I overheard a heated discussion the other day about whether the McDonald's Big Mac was better than Burger King's Whopper. It got me pondering on which burger I actually preferred, and I couldn't come up with a definite winner. It felt like eons since the last time I dined on either burger, so I decided to do an unbiased side by side taste test of both burgers on the same day. Below are my findings..
McDonald's Big Mac
BIG MAC $4.49 Two all beef patties, Special Big Mac Sauce, shredded lettuce, American cheese, pickles, fine chopped onions on a sesame seed bun.
550 Calories, 30g fat , 11g sat fat, 45g carbs
The Burger King Whopper
WHOPPER w/Cheese $6.19 One ¼ lb flame-grilled beef patty with tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, and sliced onions on a sesame seed bun.
740 Calories, 47g fat, 15.8g sat fat, 50g carbs
BIG MAC REVIEW
I'm going to be honest, the conversation I overheard about the Big Mac vs Whopper had me swayed a little bit. The general consensus among that group, was that the Whopper was a better, bigger, and tastier burger with better ingredients. However, I tried my best to push those thoughts aside to be as objective as possible.
So if I were going by presentation alone, McDonald's is already the hands down winner. Even after all of these years, they still have enough pride to tuck these pretty little burgers away in their very own sharp looking receptacle to keep the burger tidy and in order.
Peering down at the burger, I had almost forgotten that these are made with another bun in the middle. When I pondered on this, it seemed like overkill or filler to make the burger look more impressive. As I ate the burger, I didn't really mind it, and hardly noticed the extra bun. What I did notice, is how all of the flavors of each ingredient played off of the next perfectly, without drowning each other out. I was also surprised how prevalent the flavor of the beef was.
In the aforementioned group discussion, several people rolled their eyes and stated the Big Mac had Thousand Island Dressing squirted all over it. I can assure you the once widely advertised "Secret Sauce" is not Thousand Island. The sauce contains mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, yellow mustard, & ketchup, vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. It gives the burger a pop, but is not overpowering at all in my opinion.
The lettuce was fresh, and I personally like the diced onions as they don't overpower the burger. The pickles are a nice touch, but if you omitted them from the burger, it wouldn't throw the taste off and you probably wouldn't miss them. Same story with the onions. there's enough flavor going on with this burger that they could be removed and it would still have plenty of taste thanks to the sauce and cheese.
Would I have liked bigger patties? Maybe, but I believe it may have thrown off the whole dynamic of the burger. There's a reason the Big Mac remains pretty much unchanged since 1968. The Big Mac is what it is.. a burger full of flavor, that's neither too big nor too small (for me).
WHOPPER REVIEW
In every scenario, the Whopper in my mind should have been the hands down winner. A bigger burger that's flame grilled with plenty of fresh vegetables. That being said, this assumption very quickly faded.
Fast food burgers are unique unto themselves. I'm not buying them expecting a gourmet burger by any means. However it always disappoints me when they are quickly wrapped up in a cheap piece of paper, probably only to be thrown under a heat lamp.
The first thing I noticed upon opening up the burger wrapper was a huge cracked dry bun. Every other ingredient including the patty, was dwarfed by the bread.
As you can see, there are a lot of toppings in there. I thought it would make for a better burger, but it did not. There were a few logistical problems, so I'll run them down one by one.
The bun: It was just entirely too much. It was pretty dry and overly prevalent in every bite. The Big Mac sports an extra bun, and still has five less carbs than the Whopper.
Mayo & Ketchup: Now I love mayo, but it was overdone and overpowering. A lot of people hate Mayo, but I can't imagine this burger not having it, as it would be way too dry and tasteless without it. The mayo and ketchup totally hijacked this burger and squashed the flavor of the patty itself, which I really wasn't expecting.
The patty: Burger King's claim to fame were their flame grilled patties. I truly expected this to totally make for a much better taste profile, but surprisingly it did not. I remember BK patties having a lot more flavor back in the day. I really had to search for that flame grilled flavor and I guess I eventually found it, but it didn't help the patty out very much.
The Veggies: The lettuce, onion and tomatoes were all very fresh and good. However, the lettuce was totally drowned out by the mayo, and the tomato & onion worked alongside the ketchup to totally overpower any taste the patty offered.
So how do you fix the Whopper? Personally, I believe a bigger patty would help. Next, there is a reason the Big Mac is made with cheese. A slice of cheese could do wonders for this burger, but I shouldn't have to pay extra for it. A better quality bun in regards to freshness and size would help as well. Finally the mayo and ketchup is a big problem. I'm not saying remove it altogether, but at least work on the ratios. The current distribution of these condiments has them fighting with everything else rather than being nicely married.
Now I'm not hating on Burger King. In fact, I'm very critical of McDonald's in many different areas. A few tweaks could fix this burger. and I DO remember The Whopper being incredible back in the day. Sometimes companies get off track slowly over time. Heck, Dominos woke up one day realizing the masses widely thought that their pizza had cardboard crust & sauce that tasted like ketchup, so they went back to the drawing board to tweak things.
And the winner in this Battle of the Old School Burgers is..
The McDonald's Big Mac!
So the results shocked me a bit at first, but McDonald's (in this case) executes a better burger. First off, the company treats their flagship burger with way more respect. They house it inside of a classy little studio apartment in the form of a Big Mac box, while Burger King simply throws their Whopper in a wax paper tent.
I don't eat many burgers these days, and after pounding my arteries for this review, it's going to be a while before I even think of eating another one. When I do get the craving once again, I will definitely grab a Big Mac over a Whopper if given the choice. It's not out of convenience mind you, as both businesses are right across the street from from one other right by my house. I simply know that the Big Mac I order, will look and taste exactly like the one I ordered a few months prior. Sure it's not the best burger on the market, but its tasty, familiar, satisfying, and in turn.. comforting.
McDonald's Online
In case you didn't know they have a worldwide website on the net and instawebs now.
In case you didn't know they have a worldwide website on the net and instawebs now.