Bacon sundae and sweet potato fries at Burger King?

Burger King seems to be getting its summer inspiration from Southern barbecue joints, with new menu items such as sweet potato fries, Memphis pulled-pork sandwiches and, to keep things interesting, bacon sundaes.

Summer options also include Whopper or chicken sandwiches made with Carolina or Texas BBQ sauce as well as frozen lemonades, according to Foodbeast, which got a tip that the burger chain is training its employees to prepare the new options.

[Updated, 1:30 p.m.: Burger King confirmed the news, saying that it will officially announce the new lineup on Wednesday. Advertisements for the BBQ menu will feature Burger King’s new tagline: Taste is King.]

The bacon sundae will come with soft-serve ice cream, fudge, caramel and a piece of bacon. Back in April, a tipster wrote to GrubGrade reporting that the item — Beverage? Dessert? Indulgence? — was being tested in Nashville.

Burger King’s version appears to take the concept even further than Jack in the Box, which earlier this year launched a 1,081-calorie bacon milkshake with flavored syrup instead of real meat.

The sundae may be part of Burger King’s efforts to shake off the dust and become a fresh competitor to McDonald’s, Wendy’s and newer, so-called fast casual better burger chains such as Five Guys.

In the past few months, the chain has promised to switch to cage-free eggs and pork, revamped its menu and advertising and announced plans to go public — again.

Hardly the Burger King of old, with its plastic-y, creepy monarch mascot and poor customer ratings.

In a McRib-esque tease, it seems the summer menu will be around for only three months, unless Burger King decides to extend the promotion.

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