by Bottom Line: The Spicy Melt from Burger King delivers the good flame-broiled taste you expect and it adds some heat as well.
About a year ago, the King came up with a new twist on its flame-broiled burgers that it called Whopper Melts, and those had two patties, melted cheese, and other toppings. I tried the spicy version at that time and rather enjoyed it (you can read the review here), but unfortunately they were taken off the menu because there was some grumbling about the size of the burgers. Since they were called “Whopper” melts, people pretty much expected a double-meat Whopper which these were not. The King has now brought the melts back in a revised version–wisely taking Whopper out of the title–and I am hoping they stick around this time.
I again tried the spicy version which consists of two Whopper Jr. patties (take notice that these are junior patties like before), topped with melty American cheese, jalapenos, caramelized onions, and a creamy, spicy sauce and stuffed between two slices of toasted bread. The other two versions are the Classic Melt (basically the same as above but without jalapenos and Stacker Sauce instead of spicy) and the Bacon Melt (add bacon to the latter).
The Spicy Melt has the good, flame-broiled beefiness that you expect from Burger King. The sauce– which is similar to thousand island dressing but with a slight kick–along with the onions delivers a fair amount of sweetness. The heat and tang from the jalapenos offset that a bit, but it still might be a bit heavy on the sweet for some tastes (it worked okay for me). The bread could have been toasted a bit more (just like before), but that is just a nitpick. The updated version actually seems bigger than the prior one (probably because of previous complaints about the size) making this a tall sandwich and a bit of a challenge to get into your mouth. Everything holds together well, though, so it is not as messy as the Whopper Melt and you could eat this while driving.
They were generous with the jalapenos and those do deliver some heat and quite a bit of tang. There is a little extra kick from the sauce and this approaches Medium on my heat scale which is decent for a fast food burger. The new version is maybe a little bit hotter than the prior one, but not by much. Still, this should satisfy your need for heat as well as your hunger. And it is nice to have a non-poultry product with some burn in the drive thru since for some reason most of the fast food industry remains laser-focused on chicken as their main spicy option.
Proving that this is bigger than the Whopper Melt version, the new Spicy Melt is over one hundred calories higher at 687, with a whopping (Whoppering?) 42g of fat! That is right about the same as the Whopper itself, so you are getting a pretty filling (and fattening) sandwich! If you want to cut down the calories on your side, their Spicy Chicken Fries are only 250 cals for an order (read my review here). Those will run you five bucks, though, which is the same price as the sandwich, and you haven’t even added a drink yet. But hey, at least your wallet will be lighter!
As is typical of the fast food industry, the melts will disappear back to Limited-Time-Only-Ville at some point. I’m hoping that they prove popular enough this time around to get permanent status on the menu because it is nice to have a non-chicken spicy item to choose from. But for now, get out and try the Spicy Melt while you can because it is a good burger that delivers a kick.
Nutrition Info:
Calories: 687
Fat: 42g (19g Sat/1.5g Trans)
Protein: 34g
Carbs: 43g
Sodium: 1766mg
