The '70s Burger King Sandwich That Took A Turn Away From Classic Beef Patties

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It's all there in the name, isn't it? It's not called "Chicken Sandwich King," or "Onion Ring King" — it's called Burger King (that is, unless you live in Australia, in which case it's called Hungry Jack's, but stay with us). Burger King sells a great many products, but the star of the show is, and always has been, its deliciously flame-broiled hamburgers. Still, that hasn't stopped the chain from offering alternatives; not only its assortment of chicken sandwiches or various BK fish sandwiches (made from Alaskan pollock) throughout its history, but a popular hot ham and cheese sandwich offering from the 1970s called, for whatever reason, the Yumbo.

The Yumbo first appeared in the late 1960s/early 1970s, and right off the bat distinguished itself from BK's other offerings. Alongside offering ham and cheese rather than a beef burger, instead of the sesame seed-studded hamburger buns we know and love today, the Yumbo's had a knotty, almost challah-esque structure, although it almost certainly wasn't the great-for-beginning-bakers challah. Subsequent print advertisements featured the Yumbo in a regular sesame seed bun, however, so maybe they changed it following its initial debut. It went over well, and managed to last for the better part of a decade before being phased out.

Although there was plenty of promotion for the Yumbo back in the 1970s — including print ads about vacation sweepstakes and a toy plane delightfully called the "Yumbo Yet" — demand eventually began to wane. Ed Pendrys, a longtime Burger King franchisee who wrote a book, "Memoirs of a Fast Food Man," about his experiences claimed that the beloved chain wanted to simplify matters somewhat and return its focus to hamburgers — this didn't stop Burger King from trying to get a Michelin star at one point, though.

But there is no decades-old fast food item that can't be willed back to life by fervent nostalgia, and in 2015 Burger King reintroduced the Yumbo for a limited time. And yet, although it did indeed have black forest ham and American cheese, they gave it a different sort of bun: A longer, sesame-topped piece of bread not unlike what you might get at Subway. And, perhaps as a nod to the fact that healthy eating had advanced considerably in 40 years, they added some lettuce, too. 

Reviews were somewhat mixed, with eager tasters confirming that the ham and cheese were still great, while some people were put off by the bread, which overwhelmed the experience for them. In any case, Burger King stuck to the "limited time" offer, and you're not likely to find the Yumbo out in the wild anytime soon.