The Ghost Whopper Is Back, and They’re Force-Feeding It to Reluctant Spirits

October 23, 2019 Admin 0 Comments

Plus, Instacart workers are planning to strike, and more news to start your day

It’s got a white bun. That’s it.

Every year fast food chains try to outdo each other with seasonal offerings, and for the past few years Burger King has introduced all manner of “weird” burgers around Halloween. This year, instead of a black bun or a burger served upside down, they’re serving a Ghost Whopper. Does that mean it’s made with ghost peppers? Ectoplasm-y cheese? It utilizes some technology that makes the burger go invisible or it’s hand-delivered by a sickly Victorian bride? Nope. It means the bun...is white. Technically it’s made with white cheddar, but ultimately it’s a Whopper with a bun that’s basically the same color as it always is. This is a stretch, guys!

Instead of wowing us with the product, Burger King is relying on a wild ad campaign in which they claim to get ghosts at the notoriously haunted Alexandria Hotel in Los Angeles to try the Whopper via professional medium Riz Mirza. Most of the ghosts liked the burger, though one said it was “filth,” probably because he had never tasted a burger while he was alive and...wait, why are we entertaining this? The Ghost Whopper will only be available at ten locations across the U.S., though instead of haunting it down, you might as well buy a normal Whopper and pretend it’s a slightly tanner ghost.

And in other news...

• From November 3 through November 5, Instacart workers are planning to go on strike to combat tip cuts and a confusing new pay system. Instacart already changed their tipping policy before after public outcry. [The Daily Beast]
• The Burgerville Workers Union, the first officially recognized fast food union in the U.S., is also preparing to strike. [Truthout]
• Jamon Iberico is one of Spain’s most famous products. Now it’s being produced in California. [SF Chronicle]
• McDonalds is investing in AI to predict customers’ orders. “The goal? To turn McDonald’s, a chain better known for supersized portions than for supercomputers, into a saltier, greasier version of Amazon.” [NY Times]
• A bar was fined $90k after the bartender put Foam-Brite Condensing Coil Cleaner into a Long Island Iced Tea. [Vice]
• A comic explanation on how the diner menu got so long. [NY Times]
• Gavin Kaysen and Andrew Zimmern are the official chefs of the Minnesota Timberwolves. [Instagram]
• Cannabis companies are getting in on the non-alcoholic beer business. [CNN]
• The New York Times taste-tested six “fake meat” burgers, and the Impossible Burger won. [NY Times]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]