Forget pineapple on pizza. Does peanut butter belong on a cheeseburger? We did a taste test
Let's put aside the great debate on whether pineapple goes on pizza (it does, but that's not important right now). Peanut butter... does it pair well with bacon? What about a cheeseburger? How about both?
Sonic apparently thought so. In January, the fast food franchise offered a peanut butter bacon cheeseburger for between $6-7 and, nutty enough, tossed in a peanut butter bacon shake as a drink option. Both were available for a limited time and are no longer available on the menu.
Maybe that's for the best. The calories alone are as high as our skepticism. Peanut butter already has a best friend — jelly (also chocolate, when jelly isn't watching). Why add bacon and cheese when "PB" and "J" have been BFF's forever?
"These flavors may sound too extreme, but don’t knock ‘em until you try ‘em!" the fast food chain said in a news release.
Alright, we did. Let the knocks begin...
While Sonic no longer carries them on the menu, a handful of Indianapolis restaurants do and will serve you different varieties of a peanut butter cheeseburger, if you're brave enough to ask for one. In fact, the first thing our Doordash delivery person said when he walked into IndyStar was, "You, uh, have to tell me how these taste."
No problem, my dude. Here's what we thought about this... unique flavor combination.
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Here's what we thought about peanut butter cheeseburgers
"It's not awful," said Katie Wiseman.
Wiseman: When it comes to food, some textures just ruin the experience of eating for me even if the flavor is good. So going into this I was pretty nervous. I like peanut butter, but was scared how it would mix with the other toppings and beef. The burger I tried had lettuce, onions, pickles, cheese and pickled jalape?os. Weirdly enough the peanut butter balanced out the spice of the jalape?os which was my favorite part, but I didn't love the texture combination overall. I finished the burger, but would I order another with peanut butter? Probably not.
Tufts: As a vegetarian, I prefer meat-flavored food that doesn't taste like cardboard. That can be difficult with black bean and "impossible-style" veggie meals. Black bean burgers also tend to fall apart in your hand, and so my expectations for this culinary Frankenstein were low. This one stayed together, however. Perhaps it was the weird alchemy of peanut butter and cheese. Overall, I liked it. The peanut butter and pickled jalape?os created a sweet and spicy, tasty mix. Nonetheless, I think the burger could've used a bit more flavor, so if I order it again, I'll try more sides.
Hohulin: The patties were tender but not cataclysmically greasy, the bun was pleasantly sweet and the pickled jalape?os brought some welcome spice to cut through all the fat. For the most part the peanut butter just added creaminess, though occasionally a particularly concentrated mouthful gave me visceral school lunch flashbacks. I doubt peanut butter will ever be a go-to burger topping for me, but you won't catch me dissing anyone for loving it.
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Our overall rating? 6.7 out of 10
Wiseman: I think the flavor was good, so I could see a lot of people enjoying this more than I did. For me, it was a 5 out of 10.
Tufts: The veggie version of this burger gets a solid 8 out of 10, mostly for being better than I expected and also for not falling apart as I ate it.
Hohulin: A frisky 7 out of 10. Could've used more peanut butter. I'm not afraid.
Indianapolis restaurants where you can get a peanut butter burger
Prodigy Burger Bar: The Peanut Butter Cheddar Burger - Two smash burgers with cheddar, pickled jalape?os and peanut butter on a signature bun. 8923 S Meridian Street, Ste A1, Indianapolis.
Smash'd Burger Bar: The PBJ Time - Honey Roasted Peanut Butter, Boar's Head Bacon, Crispy Jalapenos, Pepperjack. It's located at 10 Johnson Ave, Indianapolis.
317 Burger: The Strawberry Hill: habanero-ghost pepper cheese, bacon, spicy strawberry compote & melted peanut butter. It's located at 915 E Westfield Blvd, Indianapolis.
Triple XXX Family Restaurant: The Duane Purvis All-American burger - A 1/4lb. chop steak, thick, creamy peanut butter, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle & onion on a toasty sesame bun. 2 N Salisbury St, West Lafayette.
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John Tufts covers trending news for the Indianapolis Star. Send him a news tip at [email protected]. Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter@itskatiewiseman. Contact dining reporter Bradley Hohulin at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @bradleyhohulin.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Peanut butter on a burger? Indianapolis Star staff give reviews
