152 replies to this topic

[OliverB]

fun old thread popping up! I haven't eaten at BK in probably 10+ years, always thought their flame broiled tasted as advertised, a lame patty that some gas flames flavored with soot. I'm curious about the off the broiler thing though, maybe take the kids some day.

It's very rare that I get a craving for this kind of stuff, but if I tend to go to McD or JitB, especially since the later is the only thing open 24 hours in my town. Their fries are an abomination, do they cook them in a steamer >after< frying them? Talk about a limp noodle. But the bacon bacon cheese burger can hit the occasional 2am SPOT. And the jalapeño poppers, though I usually regret those the next day, LOL.

McD I maybe go once a year and get a big mac meal plus a cheese burger, sometimes that sloppy floppy thing is just "right" right now.

The best fast food nutty burgers I've had in the recent years are at Carl's Jr though, they slop so much stuff on, they probably have their test and develop kitchen somewhere up in the deep Northern California woods, employing currently unemployed pot trimmers to come up with the next "you can't do that" burger, LOL

The worst burger I've had in a long time, including terrible service (if that's even possible at a fast food place) was at In'n Out, where they don't even have bacon!?! WTF? It took for ever to get a really bland and boring burger with so so fries. 2nd time I've been there, first time I pulled over just in time before my wife got violently sick of the burger we just had eaten. I felt fine, but I have an iron stomach.

Our local foodruckers was also way down in quality last time we went, some two years or so ago. Since then I pretty much just make my own burger if I feel like it. Unless on the road, then it's Carl's Jr if I can find one, or McD, unless my wife is along for the ride, then it's JitB.

[Marya D.]

I am so glad that you point out that 20 or so years ago McD's & BK had respectable burgers, I might have thought I was crazy. Having gone off on the "food snob" train I hadn't had one since, until earlier this year, on 45mg of Prednisone. All I wanted was a McDonald's Cheeseburger. How was I to know that what I really wanted was a 20 year old McDonald's Cheeseburger? I was crushed and annoyed all at once.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

The worst burger I've had in a long time, including terrible service (if that's even possible at a fast food place) was at In'n Out, where they don't even have bacon!?! WTF? It took for ever to get a really bland and boring burger with so so fries. 2nd time I've been there, first time I pulled over just in time before my wife got violently sick of the burger we just had eaten. I felt fine, but I have an iron stomach.

Our local foodruckers was also way down in quality last time we went, some two years or so ago. Since then I pretty much just make my own burger if I feel like it. Unless on the road, then it's Carl's Jr if I can find one, or McD, unless my wife is along for the ride, then it's JitB.

As far as burgers go, I know this isn't really fast food, but local for both of us... Nations makes a MUCH better burger than In-N-Out. Sure, a cheeseburger at Nations costs twice as much as an In-N-Out burger, but it's worth it.

I love In-N-Out and Carl's Jr, but I'm originally from SoCal, where both are more common. I'm a sucker for a Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carls.

If you want a good local burger, there's this little hole in the wall place here called Gordos, near the hospital, that makes a mean burger and awesome fries.

[Toliver]

Recently BK franchisees had sued BK corporation because the corporation told them they had to sell the double cheeseburger for $1 when, I believe, it actually costs the franchises $1.10 so they are losing money with each one they sell.
The court ruled in favor of the BK corporation: Court upholds $1 BK double cheeseburger

But at last, this food fight is nearly finished after a judge ruled recently that Burger King management has the right to dictate value-meal pricing to franchisees. That means the $1 BK menu item should stick around.

All of this was started in response to McDonald's $1 double cheeseburger on its value menu.

[haresfur]

Recently BK franchisees had sued BK corporation because the corporation told them they had to sell the double cheeseburger for $1 when, I believe, it actually costs the franchises $1.10 so they are losing money with each one they sell.
The court ruled in favor of the BK corporation: Court upholds $1 BK double cheeseburger

So could a competitor sue them for unfair trade practices for dumping? Or does that only apply to international trade?

[Toliver]

Burger King has debuted short ribs that have gotten a good reception:
Burger King To Run Out Of Ribs Sooner Than Planned

So has anyone tried them?

[LizD518]

I came to ask the same question.

The ones they show in the commercial look suspect too me - like they were individually formed, rather than cut off of a rack. I'm really curious as to what people think...

[Toliver]

I came to ask the same question.

The ones they show in the commercial look suspect too me - like they were individually formed, rather than cut off of a rack. I'm really curious as to what people think...

They're not cut off a rack of ribs. They're short ribs so they're are cooked individually. See the picture in the link posted above.

