A Trip Down Memory Lane
With so many long-standing franchises, it’s no surprise that fast-food restaurants have had real doozies. From the Wendy’s Superbar to Burger King’s infamous Halloween Whopper, here are some flops you probably forgot about.
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
1. Burger King’s Meatloaf Sandwich
Back in ‘93, BK tried to bring comforting meatloaf dinners to their classic sesame seed buns. As you can imagine, and may even remember, they didn’t do too well. Wedged in with ketchup and onions, this modest creation thankfully disappeared.
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2. Taco Bell’s Seafood Salad
It isn’t hard to imagine how these tasted. In the late ‘80s, this popular fast-food chain introduced shrimp, whitefish, and crab tossed in a tortilla shell. It was then topped with traditional taco fixings. Hardly good eatin’ and people ultimately ignored it until its discontinuation.
Harrison Keely on Wikimedia Commons
3. McDonald’s Fish McBites
Count yourself lucky if the words “fishy fishy” don’t spark memories of a blue screen and a dancing Fish McBite. Count yourself even luckier if you never ate one. These fell flat with consumers nearly a decade ago and were pulled from menus.
Photo by Luis Rosero on Pexels
4. Pizza Hut’s Hot Dog Bites Pizza
You’ve got pizza, you’ve got hot dogs—what more could you ask for? Not this, apparently. Despite looking like the ultimate American dish, this pizza didn’t make it to the States until 2015, three years after its release in Asia, the UK, and Canada. It didn’t last long after that, though.
5. Wendy’s Superbar
It may be in the name, but nothing was super about this. In the late ‘80s, Wendy’s offered hungry patrons a chance to indulge in all-you-can-eat bars. Three, in fact! You could choose from pasta, salads, or Mexican food, and while that sounds good on paper, the poor quality control and lackluster food took this down not long after.
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6. Burger King’s Ribs
Some dishes aren’t exactly for fast-food joints, a lesson BK quickly learned in 2010. Once upon a time, this franchise launched a line of chubby ribs that didn’t do well with consumers. Due to the high cost and reportedly low meat, they were ultimately pulled from menus.
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7. Subway’s Flatizza
Remember when Subway tried to offer their version of pizza? For those blessedly unaware, back in 2014, the sandwich chain released a sort of flatbread pizza hybrid that left everyone disappointed. Its flavor and texture came nowhere close to actual pizza and it was then yanked off menus.
CHICHI7YT on Wikimedia Commons
8. McDonald’s McSpaghetti
Where there’s a classic dish, there’s a McDonald’s version that’s slightly worse. Though it’s still available in some locations, McSpaghetti is mostly remembered as a relic of the past. It had a pretty good run from the ‘70s to the ‘80s but ultimately didn’t impress.
Ramon FVelasquez on Wikimedia Commons
9. Taco Bell’s Bell Beefer
Not quite taco, not quite hamburger…not quite Sloppy Joe. Whatever this was, the Bell Beefer actually graced menus for about 20 years before the ax. From the ‘70s to the ‘90s, patrons didn’t mind taco meat stuffed between a hamburger bun—or its frequent rebranding. But the party soon ended and we haven’t seen it since.
Michael Rivera on Wikimedia Commons
10. McDonald’s Onion Nuggets
We’ll stick with chicken nuggets, thank you. Before nailing down the crispy nugs we know and love today, McDonald’s tried to serve deep-fried onion chunks. They didn’t impress, even in the ‘70s, and were soon discontinued.
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
11. Burger King’s Halloween Whopper
With a pitch-black bun just in time for spooky season, BK’s 2015 Halloween Whopper scared customers for a different reason. People sank their costume vampire teeth into this burger only to discover an unpleasant surprise in the bathroom afterward—their excrement was green from the bun’s dye. The phenomenon was so common that it garnered hashtags on Twitter, and the burger then disappeared like bats in the night.
Mike Mozart on Wikimedia Commons
12. Mcdonald’s Hula Burger
People love grilled pineapple, but the ‘60s Hula burger wasn’t exactly the popular dish. Mcdonald’s originally released this as an alternative for Catholics, specifically those who forwent meat on Fridays. In came the pineapple slice and out went the hamburger patty. It was as bizarre as it sounds and luckily the Filet-O-Fish became the meatless option of choice.
13. Pizza Hut’s Priazzo
Gone but not forgotten, the Priazzo still has loyal followers from the original ‘80s clientele. However, some remember this as the deep-dish pizza with way too much going on. It was gone by the ‘90s, with most customers opting for traditional pies instead.
14. Taco Bell’s BLT Taco
We love tacos and we love BLTs, but we don’t love them together. Neither did anyone else because this confusing union was quickly pulled due to low demand. Some worlds just shouldn’t collide.
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15. Dairy Queen’s Breeze
Interested in a healthier DQ Blizzard? Neither are we, but that didn’t stop Dairy Queen from swapping in frozen yogurt for a sweet treat called the Breeze. Not only was it unpopular, but DQ refused to part with it for a good decade, despite the consistently low sales. They eventually called TOD in 2000 and everything went back to normal.
Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Scalable Grid Engine on Wikimedia Commons
16. Burger King’s Bacon Sundae
Remember what we just said about worlds not colliding? Well, 2012 was a strange year—one that encouraged BK to launch something called a bacon sundae. It’s exactly what it sounds like and was thankfully only available for a limited time.
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17. McDonald’s McLean Deluxe
We guess you could call McDonald’s (attempted) trendsetters. They hopped on the plant-based bandwagon in ‘91, introducing a hamburger alternative called the McLean Deluxe. It came complete with lean beef and carrageenans, which are found in red seaweed. People said it lacked flavor and it eventually lacked enough sales to encourage its removal.
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
18. Pizza Hut’s Bigfoot Pizza
Back in the ‘90s, Pizza Hut brought us the BigFoot Pizza. It lived up to its name in size but didn’t exactly impress consumers. It was harder to make than regular za and people complained of its thin, easily torn crust. It now lives on like every other sasquatch—in grainy internet photos.
19. Burger King’s Whopperito
You’d think BK and Taco Bell were working together for this swap. In 2016, Burger King launched their Whopperito, which was just a Whopper’s fillings stuffed in a soft tortilla shell. It didn’t last as long as the Bell Beefer, but it certainly shared the same fate.
20. Pizza Hut Double Sensation Pizza
Let us paint you a picture: imagine a charcuterie board and a pizza had a baby. That’s basically what the Double Sensation Pizza was. It would’ve been nice if Pizza Hut warned us that none of the sensations were good, however. Available in Singapore, it had three types of cheese, turkey, ham, salsa, mushrooms…and more, believe it or not.
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