The Unconventional Burger Topping That Will Have You Screaming For More

Fans of the gastronomically unusual might be tempted to hit the road and head for Girardville, Pennsylvania for a burger that can't help but make you do a double take. For decades, a no-frills, lunch counter-style eatery in the small town has been serving up burgers topped with Marshmallow Fluff. Burgers and marshmallows may sound like two things that should never go together, but locals can't get enough of the Fluff Screamer.

The Fluff-crowned burger at Tony's Lunch adds a finishing mound of the marshmallow creme to its original Screamer burger, which gets its name from the fiery, thick chili sauce that tops the patty. The Fluff Screamer is made with a burger, the secret recipe hot chili sauce, diced raw onions, a generous pat of butter, and Marshmallow Fluff. American cheese is optional, including "quick cheese" which is put on the burger after it comes off the grill and gets melty from its heat.

The sweet marshmallow creme, spicy chili sauce, salty cheese, savory burger, and onions balance each other as they blend to create an unexpectedly delicious flavor. The Fluff does cascade down the sides of the burger as it warms up, which makes for a messy, sticky eating experience, but the burger's many fans don't seem to mind. The Fluff Screamer can be ordered "S&S" or "SOS" for an even bigger punch of heat, putting the hot chili sauce on both sides of the burger.

The Fluff Screamer ended up on the menu at Tony's Lunch and became its claim to fame thanks to a persistent teenager. Tony's had Fluff to put in its hot chocolate, and one day a 16-year-old girl asked to have some of it on a Screamer. Even though she was told no, she kept asking whenever she'd come in, until one day they finally relented. Other people started trying it and it caught on, becoming Tony's most popular dish.

Getting a Fluff Screamer takes a little advance planning. Despite its name, Tony's Lunch doesn't open for lunch. Instead, the family-owned restaurant's doors are only open on Thursdays and Fridays from 6 pm to 12 am — earlier if the burgers run out. If traveling to Pennsylvania isn't on the agenda, try making your own Fluff Screamer with homemade spicy chili sauce and marshmallow creme you can easily whip up yourself.

Marshmallow Fluff is more than a century old, but It continues to inspire new uses, like in a Fluffy Coke that went viral on TikTok or as part of a two-ingredient topper for iced coffee. It's particularly popular in New England, where it was invented in Massachusetts in 1917. The region that's home to the Fluffernutter sandwich combo of Fluff and peanut butter is where more than half of all Marshmallow Fluff sold every year is bought. After all these years, it still only comes in one flavor other than the original, strawberry, which would make for an even more out there (but maybe also delightfully good) burger topping.