One afternoon, I was working very hard at home: rearranging furniture, reorganizing, reshuffling and resetting. I had skipped breakfast and come lunch time, I was hungry. I was contemplating what to have and had some things from work on my mind. Somehow, I got this strange idea to try a meal from each of the fast food places we have here on Grand Island: McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s. I then took the idea a step further: “Let’s objectively analyze each of these meals!” I will admit that I do have a unique perspective on what “having fun“ is all about.
With that, I set out to order similar meals from each with the intent on examining, tasting and critiquing each one.
The line-up
Wendy’s ($6.49)
Single burger w/o lettuce or tomato, pickle or onion
Small Fries
Small Diet coke
BK ($4.97)
Double cheeseburger w/o pickle or onion
Small Fries
Small Diet coke
McDonald’s ($6.19)
Quarter-pounder with cheese, w/o onion or pickle
Small fries
Small diet coke
Customer service
I visited each establishment during the noon lunch rush. I did not experience any differences between the businesses, except that Wendy’s was busier and the attendants were rushed and not as friendly as a result. Since the similarities were such, I did not consider them in the overall critique.
Drinks
The sizes were nearly identical for each, without about an ounce difference overall. McDonald’s small drink measured 16 oz while Burger King was 15oz. Wendy’s topped the group with a 16 ½ oz drink. As for taste, Wendy’s was the most carbonated, however McDonald’s diet coke had a more potent flavor. Burger King had the same carbonation level as McDonald’s and the same degree of flavor as Wendy’s.
Overall, McDonald’s offered the best small diet coke of the trio.
Fries
Each restaurant seems to have different “fry philosophies”. At first glance, McDonald’s fries are small, precise in their shape and plentiful due to their size. Burger King’s look large and intimidating, and, like McDonald’s, they appear “manufactured”. Wendy’s looked unassuming and rustic, with different shapes and skins showing at the tips and some of the sides.
McDonald’s fries weighed in at 5oz as the smallest fry in the bunch. BK and Wendy’s both measured 5 ½ ounces. Both McDonald’s and BK’s fries were crisp, but the taste of oil, while faint, was still present. Overall, both tasted generically like fries and each was identical to its comrades. Wendy’s on the other hand had a more “homely” flavor. The taste of potato was very prominent and the sea salt helped to magnify the flavor and negate any oily aftertaste. Each fry, due to the different amounts of skin present as well as different shapes, presented slight variations of flavor. McDonald’s and BK’s fries had a more “crispy” bite and I found Wendy’s to be a bit more “chewy”.
Overall, Wendy’s fries were more satisfying, both in taste and quantity.
Burgers
At first glance, McDonald’s Quarter Pounder looked fantastic and picture perfect. The defenses of the cardboard box containing it kept it safe from crushing in gouging. The sesame seeded bun was soft and not greasy. The patty itself was surprisingly thick and of the same diameter as the bun. The flavor was straight-forward: beef. There seemed to be very few flavors added to the patty, leaving opportunities to enhance its natural flavor open and unexplored. The small amount of ketchup and mustard complimented it well.
The Burger King Double-Cheeseburger possessed the same type of seeded bun as McDonald’s, however was smaller in diameter. The paper wrapping did not prevent the inevitable squeezing and twisting, so the appearance of the burger was far less appealing than the Quarter Pounder. However, given that this sandwich contains two patties instead of one, I expected more grease and was surprised to see very little. Each bite was very meaty, with the buns collapsing each time and totally putting themselves out of the equation. This was a MEAT sandwich and the buns gave no sense of presence. The favor was solid, very little had been added to the meat, however I detected a bit of beef flavor indicative of added juices.
The Single from Wendy’s was an enigma. No seeds on the bun, a bit greasy, a thin square patty with mayo and ketchup. The bun was thick and dense, hiding a small but extremely flavorful patty beneath. With each bite, I found myself having to sort through the taste of bread to finally get an opportunity to experience the meat itself. It was obvious that a blend of seasonings was added to enhance the natural taste of the meat and overall the mayo played along very well. My only regret was that there was so much bun to get through in order to encounter and appreciate the patty.
If not for the bun-to-meat ratio, Wendy’s would have been on top. If not for the “shields down” approach by BK, they may have had a chance as well. Overall, I found McDonald’s to have a superior burger among those in this group.
Overall opinion
Considering all of the experiences with these three meals, I have come to the following conclusions.
BK offers the best price-to-volume in this selection. Their food is decent enough, however handle your order with care or it may not be recognizable when you get home to eat it.
Wendy’s offers a high degree of flavor, but demands a higher price. The food in this selection was enjoyable; however the burger was disappointing in the overall configuration. If you want to savor what you eat from a fast-food establishment, I would lean in this direction.
McDonald’s has taken their vast amount of experience in their industry and constantly strives to offer a superior product. Both the drink and burger were very satisfying and I would be remiss if I did not say how surprised I was to discover this. I do, however, find their fries to be overly consistent with an air of monotony and predictability.
If I could have enjoyed a McDonald’s meal, with Wendy’s fries at BK’s prices, I think it would be as perfect a fast-food meal as there could be.
Now my next challenge is to find a way to burn all of this off.
Bon appétit!
