What a Critique
Youtube star and food critic takes on Texas' beloved Whataburger
Youtube food reviewer and new Texas resident Mikey Chen's latest clip offers the video star's take on San Antonio-based fast food institution Whataburger. The results are mixed at best.
Chen, who has over 5 million subscribers between his Strictly Dumpling (3.8 million) and Mikey Chen (1.4 million) channels, generally samples food from small, family-owned restaurants, particularly Asian cuisines. As such, he's generally affable. Slamming the food at a small Korean or Chinese restaurant would be more like bullying than providing viewers with valuable recommendations.
His passionate fanbase eagerly follows his advice. A recent article in Texas Monthly noted the beneficial effects an enthusiastic review had on a Filipino BBQ restaurant near Dallas. Conversely, CultureMap Dallas notes that Chen pulled no punches when he had a disappointing visit to popular barbecue restaurant Pecan Lodge.
In a video posted on September 5, Chen displayed that more pointed side of his personality as he sampled nearly every sandwich on the menu from a Whataburger location near his apartment in Allen. Visiting early on a Sunday morning, he also ordered breakfast items such as a cinnamon roll, pancakes, and a honey butter chicken biscuit. The 15-minute drive from restaurant to his home did the food no favors, and Chen minced no words in expressing his disappointment with most of what he sampled.
Below are the five sickest burns the video star dropped on his meal:
- Looking at the unwrapped burgers, Chen quips: "Let's get to some of the burgers, which seriously look like they reverse Benjamin Button'ed themselves, just drastically aged. I really don't believe this was freshly made when I ordered it."
- About his Honey BBQ Chicken Strip sandwich, he says, "It looks like the Crypt Keeper's lunch, it looks so dry." Later, he adds, "I think the sandwich has been taking fighting lessons from Wonder Woman, because it is tough."
- A fried chicken sandwich similarly failed to impress. "This thing looks like it's been sitting out in the Texas sun for the last 20 years. There is zero moisture left in this chicken sandwich," he says. "What a horrible sandwich. This thing could live in Seattle for a year and not be any less dry."
- The similarity between the logos of Whataburger and DC Comics comes up a few times in the clip, which is the background necessary for this bon mot: "That cinnamon roll tastes like Wonder Woman outsourced the baking to Aquaman. Aquaman lives in the ocean. He doesn't know how to bake."
- McDonald's catches some shrapnel in an observation about Whataburger's relatively hefty portion: "This is what McDonald's used to be like, you know, before they asked 'do you believe in magic' and the trick was the burgers got smaller. This is a burger."
Thankfully, the experience ends on a positive note with a burger: Chen saves a classic Whataburger with cheese and jalapenos for the end of his tasting. After perking the burger up in a microwave, he raves about the classic combination: "This is 100 percent one of my favorite fast food burgers."
Maybe stay away from the chicken sandwiches, at least according to Chen.