To promote the opening of its first restaurant in India, Burger King is now selling mutton Whoppers in the country in advance via online marketplace eBay.
Burger King, the second-biggest burger chain in the world behind McDonald's, is joining other fast food chains such as Fat Burger, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell by opening its first store in India this month, in the city of New Delhi. To promote the debut, it is offering a "flash sale" on eBay featuring various Whopper variations specifically tailored to the diets of Indians who don't eat beef. In addition to chicken and vegetarian versions of the sandwich, the chain is also featuring a mutton Whopper.
Many of us are familiar with mutton only due to its prominence on a classic episode of "Seinfeld," where Jerry is so disgusted by Grandma Mimma's tough version of the dish that he only pretends to eat it and instead stuffs the chewed up remains hidden in napkins in his jacket pocket. After Elaine later borrows Jerry's jacket and is chased by a pack of hungry dogs, she utters the now famous line, "Thanks for mutton."
But what exactly is mutton? In India, the word is used interchangeably to describe the meat of either a goat or a sheep, with lamb distinguished from mutton as being the meat of baby sheep only. It isn't made expressly clear which of the animals Burger King taps for its mutton Whopper.
Indians who want to buy a mutton Whopper in advance can purchase the sandwich using India's version of PayPal, PaisaPay, for a promotional price of 128 rupees, or about $2 dollars, for which they will receive a voucher delivered via courier (yes, you read that right, courier). When customers redeem the voucher at the newly opened store, they will receive not only a mutton Whopper but also a free T-shirt as well. While it's not clear what exactly is printed on the T-shirt, we'd like to imagine a big "Thanks for Mutton" plastered below a picture of the burger creation.