That being said, I visited my local BK this weekend to see if they were carrying the ribs. They were.
I placed an order to go and brought them home to eat. I am sorry to say I didn't get any pictures but the picture at the link posted above captures the essence of the ribs.
As I was leaving the restaurant with my order, the BK server said the BBQ sauce was in the bag. When I got home and opened the bag there was a small sealed container of BK BBQ sauce inside which I didn't use.
You could smell the smokiness of the ribs right away. I didn't get a chance to see how they were cooked. These must have been in a holding bin as the time between placing my order and receiving it was quite quick.
They were fall-off-the-bone tender and were overall pretty good considering they came from a fast food joint. You can order 3 ribs, 6 ribs or 8 ribs. I can't understand why didn't they make it 9 ribs which seems like a natural progression. Go figure.
They are relatively expensive when compared to the rest of the BK menu items.
As with all short ribs, ordering the ribs can be a crap shoot. The first rib in your order may be a big meaty rib but then the next rib could be rather small and pathetic and so on. As an example, see the photo in the link I provided in my previous post.
If you don't mind spending the money for them, I recommend them.

[Toliver]

The times they are a-changing at Burger King.
This isn't your father's Burger King...

The company was recently purchased by a private equity firm.

They've introduced brunches at some locations: "Burger King Banks on Brunch"...Faux mimosas, anyone?

They've introduced Whopper Bars at some locations: "Burger King (BKC) Continues Premium Push With Whopper Bars"
(silly me...I thought they were introducing a new Whopper ice cream treat )
The Whopper Bars sound a little like a Fuddruckers.

They're revamping their breakfast menu: "Burger King adds 9 breakfast items"

Breakfast brings in about 12 percent of Burger King revenue, while McDonald's gets one-fourth of its revenue from breakfast, Kappitt said.
New items include pancakes, eggs, sausage and other breakfast items and a ciabatta sandwich with eggs, ham, bacon, tomatoes and cheese. Mini-blueberry biscuits will replace the $1 ham omelet sandwich.

BK Joe is getting an overhaul, too. I believe they're going to start selling Starbucks coffee this month.

Will these changes help gain your business?

edited for clarification

Edited by Toliver, 10 September 2010 - 09:15 AM.

[jsmeeker]

I went to a Burger King a few weeks ago. It was the first time I had been to one in many years. There aren't too many of them around me. There was always some other big burge chain (McDonald's, Wendy's) much closer.

Anwyay, I went to check out the Steakhouse XT burger. Took forever to get it. I swear, I think I could have gotten a burger at a place like Five Guys a lot faster. So, that right there was a negative. The burger was OK. IMHO, better than anything McDonalds serves up (even their Angus Burger). The BK burgers DO pick up some of that "flame broiled" char. That's a fairly unique flavor for a big fast food chain.


Still, I don't think I'll be going back. Nearest location is just too far away. But if I happened to be in the position where choosing between BK and McDonalds or even Wendy's was presented to me, I would consider BK.

[Toliver]

Every Friday in the month of November, Burger King is giving away a free 12 oz. cup of Seattle's Best coffee during their breakfast menu hours.
Surprisingly, no purchase is necessary.

Has anyone taken advantge of this offer? And how's the coffee?

[Toliver]

I saw a television commercial for this last night...You can now order the Whopper for breakfast.
I know Jack in the Box has a policy that you can order anything on their menu at anytime of the day (breakfast for dinner...dinner for breakfast, etc).

I couldn't find any info on this on the BK web site. So is it just the Whopper that BK is offering at breakfast or are they, like Jack in the Box, offering all of their menu items during breakfast hours?

[protoman]

I've always put BK above McD in terms of burger quality alone, and now they match each other in price. I'm not a big fan of BK fries; McD is better but honestly I just don't really like fast food fries much.

I usually take two double cheeseburgers to go and cook some low-sodium bacon to add onto it. Regular bacon actually tastes too salty on these burgers.

[gfweb]

Count me as a BK eater. The stuff just tastes better than McD, Wendy's or Sonic. Better than our local 5Guys too.

[EatNopales]

Burger King is pretty horrible the ingredient quality is disastrous, the food tastes chemically.. you certainly have to overlook the nuances and focus on the salt & grease... however, I may have just been starving last night after moving boxes for several hours.. but their newish big burger with jalapenos & cheddar in the patty was astonishingly delicious... I am actually craving one right now... and there is no food at BK (or McDonalds, KFC etc.,) that is actually cravable... tolerable in a pinch? Perhaps. Craveable? No.

And now I must eat my words

[Toliver]

Burger King has announced they're dethroning their King mascot. He'll no longer be seen in their advertising.
A good thing? Or bad thing?

[heidih]

Burger King has announced they're dethroning their King mascot. He'll no longer be seen in their advertising.
A good thing? Or bad thing?

I really think that as I child I would have been creeped out by him. Good riddance perhaps.

[Broken English]

Maybe it's just that there aren't nearly as many of them in Australia compared to McDonalds, but I much prefer Burger King. Not that I seek either out, but to me, Burger King tastes a little more like food.

As for KFC, there is not one item I've tried there that I can stomach more than two bites of.

Edited by Broken English, 19 August 2011 - 07:46 PM.

[gfweb]

Agreed BK is much better than McD. Of all the drive thru burger places BK is the best in my part of the world. We don't have In n Out tho.

