12 of the Best Fictional Burgers of All Time

From Scooby Snacks to giant Flintstones ribs and even roasted porg, films and television shows have depicted countless scrumptious-looking foods that viewers wish they could jump through the screen to sink their teeth into. Heck, even a blob of gray stuff looks delicious thanks to the magic of entertainment.

But today, we’re focused squarely on the burgers. More specifically, the fictional burgers that not only looked delectable on screen but elicited the most ecstatic responses from the character(s) eating them. What follows are 12 burgers that deserve recognition for inspiring awe in the eater. Which one would you order?

“The Best Burger in the World” (season 3, episode 21)

“A cheeseburger stuffed inside a cheeseburger with two deep-fried cheeseburgers as buns, and then we add our special ketchup that we get from the Himalayas.” Trust the surreal world of Regular Show to come up with something like that. This burger is said to be so amazing, it’s only available once every century.

Understandably, the two lead characters, Mordecai (a blue jay) and Rigby (a raccoon) go to hell and back in order to get their mouths onto the burger, but it wasn’t to be. They even have to stand and watch as their friends gleefully gobble the burgers down. The Ulti-Meatum must be truly incredible if it can simultaneously satisfy the palates of a yeti, a ghost, and an alien—I can’t even get my family to agree on a restaurant.

Big Kahuna Burger is a fictional fast food chain that appears numerous times throughout Quentin Tarantino’s filmography (not as often as bare feet do, but still quite a lot). Its most memorable appearance occurs in Pulp Fiction when hitman Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) takes a bite of the Big Kahuna cheeseburger belonging to his soon-to-be-victim. The fact that a focused professional like Jules was willing to drop everything just to try the burger is already a strong testament to how good it looks and (presumably) smells. “Mmm,” Jules says after taking a bite, “this is a tasty burger.” When spoken with Jackson’s unique brand of forceful conviction, that appraisal is truly something special. No word yet on what the Big Kahuna Burger is called in France, though.

“The Best Burger in New York” (season 4, episode 2)

The series that turned out to be a giant disappointment-burger did feature a spectacular burger-burger in its fourth season. Marshall (Jason Segel) regales his friends with a story about this special burger that he ate several years ago in a mysterious burger joint that he’s been unable to find again since. He’s adamant that it’s the best burger in New York, so the gang decides to search the Big Apple to find it. From the way it makes Marshall instantly run all the way home to tell Ted about it, to the vivid and poetic description Marshall provides (bearing in mind that this is something he ate once, eight years ago), this episode leaves us in no doubt as to the otherworldly deliciousness of this burger. Eventually, the gang tracks it down, and the reactions of Marshall’s friends affirm every word he said about it.

“Ass Burgers” (season 15, episode 8)

Due to a series of offensive events, it is discovered that burgers upon which Cartman farts taste amazing. Because Cartman eats at every major fast food outlet, his farts contain essences from all of them, which the burgers are then “infused” with (gotta hand it to the South Park writers on that one).

Okay, so you may not want to eat these burgers yourself, but there’s no disputing the results. South Park residents go wild for the taste, and soon there are masses of people scarfing down Cartman Burgers and lining up to buy more. They’re so good that they even start to dent the profits of major fast food outlets, prompting their executives to come together for an emergency meeting. However, the Cartman Burger’s heyday ends for good when the townsfolk learn the smelly secret behind them.

“I’m Spelling as Fast as I Can” (season 14, episode 12)

Homer Simpson has shoved just about everything imaginable into his gullet, so it would take a truly special meal to have any real impact on him. Enter the Ribwich, a limited-time offering from Krusty Burger. Although the sandwich is technically not a burger in the strictest sense, it packs a more serious punch than a regular Krusty Burger ever has. Just one bite sends Homer into a state of Requiem for a Dream-esque mania and he’s quickly reduced to a drooling Ribwich addict who buys and eats them every chance he gets. He even travels across the country to get his fix, alongside several other people who have fallen under the Ribwich spell. It is quite possible that Ribwiches are laced with something sinister that causes such mind-altering effects on people, but this list has no anti-doping rules. No foul.

