Iowa State men’s basketball: Reviewing the ‘Hoiburger’

Last night, I had some free time to check out the new sensation that is the Hoiburger. I promised a full review, and since it’s lunchtime on a Friday, here you go.

The Hoiburger is served exclusively at Applebee’s in select Central Iowa locations. I obviously went to the home of the Hoiburger itself in Ames, Iowa.

For those that don’t know what’s included in the meal, it has a burger topped with cheese and a slice of ham, along with condiments such as lettuce, tomato, and onion on the bottom of the burger. The side includes French fries and onion rings.

I didn’t expect the Hoiburger to be as huge as the commercial — things like that never live up to the potential — and this was the case. I received the burger in a scattered mess, having to rebuild it myself.

I was also disappointed in the size of the burger, even though I believe it was a quarter pounder. Maybe not having it so flat would have been better and kept it less of a mess.

Despite the mess, the burger tasted good. I loved the addition of the ham at the top. It’s nice to have a change from the usual bacon topping that I have. Other than that, it’s your standard Applebee’s burger. I still think their former burger, the Big Apple Burger, was the best thing I’ve ever had at one of their restaurants, but maybe because that was a thicker burger.

The best part of the meal was the side. Yes, you aren’t loaded with French fries or onion rings — I received what feels like half of the order of fries I normally get and three big onion rings — but it’s kind of a nice change of pace instead of getting bombarded with French fries that are a struggle to finish.

The onion rings were perfect. They weren’t the crappy kind that feature the entire onion pulling out of it on your first bite. This was the first time I’ve received onion rings at Applebee’s, and I may switch to those for future orders.

Verdict: It’s just fine. A little underwhelming at the $10.49 price tag, but it makes up for itself when knowing that a dollar is going toward a good cause. I thought the ham did enrich the flavor a little bit compared to bacon, but there’s really nothing that unique about it. Plus, it’s hard to compete with burgers at other joints, especially when knowing that Hickory Park is nearby.

I haven’t tried the chicken one, but you can replace it with that if you wanted for the same price. Let me know your thoughts on that one, and those that have tried the original one as well.