Burger King Puts Its Own Twists On The Philly With New Melt And Wrap

Burger King is on the move, debuting new versions of former menu releases, including wraps and melts in new incarnations. This time, BK is tapping into an outside phenomenon, the consistently adored Philly cheesesteak sandwich. The chain now offers its own take on the regional East Coast deli favorite, created in 1930 by a hot dog vendor in Philadelphia. But Burger King has adapted the Philly persona and name to its own popular menu items, resulting in the new Philly Royal Crispy Wrap and the Philly Melt.

The Philly Royal Crispy Wrap joins the family of existing and previous wraps, which come in evolving versions such as the Classic, Spicy, Honey Mustard, and the most recent Fiery Buffalo Royal Crisp, released in February 2024. Though initially debuting in 2023 as limited-offerings, the Royal Crispy Wraps are now here to stay, all featuring fried white-meat chicken fillets wrapped in soft flour tortillas, joined by wrap-specific glazes, sauces, and accompaniments.

Now the fast food giant is marching forward with this latest belle of the royal ball, a crispy interpretation of the regional Philadelphia favorite. The new Philly wrap contains chicken along with Swiss cheese, fire-grilled peppers, onions, and Burger King's Royal Sauce. The ingredients are similar to those in a classic Philly cheesesteak but with crispy chicken instead of thinly sliced ribeye steak. The additional newly released Philly Melt follows a similar path.

Along with Burger King's new Philly Royal Crispy Wrap comes the toasted Philly Melt. It's a spin on three earlier BK sandwich Melts, two of which return to accompany the newbie Philly rendition. BK first released three Whopper Melts in March 2022, introducing them as handheld toasted sandwiches. The one-hand sandwiches incorporated two flame-grilled Whopper Jr. burger patties, tucked inside the melts along with American cheese, caramelized onions, and Stacker Sauce.

Now, more than two years later, Burger King continues building on the Melts concept with the Philly Melt. Similar to the wrap, there's no traditional Philadelphia-style shaved steak in the equation, featuring instead the same two quarter-pound Whopper Jr. beef patties as the other Whopper Melts. Like the Wrap, it includes classic Philly cheesesteak ingredients such as peppers, onions, melted cheese, and Royal Sauce.

It's unsurprising that Burger King highlights its most iconic meal offering, the Whopper, which first appeared in 1957. However, there might be serious pushback from Philly cheesesteak devotees, similar to when BK released a Philly Cheese King sandwich in 2018. Philadelphia Magazine published a food review at the time, lamenting an international burger chain "waltzing into town with a sandwich that doesn't just exploit the city's name but also its revered sandwich." A local Philadelphia Burger King venue even refused to sell the burger, citing respect for the traditional recipe.