Over the last few years we've seen the fast food burger wars enter the realm of bigger burgers with the likes of such items as the Wendy's Bacon Portabella Melt, the pricey Burger King California Whopper, and the ever-expanding line of McDonald's Angus Burgers. There have been four (see also Chipotle BBQ Bacon Angus) total Angus burger entries to date and the Cheddar Bacon Onion Angus is the fifth and latest member of the family.
McDonald's describes their Cheddar Bacon Onion Angus like this:
A 1\3 lb.* of juicy, 100% Angus beef topped with creamy white Cheddar, hickory-smoked bacon and caramelized grilled onions, all served on a soft, bakery-style bun.
The Cheddar Bacon Onion Angus, or Angus CBO for you cool kids, has been testing for what seems like forever. It combines some of the most ideal ingredients I look for in a good burger. Specifically, a flavorful cheese like cheddar and salty strips of bacon. Unfortunately, both had issues, but there are some areas of saving grace.
The Angus CBO is a hearty burger weighing in at a third pound Angus beef patty. The beef should always rise above the rest and be able to stand alone in a great burger. All accompaniments are there to show there support and help bring the best out of the lead star. With the Angus CBO, the beef needed a lot from its supporting cast.
The Angus patty was overly dry and it's quite pathetic on its own. Thankfully my burger was smothered in creamy mustard sauce which had a mild Dijon/mayo taste without the spice. The mustard sauce flavors came through more than any others and that's not a bad thing, I liked it. I felt this mustard sauce was something actually new and different from what I've come to expect. All too often there are items branded as "new" and all it really is happens to be a new combination of the same ingredients you're used to. So the creamy mustard sauce was a nice addition here and it helped the dry patty out a lot.
While the bacon was abundant, even over abundant, it just doesn't taste natural like the bacon I get at a place like Chick-fil-A or Wendy's (see Baconator). There has always been something a little off for me with the taste of McDonald's bacon. Until there's a bacon change at the Golden Arches, I'll continue to think that you can change all but one ingredient and still taste like products of old. The grilled onions had way less impact than I was expecting because there was a good amount of them. The onions were there for texture, not taste. Fried crispy onions would've been a better choice here.
Hey I almost forgot the first word in the name of this burger: Cheddar. Surprisingly weak and hidden. The Cheddar was buried under all the ingredients and was more of a light creamy smattering than a front and center big slice. Places need to take a page from the Panera book and maybe experiment with Vermont White Cheddar or something that will stand out better. I paid $4.39 for my Angus CBO and I came away neither impressed or unimpressed. A decent burger that will probably be polarizing for most. My impressions fall somewhere in between. The burger overall turned out better as a whole than what you'd expect from the individual parts.