I tried the new Chiefs cheeseburger from Carl’s Jr. in Mexico. Here’s what you need to know
I wish I could say that I traveled to Mexico just to try the new Carl’s Jr. Chiefs Burger, a cheeseburger that pays homage to the Kansas City Chiefs. That would make a great story but it’s not quite the truth.
However, I did have the opportunity to taste this new burger concoction at the San Jose del Cabo International Airport when I returned from a recent vacation.
A Chiefs burger, you say? Carl’s Jr., you say?
Yes, there are a few things “foreign” about the new Chiefs burger. It’s only available in Mexico, and only at Carl’s Jr. restaurants, which you may not have heard of because we don’t have them in Kansas or Missouri. Here, we have Hardee’s, owned by the same company.
For those interested fast food fans, there are Hardee’s on both sides or our state line, while Carl’s Jr. sells in 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
But don’t get your hopes up, Kansas City — you can’t drive across the border to Colorado or Oklahoma for a taste. The cheeseburger is only available at Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Mexico, on sale there for a limited time since November 15th.
Back to the burger: It features a grilled beef patty, pepper jack cheese, bacon strips, barbecue sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise.
Not too unusual, right?
What is unusual is the bun, a bright red bun. Red like crimson. Red like red velvet cake. Red like food dye.
The Carl’s Jr. Mexico website marketing the burger describes the bun as having a light jalapeno flavor, but when I bit into it, I couldn’t help but taste a slight sweetness. Perhaps that was just my brain translating the color.
My overall impression? It’s a fine burger. I’m not a fan of pepper jack, but the flavor did blend well with the barbecue sauce and the bacon. Again, I didn’t taste any jalapeno in the bun.
What do the Chiefs have to say about the burger, and has anyone from the team tasted it?
A spokesman for the team said he wasn’t aware if any member of the team had tried it.
As to whether we’ll ever get the Carl’s Jr. Chiefs burger in the United States soon, it’s unlikely. However, the Chiefs does have a domestic partnership with McDonald’s, according to the team’s spokesperson, and they did a version of a “Chiefsburger” several years ago.
The big question is, why Mexico now?
I asked the marketing director for Carl’s Jr. in Mexico, Maritza Reynoso, who said the fast food company there has been an official sponsor of the NFL since 2021. “This year we wanted to go one step further in this alliance, by being the sponsor of a strong NFL team, and who better than the Chiefs, last season’s champion?”
It’s also leveraging “Monday Night Football” on its Instagram account.
A video there features Esteban Cacho, a sports influencer in Mexico, interviewing a Chiefs fan. Cacho asks, “Why would someone become a fan of the Chiefs?” The fan, who is not identified, says, “It’s a team that always promotes and helps the community. And above all else, because we’re a family growing together.”
Mexico’s Carl’s Jr. has a dedicated Chiefs website with marketing messages about the team and the burger. I don’t read Spanish, so I reached out to my colleague Joseph Hernandez to translate it for me. Here’s one:
“We are the bosses of the field. The official burger of the Kansas City Chiefs.”
Hernandez explained that the word “jefe” is used, and means boss, but it can also be used for chief, head or leader. It goes on to say: “Our burgers are made with champion meat and that’s why we are official sponsors of the Kansas City Chiefs.”
The Chiefs arrowhead logo sits next to Carl’s Jr. star, with the words (translated) “the star of your team.”
It’s not the first time a fast food restaurant has introduced a Chiefs-themed burger. The Star has written about one at a Burger King in Germany.
Reynoso said the partnership between Carl’s Jr. Mexico and the Chiefs is a natural. I asked whether her diners know the Chiefs and are they fans?
“American football is now the second most popular sport in Mexico after soccer, and, of course, the Chiefs is a team that has gained popularity, especially in recent seasons, with the excellent performance of (Patrick) Mahomes, considered one of the best quarterbacks in league history.”
There’s another international reason for playing up this connection — can you guess?
“(It’s) the spotlight on them with the presence of Taylor Swift at the games,” Reynoso said.
Well, that makes sense. Mexican Swifties get hungry, too.
Star reporter Joseph Hernandez contributed to this column.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 5:08 AM.
