The Whopper Versus the Big Mac. Which is the Real King of Burgers (part 1)

It may seem strange to compare hamburgers when you think about all the more important things one could compare. But as we all know the fast food industry in America is a powerhouse. The fast food giants spend millions on product advertising trying to convince the masses that they have the better burger or better tasting fries. We all know we have at one time or another gotten into a highly unintellectual debate with a friend as to whose fast food tasted better. So I set out to settle this controversy once and for all. This will be the first in three product comparison articles that will attempt to crown the true king of burgers.

It may seem strange to compare hamburgers when you think about all the more important things one could compare. But as we all know the fast food industry in America is a powerhouse. The fast food giants spend millions on product advertising trying to convince the masses that they have the better burger or better tasting fries. We all know we have at one time or another gotten into a highly unintellectual debate with a friend as to whose fast food tasted better. So I set out to settle this controversy once and for all. This will be the first in three product comparison articles that will attempt to crown the true king of burgers.

Burger King and McDonald's undoubtedly the heavy weights of the fast food industry both specializing in the hamburger. But which is better? Opinion varies with each consumer so to come up with an answer I thought I would do some field research. I took a trip to both the local McDonald's and Burger king and ordered the respective "special Burgers" of each restaurant. Namely the Big Mac from McDonald's and the Whopper from Burger king. I sampled both sandwiches and one right away stuck out to me as the clear winner between the two. But before I announce my personal favorite I feel it best to give some stats on the competitors.

The Big Mac is composed of: Two all beef patties, McDonald's Special Sauce, Lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun. It also packs a caloric intake of 560 but it still looks as good as ice water on a hot day. The Big Mac is Americas icon burger its ingredients fall into a jingle known by heart to a large number of their customers. McDonald's itself is a franchise beyond comparison and is looked upon by many as the pinnacle of the fast food industry.

The Burger king answer to the Big Mac "The Whopper" is definitely a burger with attitude. larger in width then the Big Mac the whopper is composed of: 1/4 pound beef patty, Mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, sliced onion on a sesame seed bun. The whopper unlike its counterpart the Big Mac is Flame Grilled and has optional ingredients such as: bacon, American cheese or mustard. It is also Burger king policy that the customer can omit any ingredient they do not want in their whopper thus giving them greater choice in the creation of their sandwich. The whopper packs a whopper of calories, 760 to be exact.

So which one of these sandwiches is better? It was a hard choice for me, up until the first bite that is. Hands down I must say that Burger king is the king of burgers with their whopper for the following reasons: While the Big Mac does hold its own the flame grilled taste of the whopper gives it a "just off the BBQ" flavor that is to die for. The Big Mac comes in a small personalized box which in my view actually hurts the burger in that it's a pain to get an initial grip on the sandwich without it falling apart. This is in contrast to the whopper which comes in a classic burger wrapper that can be spread out on the table for easy access. But finally the thing that tipped the scale for me was the "have it your way" policy of Burger king. In this grand liberty driven nation of ours I feel its important that we have the freedom to pick our own ingredients and choose our individual burgers destiny. So I dare say that the whopper is the superior burger as it calls to the patriotic libertarian spirit of all Americans.