[threestars]

I love BK too! Much much better than McDonalds! :)

[christine007]

Has anyone tried the new burger that has avocado on it? I just can't bring myself to, although I admit I find the BK stacker quite edible..
And, the new thing around here is they're now serving Ice cream, ( about five minutes after the McD's around here started,
and the new thing is you can get a cherry or coke Icee for a dollar and for a quarter more, they add a shot of vanilla ice cream.
I was dubious, to say the least, but let me tell you , in our current miserably hot weather, this drink is awesome! seriously refreshing, creamy and icy at the same time. I'm having a hard time NOT getting one everytime I leave the house.

[Toliver]

Burger King's french fries get thicker (click)

Burger King, the second largest hamburger chain, has changed its french fry recipe for the first time since 1998 as competition from upstarts and traditional fast-food rivals mounts.

Burger King said it made the new fries thicker, reduced sodium and added a coating that makes them crisper and keeps them hotter longer.

The fries, now a bit wider in diameter than a No. 2 pencil, will be available in its more than 7,000 North American Burger King restaurants by December 5. Prices remain the same.

I wonder what the "coating" consists of? How about that...french fry shellac!
If the new fries make an appearance in your neighborhood, take one for the team and report back on them.

[Toliver]

If the new fries make an appearance in your neighborhood, take one for the team and report back on them.

How about that? I took one for the team myself.
I ordered a Whopper combination that came with the new french fries.
One of the nice features about the new fries is that quite a number of them are decent long fries. Seriously, I was impressed by the number of fries that were long. McDonald's fries seem like shoe string french fries in comparison.
The BK fries are quite "meaty". They're a much thicker fry and are very potato-y to the bite. As has been mentioned in a number of online reviews, they're less salty which I considered a negative. I thought they could have used more salt. But then again, if I had been eating them with ketchup as opposed to plain out of the bag, then perhaps this wouldn't have been such a bad thing given the added saltiness of ketchup. Overall, I give the new BK fries a thumbs up.
That being said, I was less than impressed by the Whopper. I got it with cheese which was a mistake. The generic slice o'cheese hadn't even melted on the burger which says something about their serving temp. It was quite disgusting actually. Next time I will order the Whopper "off the broiler" to see if that makes a difference.

[SobaAddict70]

Off the broiler does indeed make a difference, especially since I used to work at a BK so very many years ago when I was a teenager. I have first hand experience on what happens in the kitchen.

It seems like that was another life.

[ermintrude]

"According to the New York Daily News, they cut the sodium (there's still 330 mg in the small fries) and the fries have a coating that keeps them hot and crispy."

What are they using asbestos (JOKE)!

A french fry with a coating to me is NOT a french fry (Or as I prefer a Flemish/Nederland Frite or UK Chip) it's a sorry a USA abomination. From the wonderful triple fry, to the sea side greasy in paper as no real French Fry/Frite/Chip has a "coating"

Edited by ermintrude, 25 January 2012 - 02:57 PM.

[tonyrocks922]

I would guess it's a cornstarch based coating. that's what's used on a lot of sweet potato fries to make them less limp

[mskerr]

Just wondering: what is the difference between manky and janky? Or are they the same thing?

[Toliver]

Burger King is encroaching on McDonald's menu territory:

"Burger King's answer to the McRib"

The fire-grilled burger-maker unveiled its summer BBQ menu on Wednesday, which includes the Rib Sandwich along with 12 other items.

The menu, also featuring a Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich and a Carolina BBQ Tendercrisp Sandiwch, will debut on May 21.

Hopefully, this McRib knock-off will be just as good as the original. I'm interested in the pulled pork sandwich, too.

(Has anyone had their frozen Coke? It's basically a Slurpee.)

[lancastermike]

I was talking to my friend Herb the other day. He has been working for Burger King in one way or the other for 40 plus years. He said all the new menu items are driving them crazy. His opinion is that Burger King makes money selling Whoppers and fries and Cokes and all the other stuff just gums things up.  says there is tremendous pressure on the franchise owners to do all sorts of thinks they don't want to. He said the specialty coffee machines they had to add costs his employer $12,000 per store and they sell almost none of it. 

 

he said this new breakfast plan they have is just like the others. It won't work.  he says people don't come to Burger King for breakfast. he saluted McDonalds for developing the breakfast business, but it just does not work for his stores.  I had a guy who is a regional manager for Wendy's tell me the same thing about breakfast. 

 

Herb said the new BK owners only want to drive total sales as they get their cut off the top and they don't really care if the owners can make a profit managing costs. he said BK get 4% off the top for franchise costs and another 4% off the top for national advertising. 

 

he did say he thought the rib sandwich was a good product. 

[rotuts]

I really love the Economics of these businesses.   They are very interesting.  this has nothing to do with Health etc.

 

the Whopper  'loaded'  ( double everything ) has better initial taste than the Big Mac.  Both catch up to you of course ...

 

and seem to have real staying power  ....    

 

the people that fiddle and faddle at the top have very little understanding of the on the ground individual

 

business and by the shear numbers of total stores, their analysis evens total profit out which is their only goal.

 

that 12 K does not come out of their pocket even at a small %,  a serious problems in the pure Economic

 

Model.  Spending Other Peoples Money just leads to trouble, and is not the economics at all.   Look here .............   and here ...........

 

many thanks for that inside info.

Edited by rotuts, Yesterday, 03:15 PM.