McDonald’s Grinch Meal vs. Burger King’s SpongeBob Menu: Here’s the Obvious Winner
Who’s in Whoville and underwater residents of Bikini Bottom, there’s news for you both: McDonald’s And Burger Kinglong-time fast food rivals, are going head-to-head. Or, to be more precise, a scary clown head with a red wig and painted face versus an equally scary red-bearded head wearing a crown.
On Tuesday, McDonald’s introduced The Grinch Meal and on the same day, Burger King rolled out its SpongeBob SquarePants menu. So if you’re tired of Thanksgiving leftovers and want fast food instead, you can decide whether your taste buds resonate with the crab-eating green Grinch or the ever-merry. Spongebob.
Both are limited-edition offerings, so head to your local McDonald’s or Burger King soon if you want to try the meals.
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McDonald’s Grinch Meal Review
Honestly, McDonald’s Grinch Meal isn’t as creative as BK’s offerings: where are the dyed green buns, the green shake, or the McRoast Beast burger? Essentially, the Grinch Meal is a Happy Meal for adults, consisting of your choice of a regular Big Mac or a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, fries and a medium drink.
Grinch Salt Fries (Dill Pickle Seasoning)
McDonald’s regular fries come with a bag of Grinch salt, which is simply dill pickle seasoning. You also get a lunch bag sized bag to throw the fries and seasoning into so you can shake them together.
McDonald’s only offers one unusual food item with the Grinch Meal, and that is a French fries attachment. They come with a little bag of tangy dill pickle seasoning, labeled Grinch Salt, which you’re supposed to shake over your fries for an added pucker. Pickles, like the Grinch, are green and sour, so I guess that’s the connection here.
My opinion: What did they taste like? Very good! I’m a fan of pickles, and once I shook them, the fries were sour and salty and overall delicious. Two green, furry thumbs up. I wish there was a pickle flavored dip too.
Grade: A-.
No Grinch toy, but… socks?
Happy Meals always come with an extra toy or prize of some sort. But there’s no Grinch stuffed animal or Cindy Lou Who figure with McDonald’s Grinch Meal, although the box it all comes in is cute and Grinchy-themed.
Each McDonald’s Grinch meal comes with one of four different pairs of Grinch socks, each bearing a scribbled message from the Grinch.
Instead, you receive the one Christmas gift that is so cliché there are endless jokes about it: a pair of socks. There are four different Grinch themed socks showing The Grinch, Cindy Lou Who, Max the dog and some McDonald’s logo themed ornaments. Each pair also features a hand-scribbled, all-caps message from the Grinch.
The blue socks read: “These socks stink.”
The yellow socks said: “Nose Hazard”.
The red socks said, “Property of the Grinch.”
And on the green socks it read: “The Grinch was here.”
My opinion: I ended up with the pair of yellow socks. They seem to be good quality, and considering how low some fast food prices are, that was a score for me. I might actually wear them.
Socks are a laugh-out-loud Christmas gift, but for fast food prices, they’re not that bad.
Grade: A
Burger King Spongebob Squarepants menu
If McDonald’s was somehow stingy when it came to its Grinch offerings, Burger King went overboard with SpongeBob with the generous SpongeBob menu. SpongeBob fans might as well go all out and order the Bikini Bottom pack, which gives you all four themed items in a pineapple-shaped box.
King Jr. Kids Meal in a Pineapple Can
The SpongeBob figure that came with the kids’ lunch was pretty cute, for a fast food toy.
There’s no adult meal, but there is a King Jr. kid’s meal, in a box shaped like SpongeBob’s underwater pineapple. It includes one of six SpongeBob toys.
My opinion: My toy was a SpongeBob action figure wearing a pirate cap and gripping the helm of a boat. There was supposed to be a SpongeBob Burger King crown too, but at home I must have forgotten to hand it out. However, the SpongeBob toy was pretty cool as a kid’s toy. And the can of pineapple is cute.
Grade: A-
Crab patty? Almost!
As all SpongeBob fans know, the cheerful sponge is a French fry cook at The Krusty Krabserving Krabby Patties all day, so he knows his fast food. Burger King has many themed menu items, much more than the McDonald’s Grinch offerings.
Krabby Whopper from Spongebob Squarepants
Luckily, SpongeBob’s Krabby Whopper doesn’t have any crab (or crab). The yellow, square bun is pretty neat, though. It wasn’t a bite I got out of it, the edge of the bun was just a little broken like that.
SpongeBob’s Krabby Whopper is the closest thing to the series’ Krabby Patty. (Wendy had a Crab patty and glazed pineapple last year, you might remember.) This seems like a pretty ordinary Whopper until you get to the bun, which is square and yellow, just like our squishy hero. THE yellow dye is made with natural spices, says Burger King. Otherwise, the Whopper is just a regular Whopper.
My opinion: The Whopper isn’t my favorite burger, but I have to say the light yellow square bun looks super cool. The taste wasn’t any different, but I enjoyed it.
Grade: B
Mr. Krabs’ Bacon and Cheese Toddlers
Mr. Krabs’ Cheesy Bacon Tots were about as likable as the miserly Mr. Krabs himself. That is to say not at all.
Mr. Krabs’ Cheesy Bacon Tots are crispy coin-shaped potatoes filled with cheese, bacon bits and potatoes, served in a treasure chest-themed carton.
My opinion: Ugh, pass them on. The artificial bacon taste is pretty horrible and it dried out in about 3 seconds.
Grade: C-
Patrick’s Star and Berry Shortcake Pie Review
Patrick’s Star and Berry Shortcake Pie was one of the best fast food desserts I have ever tried.
Patrick Star is SpongeBob’s best friend, and in his honor you can order Patrick’s Star and Berry Shortcake. This is a slice of strawberry shortcake pie featuring creamy strawberry and vanilla flavored layers, a crunchy cookie crust, shortbread cookie crumbles and pink star-shaped sprinkles.
My opinion: Yum! I’m not usually a fan of fast food desserts, but this one was sweet and creamy, and the crust was tasty too.
Grade: A
Pirate Frozen Pineapple Float Review
The pirate’s frozen pineapple float was a delight. Think pineapple Slurpee, but better.
As a homage to SpongeBob’s Pineapple House, you can order a Pirate Iced Pineapple Float, described as “an icy, refreshing pineapple-flavored drink topped with a tropical-flavored cold foam.”
My opinion: This was my favorite dish out of all the meals. I didn’t really detect any tropical aroma in the “cold foam”, but the drink was a bit like a classified Pineapple Slurpee, refreshing and sweet.
Grade: A+
Grinch Meal or SpongeBob Menu, which tastes better?
Fast food is what it is, but the design of the SpongeBob and Grinch boxes was pretty cute, and the SpongeBob figure and Grinch socks were better than most of the items included in this kind of meal.
Is it wrong to say that I almost enjoyed the inedible parts of both meals more than the food? The Grinch socks were good quality and cute, and the Spongebob figure was fun.
Food-wise, Burger King gets points for the tasty pineapple float and Patrick’s Pie. The McDonald’s Meal is simply McDonald’s food with the dill pickle seasoning for the fries. This is fine as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go that far.
So my vote is this: If you only visit one of these chains before the limited edition themed meals disappear, head to Burger King and try the Bikini Bottom Bundle. Unless you’re a huge Grinch fan, a pickle lover, or really need some new socks.
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