Burger King hid Pop Rocks somewhere in its ‘Monster Meal.’ I ate it so you don’t have to

I got bamboozled by Burger King because I breezed past the fine print for its new Halloween-themed “Monster Meal.”

The Jack-O’Lantern Whopper is just a normal Whopper with a bun that’s been dyed orange. The Vampire Nuggets are normal chicken nuggets in a different shape.

But the Franken-Candy Sundae? Apparently, it’s not just a vanilla sundae with purple syrup and Oreo crumbles. They decided to throw popping candy in there.

There’s nothing quite like the experience of running into Pop Rocks when you’re not expecting them. A lot of different thoughts cross your mind:

“Did I swallow a wasp?”

“Did I lick a battery at some point?”

“Is my tongue finally rebelling against my body and breaking free from this prison where I keep feeding it weird fast food items?”

All three of those may have happened to me in a dream at some point.

Burger King ‘Monster Meal’ | Review

The new “Monster Meal” is Burger King’s big promotion ahead of Halloween. For the most part, it’s a bunch of new packaging, coloring and shapes for some familiar foods.

As of Sept. 30, there are four elements to the Monster Meal you can get:

• Jack-O-Lantern Whopper: A Whopper with bacon and cheese that’s served on an orange bun with black poppy seeds. Mercifully, the bun isn’t some weird flavor.
• Vampire Nuggets: Chicken Nuggets that are shaped like “vampire fans and bats.” For me, they look more like PlayStation controllers.
• Mummy Mozzarella Fries: They’re just normal mozzarella fries that come in a mummy-themed box. Lame.
• Franken-Candy Sundae: Vanilla soft serve with Oreo cookie crumbles “purple franken-candy syrup” and popping candy.

Yeah, it’s all pretty tame until you get to that last item. If you’re like me and just order it blindly, you’re in for a surprise. Although, having eaten it, I still have no idea what the heck “franken-candy syrup” is supposed to be.

What does it taste like?

Jack-O-Lantern Whopper — This is just a normal Whopper with bacon. You get the usual pop of smoky flavor from the burger patty that’s complemented by the Whopper fixings.

Fortunately, there are no negative after effects from the dyed bun (unlike the horror that was the Black Whopper).

Vampire Nuggets — These are functionally the same as normal chicken nuggets. But the new shape does provide a slightly different experience. You get a lot more craggly crust on the outside of the nugget, which makes for a chewier texture.

It’s like going from a normal Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup to a Reese’s Pumpkin around Halloween. The ingredients are the same, but the shape changes it up a bit.

Mummy Mozzarella Fries — These are just mozzarella fries, which are just mozzarella sticks.

Franken-Candy Sundae — Now we’re at the crazy part.

For the most part, this is a decent vanilla soft serve sundae. The Oreo cookie crumbles are a nice touch.

The rest of it is complete madness, which I guess is on brand for the whole “Frankenstein” theme.

I remain baffled at the concept of the “purple franken-candy syrup.” My guess is that it’s some vague sugary flavor like “wildberry” is for the purple-and-teal Pop-Tarts.

Then there’s the popping candy, which comes in the form of little green and purple orbs strewn throughout the ice cream. At first, they seem like little crunchy candies that taste like malt chocolate Whoppers.

Then the popping starts. After that, it’s on you to hold on to your sanity.

So is it any good?

Overall, it’s pretty solid. The Vampire Nuggets are a fun spin on chicken nuggets. The Whopper is a Whopper. The Franken-Candy Sundae is confusing, but I enjoyed eating it.

The final word

I’ve had plenty of Pop Rocks in my life. I’ve even seen plenty of snacks with vague “popping candy” thrown in there (like the Fireworks Oreos). But you really don’t see popping candy in ice cream.

It’s a little chaotic, but it’s fun. It even ties into the lore, with Dr. Frankenstein using electricity to awaken the Monster.

Ultimately, it’s a bunch of mad science that awakens an unsightly abomination that just wants to be understood.

I still have no idea what “Franken-candy” is. That’s not a thing, Burger King. No one knows what you’re talking about.

—

Want more “I Ate It” food coverage? You can follow Nick on Instagram (@NickAteIt) and TikTok (also @NickAteIt)

“I ate it so you don’t have to” is a regular food column about off-beat eats, both good and bad. I picked the name years ago and now we’re sort of stuck with it.

You can send any praise/food suggestions to nomalley@masslive.com. Please send all criticisms and pedantic notes about how “Frankenstein” refers to the doctor and not the monster to jmicek@masslive.com. You can check out the rest of the series here.