Whopper Down

According to reports this week, Wendy's is now the #2 hamburger chain in the world, pushing Burger King down to #3, but still behind the behemoth that is McDonald's.

I don't eat beef or fried food anymore, but when I did fill my face with fast food, I always preferred Burger King's to McDonald's. Perhaps it's because I worked at McD's as a teenager, which was enough to keep me away for a very long time (I'll share a couple of those stories sometime). Another reason is that I liked Burger King's "Have It Your Way" concept -- an effective marketing slogan they should never have replaced with the creepy "King head" they use now -- which made it easier to custom-order my Whoppers without onions and mayo. The BK crews always seemed pretty quick at fulfilling those requests, although they occasionally thought that leaving off the mayo meant they had to double the amount of ketchup to keep the volume of condiments on the burger at its fullest, which usually resulted in a big red stain on my shirt as I ate the Whopper while driving.

The only other problem I've had with Burger King was from a visit during my college years. A friend and I went inside to order our meals, and I asked the clerk if they had any root beer. She replied, "No, but we do have Diet Sprite." In what world is Diet Sprite the consolation prize for someone who wants root beer? Why offer me that as an alternative?

Have it my way, indeed.