Small burgers are still a good deal on most fast-food menus. But which of the fast-food chains makes the best small burger? My answer: Carl's Jr.
Just like talking to you, Scott writes...
Today I ordered a hamburger from a fast-food restaurant for the first time in more than two years. Make that seven hamburgers. Actually I only ate several bites of the seven burgers. What‘s left is in the fridge. The dog is smiling, I think. Wait! Do dogs smile? Sure they do, when there’s burgers in the refrigerator. haha
This morning before lunch-time rush hour, I ordered six hamburgers at six different fast-food locations, opting for the smallest and cheapest burger on each menu.
These days some fast-food chains are boasting that “bigger is better,” but I’m not falling for their line. Besides, the space in my stomach is reserved for the best, not the biggest foods on the menu. There’s no need to waste money or go off my diet.
Anyway, these fast-food restaurants were close together (most of them were across the street from each other), there wasn’t much traffic before noon, so it was easy to get through six drive-thrus in something like 20 minutes. I drove right home, snapped a few pictures and had a burger party. All by myself.
Oh yeah, Dolly, the cute “piggy” oops I mean black lab, was begging for burgers. It’s a good thing dogs can’t read. (After I finished, she did get a burger treat. No buns though.)
Somehow in all the commotion, one of the burgers got left out of the photos. Perhaps burger experts could guess which one was not pictured. But you would need to “know buns“ in order to get it right. lol
Here’s today’s burger report:
Every day a hamburger is crowned a champion by some fast food dude. The winner of my contest is the hamburger that tasted better than the others.
The best hamburger of seven local fast-food restaurants was from Carl’s Jr.
The cashier at the drive-thru window told me it’s a quarter-pound burger. It’s a yummy, juicy burger for just $1.49. The other burgers cost around 50 cents less, but they were not as good.
Other contenders were: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, A&W, Dairy Queen, and Jack in the Box. Those hamburgers cost 95 cents, $1.00, 90 cents, 2 for $2.00 (see explanation below), $1.25, and $1.00 respectively.
The best of the so-called big three (first three mentioned) was Wendy’s, followed by Burger King and McDonald’s. (Note: I wanted to buy a burger from Jack in the Box, but it was on the other end of town and I needed to hurry. So I went and tasted that burger in the afternoon.)
In my opinion, of these seven burger chains, the A&W burger was second because it was almost equal in quality to the one from Carl’s Jr.
What a burger costs is also a factor when two burgers are similar in quality.
The A&W hamburger costs more than the others when it’s not on sale. Regularly it is $2.09 for one burger, according to the drive-thru menu and A&W crew member taking my order. But today it was the reduced price of 2 hamburgers for $2.
It tastes great but is simple next to the impressive burger from Carl‘s Jr.
In my opinion, Wendy’s is third overall, with Burger King placing fourth, and Jack in the Box fifth. Dairy Queen and McDonald’s tied at the bottom of the list, but my guess is they put more emphasis on their bigger burgers.
McDonald’s has some of the best menu items, including breakfast sandwiches and iced coffee, which enables it to compete with global coffee giant Starbucks. Dairy Queen is known for its delicious frozen desserts. I really like those two fast-food chains a lot.
Note: I do NOT have a hamburger bias, and have NO stake whatsoever in which burger is best. This is my review and my opinion about fast-food hamburgers.
This blog and its writer have no connection to any of the fast-food chains. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
