Secret Menu Items: Real or Fake?
By JOHN BERMAN and NATASHA SINGH
The Internet was abuzz last week with rumors of a secret menu at Starbucks. Drinks like Raspberry Cheesecake, Nutella and Chocolate Pumpkin emerged beyond the world of vanilla lattes customers had come to know.
A representative from Starbucks denied the rumors, despite images of the menu that flooded the Internet. It did recommend that customers personalize their drinks with the more than 170,000 coffee options offered at the shop.
If you're dying to try one of the drinks, it's better if you tell the barista how to make it to avoid confusion.
Starbucks isn't the only restaurant with unlisted menu items. See below for a list of secret items from a few popular food chains.
Jamba Juice
The Dirty Orgasm is a rumored drink on the Jamba Juice secret menu. Other rumored items offered at the juice bar are the White Gummi Bear, made with a variety of sherbets, peach juice and soy milk, and the Fruity Pebbles, made with soy milk, orange, raspberry, pineapple and lime sherbert.
A representative from Jamba Juice said in a statement: "The 'Underground Menu' came out from our greatest fans, the store team members (these are the store employees) making their own smoothie creations and naming them over a decade ago. As you can imagine, the team member creations were shared with friends and compared among themselves and it really took on a viral hub bub. The 'Underground Menu' became somewhat standardized when these creations took on quite a following with customers coming in and asking for them more and more, and we needed a way to ring them through the system."
McDonald's
McDonald's denied having a secret menu, even though Internet rumors suggest that the Monster Mac Burger and the McGangBang Mac were a part of its secret menu.
The Monster Mac Burger is a Big Mac made with eight hamburger patties. The McGangBang burger is a McChicken sandwich stuffed inside a double cheeseburger.
Wendy's
Wendy's secret item is the Meat Cube, a four-patty-burger, not all employees know how to make.
"If you know Wendy's menu, you know we sell a single (one patty), double (2 patties) and you can get a triple (3 patties). The secret menu is the Grand Slam, which is 4 patties - a full pound of ground beef. It's also called the Meat Cube because the four patties stacked form a 'cube.' We don't list either on the menu, so individual Wendy's may or may not be familiar with the 'secret' terms," said a Wendy's spokesperson.
Burger King
Burger King's secret item is the Rodeo Burger, a cheeseburger made with barbeque sauce and onion rings. A Suicide Burger is a four-patty cheeseburger covered in bacon and special sauce. If you like onion rings and fries, order Frings, which is a combination of the two.
A representative for Burger King wrote, "While we can confirm that our menu items are highly customizable, the "secret menu" will remain as such and brand prefers to continue rewarding its guests who exercise their right to HAVE IT YOUR WAY®"
Although the secret menu items tend to be a part of company culture rather than a public menu, it's not clear why the restaurants don't post them.
Not all restaurant employees know about the secret menu items, but they're worth trying if you're looking for something new from your favorite place.