Carl's Jr.'s Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger is basically a regular Western Bacon Cheeseburger with two extra (or X-Tra if you're going along with the
X-Men theme) slices of bacon. It comes with a charbroiled beef patty, a slice of American cheese, onion rings, BBQ sauce, and four strips of bacon.
They normally go for
$4.19 at my local Carl's Jr. (compared to $3.79 for the non-X-tra version) but I received this one courtesy of the company.
I guess the key question is
"Does two extra strips of bacon make much of a difference?" The answer? Not so much. Carl's Jr.'s bacon is paper-thin. I tried asking for it to be "extra crispy" but it didn't seem to make much difference (though it might if you eat it right away). The flavor was a little weak but it supplied some underlying depth to the BBQ sauce. Also, the two extra strips added extra coverage for a hint of porky smokiness in every bite.
I like the barbecue sauce. It has a good balance of sweet and smoky with just the right amount of tomato-y tang.
I wasn't too enamored with it during the whole "if it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face" era, but I feel they've become more judicious in saucing more recently.
The beef patty had a nice charred quality to it. Between the two "cooked over fire" major burger chains, Burger King and Carl's Jr., I tend to find that Carl's Jr. is more consistent in delivering on the whole fire-grilled (or charbroiled) aspect to their burgers over Burger King (except for BK's pork-based
BBQ Rib Sandwich, which has consistently delivered a smoky backyard-grill-style patty so far; plus it's only $1). While they don't advertise it as such, I'm pretty sure the single beef patty at Carl's Jr. is a 1/4 lb (or at least, very close to).
The onion had a satisfying breaded crunch and just a bit of sweetness and the cheese tempered some of the stronger notes of the burger with creaminess.
Overall, while the extra bacon didn't make a huge difference, the Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger is still a solidly enjoyable burger with classic flavor. I think it's well time for Carl's Jr. to upgrade their bacon though.
Nutritional Info - Carl's Jr. Western X-Tra Bacon Cheeseburger (257g)
Calories - 800 (from Fat - 350)
Fat - 39g (Saturated Fat - 16g)
Sodium - 1670mg
Carbs - 74g (Sugar - 15g)
Protein - 37g
