The Old-School Burger King Sandwich From The '70s We'd Love To See Return

A ham and cheese sandwich is a classic for a reason — its ratio of deliciousness to effort involved is highly favorable. It's one of the best ways to use up leftover holiday ham, it packs effortlessly in a lunchbox, and it's highly customizable. The French slap bechamel on it and call it a croque monsieur, but, in 1971, Burger King had a different name for a hot ham and cheese sandwich: a Yumbo.

You may know Burger King for its flame-grilled Whoppers, and there's plenty of debate as to whether a burger is a sandwich, but at the start of the disco era, Burger King was pulling no punches with its 'wiches. The Yumbo featured a seeded burger bun piled high with melty cheese and savory ham (social media users claim it was Black Forest ham, which is distinguished by its smoky flavor and curing process). Burger King even devised a special styrofoam clamshell container to keep it toasty while you were waiting to eat it.

The OG Yumbo was phased out of many BK locations in the late 1970s, but enjoyed spotty availability here and there through the early 1980s. The sandwich experienced a renaissance around 1988, as evidenced by a retro-tastic commercial starring actor Christopher Meloni, a.k.a. Detective Stabler on "Law & Order: SVU" back when he still had a full head of hair. However, it didn't stick around for long. It would be decades before the Yumbo came back, albeit in a different form.

In 2014, Burger King caved to customer nostalgia and franchisee requests and resurrected the Yumbo sandwich yet again. This time, the ham and cheese sandwich appeared on a long bun, which Burger King typically uses for its Original Chicken sandwiches. It also featured lettuce and tomato. Yet most contemporary reviews argue that the reborn Yumbo was a dud.

"This is for people who want to enjoy damp, spongy sandwiches without the expense and trouble of finding an airport kiosk," said Peter Sagal via NPR Illinois. "[W]hat should be a simple sandwich falls short on the Burger King menu," read a disdainful review from InForum, which also complained about a boggy amount of mayo. Unsurprisingly, the 21st century Yumbo was short-lived.

Are the days of the delicious, classic Yumbo behind us permanently? Not so fast — on Reddit, some Burger King employees claim that the essence of the Yumbo lives on via the chain's breakfast menu. It's been said that you can order a ham, egg, and cheese croissant, hold the egg, and sub the croissant for a burger bun. Anecdotally, some locations actually have a button for it on the menu, albeit unadvertised. Your mileage may vary. Check out your local Burger King restaurant's breakfast hours to achieve your best chance at Yumbo glory ... although, if you ask nicely enough, maybe employees would be willing to make you one for lunch or dinner as well.