Our Staff Samples The Carl's Jr. Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger

This afternoon our staff at the FPT test kitchens was able to sample and rate the Carl's Jr. Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger. We went for the 6 dollar version - as there were 3 of us present and it doesn't really cost 6 bucks, they just call it that.

Our three tasters came from across the board in re. to guacamole, one taster who loves it, one taster who dislikes it and one taster who is "on the fence".

Every taster ate their entire third of the burger and all found it tasty in different ways. The guacamole lover said then guac was very nice because it has larger tomato chunks in it and it was not sweetened. The taster who claimed he disliked guacamole alltogether said the nice big bacon strips blended well with the guacamole taste and then he declared that he had forgotten why he disliked guacamole and could not even actually remember trying it (he just knew he doesnt like avacodos by themselves). Our man who was undecided put bbq sauce on the burger and said it was an awesome burger - then remembered we were focusing on the guacamole and then apologized for 'spacing out'. He promises to try it again this time with no added sauces and let us know if he becomes a guac 'convert'.

Must mention that the new fries Carl's serves are truly the best "fast food" fries you can get from anywhere. They are the long plank style with some of the potato skin still on them.

As with the other 6 dollar burgers we have tried from Carl's this one was all-over excellent. Comes with nice thick bacon strips, large slices of cheese, nice lettuce & tomatoes and it was (as always) cooked fresh to order.

THE CARL'S JR. GUACAMOLE BACON BURGERS EXPAND OFFERINGS - Also To Be Honored As Official Burgers of the California Avocado Festival

CARPINTERIA, Calif. September 24 It is not easy to make really good guacamole, which may explain why Carls Jr. is the only fast-food chain to have had so much success with guacamole-topped burgers and chicken sandwiches in the past that it made the Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger a permanent menu offering in 2003. Carl's Jr. prepares its guacamole fresh daily, mixing real salsa also made fresh every day – with real avocado and starting today the chain's customers can order from a full line of Guacamole Bacon Burgers, including the single, double and Six Dollar Burger varieties. 'Carls Jr. has always had great success introducing menu items that deliver more authentic tastes and flavors than our competitors would ever attempt' said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carls Jr. 'So, we naturally wanted to prepare guacamole like people do at home, with real avocados and fresh salsa, to make our Guacamole Bacon Burgers taste like something you'd be more likely to find only in sit-down restaurants. It's that kind of quality that helped get the Guacamole Bacon Burgers selected as the official burgers of the California Avocado Festival, and those people know good guacamole when they taste it!'. Already hailed as 'Best Burger 2007' by Best of Citysearch, the Guacamole Bacon Burgers will be feted as the official burgers during the 2008 California Avocado Festival. One of the largest street festivals in California, the Avocado Festival takes place in Carpinteria,CA, home to Carls Jr. corporate headquarters. 'We are proud to name the Carls Jr. Guacamole Bacon Burgers the official burgers of the California Avocado Festival. We are especially excited to celebrate it from right here in Carpinteria,' said Gary Dobbins, president of the California Avocado Festival. 'We are the third largest avocado producing region in North America and the festival is a great place to celebrate and sample the fruits of our labor.' The 22nd Annual California Avocado Festival kicks off October 3 and is a free three-day celebration of avocados in downtown Carpinteria. The event includes 30 food booths, 40 musical and entertainment acts on three stages and more than 70 arts and crafts vendors. The event even includes a guacamole competition. For more information, visit www.avofest.com. The Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger features a charbroiled 100 percent Black Angus beef patty topped with guacamole, two strips of bacon, two slices of pepper-Jack cheese, Santa Fe sauce, red onions, tomato and lettuce on a seeded bun. Carls Jr. will also now offer a single Guacamole Bacon Burger as well as a double Guacamole Bacon Burger version. Price for the Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger is $4.99 a la carte, $3.29 for a single, and $4.29 for the double. Prices may vary. About Carls Jr: Carls Jr. is celebrating more than 65 years in the quick-service industry. What began as a lone hot dog cart in Los Angeles , Calif. in 1941 is today an international organization that employs nearly 30,000 people worldwide. Carls Jr. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) of Carpinteria , Calif. As of the second fiscal quarter ended September 8, 2008, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,100 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 14 countries, including 1,170 Carls Jr. restaurants and 1,917 Hardees restaurants. For more information, or to find a Carls Jr. near you, go to www.ckr.com or www.carlsjr.com. CLICK BELOW TO VISIT: 2008 California Avocado Festival

The FPT Team Puts The Carl's Jr. 6 Dollar Burgers To The Test

Perhaps you have seen the commercial on television where Carl's Jr. sets up a "fake restaurant" and lets diners order fancy burgers in the 15.00 range from a menu and waiter. They then serve them one of their 6 dollar Angus beef burgers and their responses. The FPT test kitchens are on the west coast, these same burgers are also served in the east at Hardee's. Carl's had an elaborate well done set-up with white tablecloths and chefs with tall hats in their fake restaurant. The staff here at the FPT wanted to try the same switch-off on some unsuspecting friends, however we did not do it such a grand style. (you can watch the commercial and more with the link at the end of this post). Our switch was pulled off by telling a friend that we had some gift cards for a local "fancy pants" restaurant that were going to expire soon. We recommended that they try the 'prime rib burger' as it "was the best and most spendy burger that our gift card restaurant offered. Both of our 'guinea pigs' happily said that sounded good and to keep them fooled, fake cell phone calls were made to order the burgers for pick-up. Using a simple made-up excuse, we arranged it so that we could swap the Carl's Jr. burgers into plain white to-go containers. We also got french fries to go with as Carl's now serves a new 'some skin left on' fry that are REALLY good and look like something from a sit-down restaurant as well. The pictures above are from the pick-up - we did not think it smart to take photos of them eating the burgers as they know us well enough that they could figure out that "we might be up to something". What happened? Our friends never had a clue - they ate the burgers very slowly (maybe when you think you are eating a 15.00 burger you think it deserves more face time than something from a drive-thru). They both absolutely loved them and the fries as well. Nothing but thank you's and WOW that was really really good was said from our 'fooled' friends. We did let them in on the whole thing after letting the meal get settled in their bellies. Laughs were had by all. During both experiments we both had our own burgers as well. The 6 dollar prime rib burger is truly excellent - especially the ciabatta bun. Also special props to the new french fries - best 'drive-thru' fries that you can find right now. Official Fake Restaurant Website