In the Australian fast food world, there’s nothing quite like the big and juicy “Aussie burger”.
Seriously, where else in the world does a strange burger that includes an egg, beetroot, and pineapple make sense?
Sensing that we may be onto something, McDonald’s Canada tried to introduce their own take of the “Aussie burger” onto the menu and the results were… Well, not great to tell you the truth.
Introducing the Aussie BBQ & Egg Burger! With a freshly cracked egg and smoky BBQ sauce, you’re in for a g’day. Available from July 16th to July 29th. #WorldTasteTour pic.twitter.com/iKEzMbpLGD
— McDonald's Canada (@McDonaldsCanada) July 19, 2018
The burger is called the “Aussie BBQ and egg”, but it lacks almost every distinctive element that makes an Aussie burger an “Aussie burger”.
Instead of having a slice of fresh pineapple and beetroot – the most important elements of an Aussie burger – the Aussie BBQ and egg features a brioche bun filled with Canadian beef, lettuce, cheese, eggs, BBQ sauce, and beet chips.
Look, I can look past the Canadian beef and lack of pineapple, but using beet chips instead of beetroot is just burger blasphemy.
With the BBQ sauce being about the only Aussie thing about the burger (and it was probably made in Canada anyway), this is about as Australian as using a pink VW Beetle as a farm vehicle.
Needless to say, the “Aussie BBQ and egg” didn’t go down well with some actual Australian peeps, with some calling the confusing monstrosity a mess that’s distinctively un-Australian.
Perhaps the criticism towards Canada’s “Aussie BBQ and egg’ is best summed up by one chap’s eloquent description of what makes an Aussie burger an “Aussie” burger: “If the beetroot juice doesn’t drip from your elbows while eating, it’s not an Aussie burger.”
Luckily (or unluckily for some as there were people who actually liked the thing), the “Aussie BBQ and egg” was only available for a limited time as part of McDonald’s Canada’s World Taste Tour promotion, so there aren’t any more of these faux Aussie burgers flying around anymore.
One has to wonder why the Canadians decided to make an Aussie burger with virtually no Australian elements in it. Call me a cynic, but it was most likely an elaborate form of revenge for all the dodgy poutine we try to make.
Whereas the Canadians poutine properly with cheese curds and some TLC, we just slap a ladle of gravy and any kind of cheese on top of some fries and call it “poutine”. And given how Canadians are literally the nicest people on Earth, making a mockery of our Aussie burger is probably the best form of revenge for them.
Oh Canada, you win this round – but just wait until McDonald’s Australia does a poutine promotion and then you’ll feel our wrath.