There comes a time in every sandwich eater's life when — like Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama before him — he must strap on his tasting helmet and venture into uncharted territory.
This Monday, at Boston Burger Company (BBC), it was my turn to take the leap, to chomp into a burger that would cause the faint of heart to cower in fear.
When I first visited BBC, the newest addition to the Davis Square dining scene, I did not notice its "The King" burger, which is buried among the 22 customized burgers that BBC offers.
But when I scrutinized the menu further, I took a double take. That's because the burger's toppings read as follows: peanut butter, fried bananas and bacon.
"The King" is an homage to Elvis Presley, whose sandwich of choice for years was peanut butter, banana and fried bacon. Elvis' sandwich actually sounds pretty tasty (though perhaps his excessive consumption of it led to his early demise at 42), but the addition of a juicy burger to the mix made me skeptical.
While there are other burgers on BBC's menu that feature wild flavor combinations as well, "The King" in particular interested me. In comparison with the other bizarre BBC burgers, which could easily be condemned as just over−the−top, ridiculous combinations that would end in a messy disaster (the "Artery Clogger," for example, involves a deep−fried, beer−battered burger covered in American cheese, bacon and barbecue sauce), "The King" was presented in a very simple manner.
There are three toppings here, and only three; BBC isn't trying to hide a possible flaw by smothering the burger in myriad accompaniments. "The King" is not a misnomer; BBC presents this flavor combination with an authoritative confidence, in a way that suggests that there was thinking and method behind the creation.
At the same time, though, I couldn't help but chuckle: "Peanut butter with bacon? Bananas with a burger?" It seemed surreal in its silliness. It was obvious that this sandwich would fail: It was burger blasphemy!
Yet, as was my duty, I approached "The King" with an open mind and healthy appetite. What I saw on my plate did not originally make my taste buds jump for joy. The top bun was toasted and covered in name−brand smooth peanut butter. A medium−cooked burger was topped with three slabs of bacon and a brownish−yellow clump that at first glance didn't look anything like bananas.
I had expected these "fried bananas" to add a crunchy texture to the burger, or at least to have some give to them, like fried plantains. Instead, the bananas here are caramelized and covered with a sort of crystallized cinnamon−sugar blanket. They do add an element of sweetness that contrasts nicely with the savory bacon strips, but overall the burger takes on an unenviable mushy feeling.
"The King" also suffers from a lack of moisture. BBC does nothing to alleviate the sticky peanut−butter−on−the−roof−of−your−mouth effect that I encountered, though perhaps if I had ordered mine medium−rare, the additional juice would have helped.
Ultimately, as one would suspect, the two flavor combos — the sweet peanut butter and banana, and the salty bacon and meat — are not reconciled in a way that enriches either one individually.
Eating "The King" was definitely a fun exercise for my taste buds (and of course I finished the whole thing), yet I hesitate to recommend it to the general public. But according to the waitress I spoke with, there is a small niche of people who return for "The King" time and time again.
And if you are feeling extra adventurous, and want to flip your conception of burger toppings upside down, who knows? It might be worth a shot.
--
Ben Kochman is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Benjamin.Kochman@tufts.edu.
