Fast food is supposed to be cheap, served quickly, and tastes decent if you’re lucky.
However, worldwide, some of our beloved fast food staples, like McDonald’s and Burger King, have sold different items that were definitely not considered budget-friendly.
From Japan to Canada and places in between, here are ten of the most expensive fast-food menu items. Have you had any of them?
1. Burger King Japan's Most Outrageous Burger
Burger Kings worldwide have some excellent menu items we don’t see here in the States, from Germany’s Extra Long Chili Cheeseburger to the Crunchy Cheese Whopper in the U.K. However, these aren’t likely to cost you an arm and a leg, considering Burger King is notoriously reasonable with its menu selection.
However, in Japan, prepare to indulge in the King Yeti Super One-Pound Beef Burger, a true testament to “luxury” fast food dining. This mouthwatering sandwich, priced at a staggering $15 or 1,750 Yens, is a symphony of beef, cheese, onions, pickles, and Caesar sauce, all nestled within a toasty, golden brioche bun.
2. Arby’s Meat Mountain
My first job was at Arby’s, and there was no such item as the “Meat Mountain” sandwich on the menu back then. However, in 2014, the fast food chain launched this meat-lover sandwich. Dubbed Meat Mountain due to its enormous size, this sandwich boasts ten layers of meaty and cheese goodness.
For $10, you can feast on layers of pepper bacon, 1.5 ounces of roast beef, roast turkey, chicken tenders, and Angus steak, all topped off with a hefty dollop of melted cheese. Although it is no longer on the main menu, those in the know can still order it off the secret menu.
3. Burger King London’s Priciest Burger
The 15-dollar Yeti burger makes the most expensive Burger King item ever to exist look like small fries. In 2008, a London-based BK created the most expensive menu item in the franchise’s history. Costing a staggering $190, the gourmet burger was created to benefit a charitable cause.
“The Burger,” as it was called, consisted of a patty of Wagyu beef sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt, which was expensive and exclusive. Developed by Chef Mark Dowding told ABC News he created the sandwich for “burger aficionados.”
4. Australian McDonald’s Burger
McDonald’s is no stranger to launching higher-end gourmet menu items, but the chain rarely does it in the States. In 2018, the fast food chain debuted its now scrapped Signature Collection across the pond in jolly ol’ England.
That same year, an Australian McDonald’s launched their high-end burger featuring Wagyu beef. This fancy burger costs 10.75 Australian dollars, about $8.25 in the States, making it the world's most expensive McDonald’s burger at the time.
5. McDonald’s Most Expensive Burger
Everything seems fancier in Paris, including McDonald’s Le Big Mac and a Royale with Cheese, and they come with a heftier price tag with those fancier names, too. Mickey-D’s prices vary drastically across the globe, and in France, customers pay the equivalent of 15.70 American dollars for the Triple Cheddar and Double Beef burger.
This exorbitant cost is related to aggressive real estate rates across Europe and the amount businesses pay landlords for space, which in turn hikes up the food costs passed onto consumers.
6. Taco Bell’s Most Luxurious Meal
Taco Bell is consistently a go-to cheap fast food chain, offering a hearty meal with a drink and dessert. However, in 2019, they introduced their most expensive meal to date. The Double Steak Melt Deluxe Box costs consumers $7.00, which is much more costly than any of the chain's other menu items.
For only a month, Cleveland, Ohio, residents could purchase the deluxe box, which featured extra helpings of steak alongside the chain's beloved nacho fries. Taco Bell fans went wild on one Reddit thread, lambasting the chain and accusing the company of swindling its customers.
7. $100 Hot Dog from DougieDog
The last time I checked, hot dogs should not cost $100. That is blatant highway robbery. However, owners of the Canadian food truck DougieDog believe they have set the bar so high for the quality and tastiness of their hotdog that it deserves that price tag.
"In designing this hot dog, I wanted to come up with something super tasty and high-end that stays true to the traditional identity of the hot dog—a hot dog that any hot dog lover would enjoy," owner Doug Luv told Eater. The unremarkable-looking hotdog includes special ingredients, including an infusion of lobster and a $2,000 bottle of Louis XIII Cognac.
8. Seattle’s Tokyo Dog's Most Expensive Hot Dog
DougieDog wasn’t the top dog for too long. Just two years after it debuted its most expensive hotdog, Seattle’s Tokyo Dog outranked it with the most costly hotdog ever. In 2014, the hotdog food truck revealed the Juuni Ban, which will set customers back $169.
Eugene Woo, the creator of this over-the-top fast food delicacy, infuses foie gras, black truffles, and even caviar into the “glizzy” (slang for hotdog). Tokyo Dog now wears the Guinness World Record holder for the most expensive hotdog.
9. Velvet Goldmine Milkshake
LA's The Powder Room offers a unique indulgence- the Velvet Goldmine Milkshake, a far cry from your typical fast food fare. Priced at $500, this extravagant treat is a blend of premium spirits, Belgian chocolate, English lavender, and Tahitian vanilla bean ice creams. But that's not all. It's topped with shavings of gold and adorned with a Swarovski Nirvana Montana blue crystal ring, making it a truly one-of-a-kind experience.
According to The Powder Room's John Arakaki, the boozy beverage takes up to 40 minutes for the mixologist to make and is meant to be sipped and savored slowly.
10. The Westin Bagel
When I began this journey, I did not think I would be asking myself or the internet what the world's most expensive bagel was, but here we are. According to Conde Naste, the most costly bagel can be found at The Westin in Times Square, NYC, and will set you back $1,000.
This extravagant breakfast treat is smothered with Alba white truffle cream cheese and then topped with goji berry-infused Riesling jelly. To round out the decadence, the bagel is dusted with a sprinkling of gold leaves, a common trademark of exorbitant New York menu items. Sounds delicious, but I'll take a trip with that thousand dollars instead.
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