Burger Review: McDonald's Black Angus Third Pounders (Bacon and Cheese)

My profile says I like to write about fine dining. Of course, amidst the deepest recession since the depression, McDonald's seems like just fine dining. As a big fan of the Hardee's Six-Dollar Burger, I had to try the new McDonald's burger. I selected the Bacon and Cheese Black Angus Third Pounder for my first foray into this new product line up. My experience with this burger was mixed. However, one thing is clear, the Third Pounder is a real contender and competes well.

I ordered this big burger to go at a new McDonald's on US Route 17 in Leland, North Carolina. When I got home and started distributing the food, I was immediately delighted to see that my burger was going to be big. The Third Pounder box dwarfed the box for the Quarter Pounder. However, when I flipped the Third Pounder open, I found the burger itself to be quite civilized. The burger and toppings were completely held by a delicate bakery-style sesame seed bun. My bacon and cheese burger was topped by high quality American cheese, bacon, red onions, crinkle cut pickles, ketchup, and mustard.

Unlike McDonald's Big Mac and Hardee's Six Dollar Burger, the Third Pounder doesn't seem to self-destruct under it's own weight, height, and slick toppings. While I wouldn't advise eating and driving, this burger will be more manageable in the car than some of the competing burgers. The McDonald's Bacon and Cheese Black Angus Third Pounder is clearly not a messy burger. I was glad not to have to deal with a box full of stray lettuce bits. I also liked not having to fool with the paper that wraps the Hardee's Six-Dollar Burger.

Of course, the true test of a burger is the taste. My first bites of the Bacon and Cheese Third Pounder were great. The bakery-style bun is truly soft and seems to be of higher quality than the buns commonly found on mainline burgers like the Big Mac and Burger King's Whopper. The red onions on the Bacon and Cheese Third Pounder were tasty, but not too strong. The ketchup and mustard were tasty, but not sloppy. For a few moments, I wondered if the mustard was a premium Dijon or spicy variation. Ultimately, I decided the mustard was simply a good brand name mustard.

The burger patty itself had the typical uniformity of shape, texture, and taste that the world expects from McDonald's. The meat tasted good, but it did not have the full flavor of a sit-down restaurant burger or Hardee's Six-Dollar Burger. Despite the Black Angus label, I didn't feel the meat offered a premium over the patties on a Big Mac. The bacon was crisp, but quite salty. While I enjoyed my Black Angus Third Pounder, by the time I finished, I felt that I had eaten way too much salt and I was thirsty. In fairness, I think that most bacon cheeseburgers are quite salty. If you are a fan of bacon on burgers, I think you'll be quite happy with McDonald's Bacon and Cheese Third Pounder.

If you are some kind of tofu eating communist vegetarian food police informant, you aren't going to like the nutritional statistics offered by this burger. According to McDonald's nutrition information, the Bacon and Cheese Black Angus Third Pounder has 790 calories and 350 of them come from 39 grams of fat. The burger has a whopping 2070 milligrams of Sodium, 145 milligrams of cholesterol, and 63 grams of carbohydrate. On the plus side, it does offer Iron, Calcium and Vitamin A. Like most fast food items, the Bacon and Cheese Black Angus Third Pounder should not be a daily habit.

Overall, I'd say that the McDonald's Bacon and Cheese Third Pounder delivered good taste and good value. If the Big Mac or Quarter Pounder leave you feeling a little hungry, this burger will provide the extra oomph that you need to feel full and satisfied. The Bacon and Cheese Third Pounder is a very satisfying McDonald's burger.

Sources: www.mcdonalds.com