We Tried Culver's Smokehouse BBQ Cheddar Pub Burger And Crispy Chicken Sandwich. This Fast Food Phenom Has Built A Better Burger

With springtime hunger in full bloom, Midwestern fast food giant Culver's has risen to the occasion with a pair of inspired sandwiches to wake up tastebuds everywhere. The Smokehouse BBQ Cheddar Pub Burger and its poultry-style cohort, the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, add the savory sensation of an evening at the pub to the Culver's menu of burgers, cheese curds, and frozen custard. While there may be a debate about whether Culver's food is better than Five Guys or other burger bigwigs, there's no denying Culver's timely creativity with this delicious duo.

Is it possible Culver's has topped its own deep menu with pub-style sandwiches that add intriguing new flavors to its winning formula? Or has this dining destination simply spun in circles trying to reinvent dishes that don't require additional innovation? We dug into the toothsome twosome to see just how well Culver's has done with its take on bar food flavors. There were a few surprises along the way, as well as some sumptuous sampling of a flavor combination that isn't necessarily new but offers a tasty twist on the chain's otherwise dependable fare.

For the Smokehouse BBQ Cheddar Pub Burger, Culver's takes a beef patty (single, double, or triple) and piles on the tavern-style toppings. A double dose of onion rings expands the stack, while smoky-sweet BBQ sauce and creamy mayo make a saucy blend to flavor things up. There are also dill pickle slices, as any proper pub-style burger should have, and slices of cheddar that bring creamy, gooey goodness to the mix. But the most surprising turn of events is the bun, a cheddar-riffic riff on the usual buttered bun that cradles Culver's burgers. While not as overwhelmingly cheesy as a cheddar bagel, there's enough cheese to make its presence known. The crispy chicken version is, unsurprisingly, the same set-up, but with crispy chicken filets in place of the burger. Having crispy chicken share the stage with onion rings gives the chicken sandwich a slight textural advantage.

In both instances, bar bite fans can choose their favorite appetizers mashed together in sandwich form for maximum enjoyment. Buyer beware: the higher the stack, the greater the mess factor. Prepare to squeeze these sandwiches flat or cut them in half.

Fans of cookout-style goodness may be in for a treat with Culver's new creations, but they'd better act quickly to get in on the deal. The outlet has announced that the Smokehouse BBQ Cheddar Pub Burger and Crispy Chicken Sandwich duet are available for a two-month span between April 10^th and June 11^th, or while supplies last. While this timeframe takes us into the start of the sizzling summer months, the weeks between are bound to fly by quickly, especially with so many other eating opportunities coming up. Prices for the burger are $5.49 for a single, $8.19 for a double, and $10.89 for a triple. For the chicken version, prices are $7.79 for crispy, $7.89 for spicy crispy, and $7.99 for grilled.

In this spirit of sensational seasonal flavor, a Culver's pub-style sandwich paired with a creamy custard cone is a great way to welcome mid-year eating, which means adding this crafty creation to the top of your menu is a top priority. Anyone intrigued enough to saunter into their nearby Culver's location and belly up to the counter for one of these savory treats would be wise to get a jump on it while the offer is fresh.

While Culver's claim to fame is a culinary invention called the ButterBurger, which refers to the buttered bun used on all the burgers rather than patties cooked in butter, the Smokehouse BBQ Cheddar Pub Burger and Crispy Chicken Sandwich are not too far afield from the standard sandwiches on the menu. In addition to curds and crinkle-cut fries, Culver's also offers onion rings, which makes an easy reach for customers to order a cheeseburger and assemble their own pub-like burger, minus the BBQ sauce and cheddar bun. The possibility exists that diners have been forging this creation for years before Culver's got on the bandwagon and added it to the lineup. Inspiration is strange that way.

When ranking Culver's items worst to best, any form of creativity that takes customers beyond the realm of the usual should come closer to the best end of the spectrum. While there's nothing particularly earth-shattering about a pub-style burger, finding one on the Culver's menu is a happy circumstance that is sure to light up eyes and fire up pangs of hunger in excited eaters at drive-thrus and order counters around the U.S.

There's no mistaking the delicious decadence of these two smashing smash-ups, which means they tilt heavily toward the not-so-healthy end of the nutritional spectrum. A single patty burger offers a modest 670 calories, while a double pulls into the station at 920, and a triple patty will set you back 1170 calories in your daily eating plan. This isn't surprising, considering the beef-cheese-fried onion ring combination is a calorie bomb as well as a grenade of fat and sodium. The numbers on those macros were unavailable at the time of publishing, but taking the numbers on a basic Culver's ButterBurger with cheese, 23 grams of fat with 10.5 saturated and 75 milligrams of sodium, adding in onion rings, sauces, and a cheddar bun probably only pushes those numbers upward.

As for the chicken version (nutrition facts also unavailable), a basic crispy chicken sandwich without cheese provides 460 calories, 14 grams of fat, three of which are saturated, and a whopping 1,110 milligrams of sodium. This can vary if you choose the spicy crispy or grilled chicken patty. 

When it comes to the Smokehouse BBQ Pub Sandwich style at Culver's, the burger has the goods, hands down. In an interesting twist, including the same toppings on both a beef burger and a crispy chicken filet does not produce similar results. There's something extra-special about the combination of smoky, sweet, tangy, cheesy, and beefy flavors that the subtler crispy chicken version just can't compete with. The sharpness of the cheddar and the zing of the dill pickles come through much more clearly on the burger, while the onion rings add a delightful crunch. On the chicken sandwich, the flavors are more muted, and the crisp-upon-crisp of two fried elements together is too much crunch, though the onion flavor shows up more here. In both sandwiches, the mayo flattens the BBQ sauce, something that customers can adjust by customizing the sauces in their order.

If these limited edition tavern-style treats from Culver's are tickling your appetite and you can choose only one option to spend your fast-food money on, the Smokehouse BBQ Cheddar Pub Burger is your sure-fire order for a savory good time.