A mysterious murder sends the bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) and his partner Ponton (Jean Reno) to New York City in 2006’s The Pink Panther. But before they start investigating, the duo tuck into a burger in Times Square and, well, it’s safe to say that they picked a winner. Clouseau positively adores it. Bear in mind that this is a man who lives and works in the heart of Paris and would be accustomed to the very finest of cuisine. For a burger to send him into a state of heightened ecstasy after one bite, it must be a très magnifique one. It’s never revealed where he purchases the burger or what’s in it, but two things are clear: It tastes damn good and it’s nowhere near as hammy or cheesy as Steve Martin’s French accent.

“Soulmates” (season 3, episode 10)

This episode sees an epic cook-off take place between meat enthusiast Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) and his health-conscious superior Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe). If Chris can make a turkey burger that tastes better than Ron’s beef burger then turkey burgers will officially replace beef burgers at the office commissary. Ron plates up a simple burger with just meat and bun, but it’s enough to mop the floor with the fancy turkey burger from Chris. The awestruck judges declare Ron the winner by unanimous decision. Chris himself takes one bite and immediately concedes that Ron’s is better (before he’s even chewed it). It’s clearly an incredible burger and definitive proof that nobody knows meat like Ron fucking Swanson.

This movie introduces us to Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, who becomes Spider-Man while also crossing paths with iterations of Spider-Man from other dimensions. It’s a wild and mind-bending story, for sure, but thankfully there are moments of relatable simplicity for the audience to latch onto—like the simplicity of enjoying a delicious burger.

When Miles and an alternate version of Peter Parker have an early morning meal at a diner that Peter used to frequent, Peter gobbles his burger breakfast with very intense joy, complete with moans and finger licks. You entirely believe him when he says that it’s “one of the best burgers” he’s ever had. A few drops of sauce actually manage to splash onto the camera lens—it’s a burger that can’t even be contained by the fourth wall.

“Burger War” (season 1, episode 10)

You knew this show was coming. It’s tricky to choose just one delicious burger in a series that follows the life and work of a talented burger chef like Bob Belcher, but we must bow our heads to The Meatsiah: a beef tartare inside a burger medium-well inside a burger Wellington. We’re told that it’s extremely difficult to make and that Bob has only successfully made it once—both are hallmarks of a very special dish. But Bob does successfully pull off The Meatsiah, and the burger proceeds to blow the mind of the Belcher’s landlord, Mr. Fischoeder. In fact, Mr. Fischoeder agrees to renew their lease based solely on the quality of that burger. Trust this renter when he tells you it would take one hell of a burger to make a landlord do something generous.

The 257th season of Power Rangers introduces us to a team of young rangers that are based in and around a dinosaur museum. They harness the power of dinosaurs and fight against an array of dangerous enemies. Pretty cool, but the real drawcard of the season is the Bronto Burger, available at the museum’s cafe. Not only is it a juicy-looking unit, but the episodes are replete with references to how great they taste. Main character Koda rips into them like his life depends on it, and one bite of it makes the character of Sir Ivan totally abandon the epic tale he was sharing with the gang. This is probably the only iteration of Power Rangers where the eating scenes are more engaging than the fighting ones, and it’s all thanks to the Bronto Burger.

We finish with a film that is more ’90s than Macaulay Culkin doing the Macarena. It stars Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell as Dexter and Ed, employees at a fast food restaurant called Good Burger. Business isn’t great, until they unleash their secret weapon: Ed’s secret sauce.

Ed’s homemade orange sauce, whatever’s in it, tastes fantastic, and adding it to the burgers kicks them up many notches. It isn’t long before Good Burger is pumping with satisfied diners, and even Shaquille O’Neal gives the burger his nod of approval (one of the highest honors in food, I think we’d all agree). Public demand for this mysterious recipe following the 1997 film grew so strong that eventually it was introduced into the real world decades later as a pop-up restaurant.