming a legendary flop in fast food history.
2. Chipotle’s Original Queso
When Chipotle announced in 2017 that it was finally adding queso to its menu, fans were excited. However, the excitement quickly turned to disappointment when the queso was actually released. The texture was grainy and thin, and the flavor was bland and uninspired. Fans took it to the internet, calling it the worst queso they had ever tasted. Eventually, they released a much-improved Blanco Queso, but the original will forever be remembered as a major flop.
1. Burger King’s Halloween Whopper
In 2015, Burger King released a spooky burger, but not for the reasons you might think. The Halloween Whopper featured a black bun, which was eye-catching, but came with a bizarre side effect. The burger’s black bun was created with a large amount of food coloring, which, when digested, turned people’s stool a shocking shade of bright green. While the burger was a marketing success in terms of generating buzz, the side effect was a turn-off for many.