Is McDonald's New Sriracha-Kale Burger Worth Your Time (And Money)?

If a food is trendy, it's a near-guarantee that some version of it will show up at McDonald's eventually; we're not exactly holding our breath for McPoke in the near future, but sriracha and kale have been among the trendiest foods in America for years. Now McDonald's is finally getting around to combining them and putting them on a burger.

Baby kale has been around for a while at McDonald's, though this is the first time that it's making its way onto a burger. The only truly new ingredient in this equation is Sriracha Mac sauce. As part of the chain's Signature Crafted line, the completed sandwich lets you choose your type of bun ("Artisan" or regular sesame) and protein (quarter-pound patty, buttermilk crispy chicken, or "Artisan" grilled chicken), and tops it with white Cheddar, tomato, baby spinach and kale, crispy onions, and Sriracha Mac sauce. It sells for around $5 depending on the location.

So is it worth your time? The Washington Post's intrepid Tim Carman recently went to two D.C-area McDonald's to try it out, and wasn't even successful in finding a location that had all the ingredients on hand. His first attempt arrived without baby kale, baby spinach, or crispy onions, but the Sriracha Mac sauce wasn't bad. On his second attempt, he ordered it with crispy chicken and actually received all the components, albeit only one piece of baby kale. Carman enjoyed the Sriracha Mac sauce more on the crispy chicken than on the burger, noting that "the sauce just aligns better with the flavor and texture of fried chicken." You can find 11 things you didn't know about McDonald's here, and 11 things you didn't know about sriracha here.