Animated comedy sensation Bob’s Burgers has no shortage of running gags, from the pest control truck’s puns in the opening sequence to Tina’s insatiably awkward attempts at romance. But the most persistent and recognized one has to be, well… the burgers. It’s called Bob’s Burgers, after all.
In Bob’s diner, the special burger of the day is indicated on a chalkboard in the storefront, and it’s always some form of terrible and hilarious pun. It’s something new in almost every episode, and sometimes at multiple junctures throughout a given episode. Given that the show’s pulling through its ninth season, the exorbitant pile of burger puns is beginning to achieve critical mass, but some stand out as particularly hilarious, inventive, or just outright bizarre. Check out the ten best ones yet below!
The Take a Leek Burger (“Hawk & Chick”)
When all else fails, just go for the toilet humor. It’s always a winner. Well, almost always. The Take a Leek Burger implies the obvious inclusion of leeks, which actually doesn’t sound half bad.
Taking the relatively immature humor involved with naming this one into account, it’s probably safe to bet that this one ended up being named by Louise, or potentially Gene. But given how prominently Louise is featured in the episode “Hawk & Chick,” she’s more than likely the culprit here.
The Baby You Can Chive My Car Burger (“Father of the Bob”)
This one’s special, as it might actually be the first Burger of the Day that Bob Belcher ever dreamed up. Showcased during a flashback sequence, a proud young Bob unveils his creation to the diner’s attendees, explaining that he just came up with ideas for an entire series of burger specials.
Featuring sour cream and chives for toppings, and having four “fried pickle wheels” pinned to the bottom bun, this one actually sounds pretty tasty. Needless to say, though, prospective tastiness is not a trait shared in common by a lot of these burger creations.
The Smells Like Bean Spirit Burger (“Y Tu Ga-Ga Tambien”)
The idea of something “smelling like bean spirit” has some interesting implications that probably shouldn’t have too much thought funneled into them, but even so, the clear-cut reference to 1990s grunge legends Nirvana still makes for a good pun.
With the song referenced addressing themes of teenage rebellion, it seems pretty fitting that the episode this burger special shows up in largely follows Gene as he deals with a shake up in the school’s social hierarchy.
The Captain Pepper Jack Marrow Burger (“The Hormone-iums”)
The show’s one hundred and second episode brings us this cheesy pirate pun. A spicy slice of pepper jack is rarely disagreeable, but bone marrow is a little bit more of a niche offering.
An obvious reference to the Pirates of the Caribbean series, it’s a play on the name of the infamously rum-addled pirate who has become totally synonymous with the series of films. As far as the episode itself goes, it’s focused pretty heavily on Tina, which is always an incredibly awkward and hilarious treat.
The Citizen Kale Burger (“Like Gene for Chocolate”)
There’s something more than a little ironic about squeezing one of the world’s best-known super foods between a greasy slab of meat and some presumably processed bread, but regardless, Bob saw fit to let it happen, and then named it after every pretentious film student’s go-to answer for the best movie ever made.
The episode that it appears in is also great, being a very Gene-forward outing as he sets out to right a particularly grievous wrong: the formula for his favorite chocolate has been altered, and that simply will not stand. Not in Gene’s world.
The Don’t Give Me No Chive Burger (“Tinarannosaurus Wrecks”)
“Don’t give me jive,” said no-one over the past two decades. Well, beyond anyone that actually decided to order this relatively strangely titled burger special. And what’s special about this one? It… doesn’t come with chives, in keeping with the title, though most burger aficionados can probably agree that chives aren’t a standard enough topping to necessitate particular exclusion.
The episode it appears in is another Tina-focused episode, and includes one of the series’ most well-loved gags. After Bob allows Tina to get behind the wheel of his car for some driving practice, she slowly but surely somehow manages to hit the only other car in the parking lot.
Tina’s String Of Gouda Puns (“The Unnatural”)
To be fair, this is actually several different burger pitches rapidly fired off by an overly caffeinated Tina, after it’s noticed that the diner doesn’t have a burger special posted for the day. But the delivery and circumstances are too funny to pass up inclusion on this list.
Her list is pretty lengthy, including Woulda Coulda Gouda, You Gouda Be Kidding Me, As Gouda As It Gets, Gouda Gouda Gumdrops, A Few Gouda Men, Gouda Gouda Two Shoes, and finally, Gouda Day Sir. Say what you will about the awkwardly hopeless romantic, but her pun game is totally on point.
The Cauliflower’s Cumin from Inside the House Burger (“Fort Night”)
The lengths to which the show will go to pull off a pun are sometimes jokes unto themselves, such is the case with The Cauliflower’s Cumin from Inside the House Burger. They had to reach so hard for this one that the process must’ve resulted in pulling a few muscles.
Clearly based on the common horror move trope, “the call’s coming from inside the house,” it’s all too fitting that this one was attached to a Halloween-themed episode.
The Sprouts! Sprouts! Sprouts It All Out! Burger (“Seaplane!”)
This one’s a play on the well known Tears for Fears song, “Shout.” If that wasn’t totally obvious from the outset, anyway. As one might guess from the title, it features a total overabundance of bean sprouts. As to why one would want to bury their burger under a ton of sprouts, that’s anyone’s guess.
The episode itself is a rare trip alongside Linda for the most part, following her escapades learning to fly a plane after Bob’s romantic inclinations turn out less than impressive. Unfortunately, her flight instructor is the lecherous “Upskirt” Kurt, who has a reputation for wooing housewives.
The Mush-Aroom About Nothing Burger (“The Helen Hunt”)
A classical Shakespeare reference via hamburger pun might be the last thing fans would expect from the animated sitcom, but the more literary fans of the series got it anyway. And it sounds surprisingly edible! There’s nothing too weird about a mushroom burger. Not too weird, anyway. Mushrooms are definitely one of those toppings that divide people.
As it would turn out, the Burger of the Day this time around actually loosely ties in to the episode, with its content revolving around the Belchers’ attempts to help Teddy track down his dream girl.
