Mickey D vs. Burger King

Fast food in America has been a favorite pastime, as is shown by the fact that we are often called "the fattest country in the world." In this fast and busy world, people need something to eat, and quick. Oh yeah, and people need junk food too, because who wants to eat tofu and soybeans? Yet, the American worker should not have to waste his or her time deciding on which fast food restaurant to eat at.

Let me do the deciding for you. The following presents a head-to-head match-up between the two fast food giants: McDonald's and Burger King. It is perhaps the most hotly debated topic in the history of mankind. May the best restaurant win:

Burgers Galore!

McDonald's Big Macs are fried and very greasy. They have very little flavor and seem to have more bread (three slices) than beef (two patties). Burger King's Whoppers are flame-broiled, have more beef and offer sliced tomato with the burger.

Recently, both restaurants have introduced imitations of the other's burgers. Burger King's "Big King" is an imitation Big Mac, but is flame-broiled. McDonald's offers the "Big 'n' Tasty," an imitation Whopper. These competitive strategies will be disregarded, as we should concentrate only on the originals.

The deciding factors in this category are that the Whopper is flame broiled and offers more and better vegetables on it. Edge: Burger King

Chicken-Tastic

McDonald's chicken sandwiches used to be my favorites. Then, they improved on the old recipe by offering the Crispy Chicken Deluxe, with a whole breast filet and sliced tomato. McDonald's chicken nuggets are sub-par, though cheap. They recently came out with Chicken Select Strips, which though I haven't tried, are bigger and probably more flavorful. Finally, their Chicken McGrill is decent, though the Crispy Chicken is much better.

Burger King's Chick'n Crisp is very bland, as the actual patty offers very little meat and probably equally as much breading. Their Chicken Whopper, which is grilled, is a new item on their menu. It is slightly dry, but offers a decent grilled taste, and is somewhat better than the McGrilled chicken. Their chicken nuggets are better than McDonald's, but are still not a favorite of mine.

Edge: Even

French Fries

McDonald's fries have always been known as "America's favorite fries." McDonald's held a fry monopoly until a few years ago, Burger King improved their fries. McDonald's fries are very salty and often soggy. I find that I need ketchup in order to have enough flavor when I eat them.

Burger King's new fries are a vast improvement over their old fries. Some claim that they simply copied McDonald's fries, but the difference is that Burger King's are crispier yet still maintain a soft inside. I find that I do not need ketchup to eat these fries.

Edge: Burger King

Breakfast

McDonald's has always been famous for its breakfasts. The egg McMuffin was the original breakfast sandwich, and in that department, McDonald's now has just about everything imaginable; basically a build-your-own with scrambled or poached eggs, mini omelets, ham, sausage, steak or bacon, and several kinds of cheese on an English muffin, biscuit or bagel. They also offer pancakes, breakfast burritos and very tasty hash browns. For a real heart attack, try their new breakfast sandwich, with egg, two kinds of cheese, bacon and sausage.

Burger King's breakfast is very close in taste, though lacking in the variety department. They offer the croissan'wich, which is my breakfast sandwich of choice. They also recently came out with an Egg McMuffin-style sandwich. Their hash browns, although they are bite-size, taste the same as McDonald's. Finally, their cini-minis, a recent introduction of mini cinnabons with icing, are usually dry and pretty bland.

This was a tough choice to make. McDonald's has great variety for breakfast, but Burger King's few items are very good.

Edge: McDonald's

Nutrition

Maybe we can stop being the fattest country in the world."

McDonald's:

Big Mac: 590 Calories, 34 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 85 mg cholesterol

Crispy Chicken sandwich: 550 Calories, 27 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 50 mg of cholesterol

Fries: 610 Calories, 29 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 350 mg of sodium

Burger King:

Whopper (without cheese): 660 Calories, 40 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 85 mg of cholesterol

Chick'n Crisp: 460 Calories, 27 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 35 mg of cholesterol

Fries (king-size order): 590 Calories, 30 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat. 1,110 mg of sodium

If you eat at either of these restaurants and actually care about nutrition, there is something wrong with you.

Edge: Even

The Decision

So there you have it. In case you can't count, the final tally is Burger King: 2, McDonald's: 1, with two ties. Yet, despite the superior taste of Burger King, the marketing strategies of McDonald's have made it much more widespread and available to the American public. My theory is that because of this, about half of America still "prefers" McDonald's. In my opinion, Americans should have a choice; during the next Presidential campaign, the availability of Burger King should be a major issue and a hot topic for debate. It would probably increase voter turnout by about 50 percent.