Big America Burger 2012: A McDonald's Timeline of Fatty Patty Releases in Japan

For the third straight year, McDonald's is making America look big (in every sense of the word) with the release of four new Big America burgers in Japan for 2012.

Luckily for the States, the burgers won't be released in a country already facing rampant obesity. Ironically enough, however, some people in other countries, including healthy-minded countries such as Japan, have given the whole McDonald's thing a try, and are willing to gorge as long as what the franchise concocts tastes good.

The first release of Big America burgers was in 2010, the idea being to evoke the U.S. state or city each was named after. Each burger was topped with regional garnishes, at least regional enough for the Japanese. The 2010 lineup included:

• The Texas Burger - a two-layer burger with a Big Mac-style middle bun separating the bottom layer composed of a beef patty, mustard-relish and American cheese from a top layer of barbecue sauce, bacon and crispy fried onions.
• The New York Burger - beef patty topped Monterrey Jack cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce and mustard sauce.
• The California Burger - a beef patty topped with spicy cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce and red wine sauce.
• The Hawaiian Burger - a beef patty topped with an Egg McMuffin-style fried egg and gravy, which all tops bacon strips on a bed of chopped lettuce and American cheese.

The 2011 lineup included:

• The Idaho Burger - a beef patty topped with onions, bacon, whole-grain mustard sauce and a hash brown potato patty, all topped with American cheese and pepper sauce.
• The Miami Burger - a beef patty topped with American cheese, shredded lettuce, tortilla chips, and a pile of taco-seasoned ground beef, which all tops spicy chili sauce.
• The Manhattan Burger - a beef patty topped with a slice of mozzarella cheese, a slice of deli pastrami, lettuce, sour cream sauce and onions.
• The Texas 2 Burger - a two-layer burger with a Big Mac-style middle bun separating the bottom layer composed of a beef patty, mustard-relish and American cheese from a top layer of bacon, onions, grated cheese and chili beans.

Now here's the 2012 lineup:

• The Las Vegas Burger - a beef patty topped with a sautéed salsa of sliced beef and onions, which all tops lettuce, cream cheese sauce and American cheese.
• The Grand Canyon Burger - a two-layer burger with a Big Mac-style middle bun separating the bottom layer composed of a beef patty with steak filling, mozzarella cheese and steak sauce from a top layer of an Egg McMuffin-style fried egg, cheddar cheese and crispy onions.
• The Broadway Burger - a beef patty topped with a mix of fresh vegetables, pastrami bacon, mustard sauce and cream cheese sauce, which all tops mozzarella cheese.
• The Beverly Kills Burger - a beef patty topped with an Egg McMuffin-style fried egg, lettuce, onions, avocado sauce, American cheese and bacon, which all tops Caesar salad sauce.

The Grand Canyon burger has already been released and is more than 700 calories. The Las Vegas Burger will be released at the end of January, followed by the Broadway Burger in mid-February and the Beverly Hills Burger in early March.

Bottoms up!