The Defunct Fast Food Burger Designed To Be Shared Like A Pizza

There have been many attempts over the years to bridge the gap between pizza and burgers, two titans of the fast food space, but none that have managed to hang on. Few on the list, however, have been quite as creative as Burger King's short-lived Pizza Burger, which never made a wide debut, but managed to win plenty of hearts regardless.

In 2010, at Burger King's Whopper Bar in Times Square, BK launched its largest-ever burger, a 9.5-inch diameter New York Pizza Burger, which came sliced into six wedges to resemble the city's famous pizza. Arriving on a sesame seed bun, the 2,500-calorie-plus sandwich resembled the chain's signature Whopper, aside from its enormous size and strange slicing pattern. Beneath that giant bun, however, the sandwich leaned into the crossover. The base of the sandwich was six of the same flame-broiled beef patties that have always been the heart of the franchise, but the toppings included slices of pepperoni and mozzarella cheese as well as a special sauce described as "Tuscan Herb Mayo."

Looking under the hood, the biggest problem with this pizza-burger mashup may have been the trouble with trying to fill the large circular bun with six also-circular burger patties. In theory, each slice has one patty, but the geometry of the quickly assembled sandwich didn't quite work out, with some portion of each slice having burger patties stacked on top of each other, while other bites were entirely beef free. Nevertheless, the reviews weren't bad, with the novelty of the burger's shape and unique flavor profile making up for the potentially awkward beef distribution.

At just $12.99, this giant burger was nearly twice as expensive as other specialty Whopper meals of the era, but if you consider it as fit to feed at least three, that's a pretty good deal. Unfortunately, this specialty burger never made it to the broader market, and by 2012 faded from the menu even in that one flagship restaurant. However, that hasn't stopped customers from pining for it. "Why would they ever stop selling this?" writes one Redditor on a thread dedicated to a vintage advertisement for the Pizza Burger. Those who sampled it, though, did have some qualms alongside their lamentations. "Always wished this was one big patty" writes another on Facebook.

Burger King's New York Pizza Burger was never meant to be a menu mainstay, making its departure less surprising and disappointing than some of the other flops over the years. For example, the Big Plain – a 1970s-era Burger King flop – was a disaster of a burger that came with no toppings. Then there's the discontinued Pizza Double Cheeseburger, which came topped with mozzarella and pizza sauce and preceded the New York version by a few decades.

No one, it seems, has yet cracked the code on bringing together burgers and pizza in the fast food sphere. McDonald's McPizza, meant to compete with Pizza Hut and Domino's, was another failure to corner this market, and the Cheeseburger Crust Pizza still holds a place as one of Pizza Hut's most unusual menu items. One thing is certain, though: As long as pizza and burgers continue to dominate the world of fast food, these chains will continue to tinker at creative crossovers. One day, maybe, they'll find the recipe for one with staying power.