The Clown & the King

Quest for the Best Podcast

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The Clown & the King

On this month's battle for the fast food crown, we try Burger King and McDonalds.

Amy Hummel

Jun 29, 2022

Get the tums ready. Today’s indigestion is brought to you by McDonalds and Burger King.

Which menu items will we be trying?

McDonalds
- Big Mac
- Hamburger
- Chicken Nuggets
- French Fries
Burger King
- Whopper
- Hamburger
- Chicken Fries
- French Fries

Who are our fearless Questers today?

Nate, down with the clown.
Kris, likes his onion rings weird.
Matt, king of indigestion.
Amy, queen of heart burn

And our paid subscribers! Thank you for your support. We appreciate you!

The History of McDonald’s

When it comes to McDonalds, there are three names you need to know. Maurice McDonald, Richard McDonald, and Ray Kroc. These three men came together to build one of the biggest fast food chains on earth.

But like all restaurants, it started off small. The first McDonald’s restaurant was opened in 1940 by brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald in San Bernardino, California. This restaurant was a drive-in that offered various items. The brothers successfully operated the drive-in for 8 years before revamping the business. This new business model was all about selling huge quantities of food at low prices. To made it happen, the menu stayed slim. Hamburgers, potato chips, drinks, and pie. In the name of speedy service, they also implemented a self service counter instead of having waiters and waitresses, and the burgers were cooked ahead of time and warmed under heat lamps to make sure customers were quickly fed. Because of these efficiencies, the brothers were able to charge customers about half the price of competing restaurants. And it was very successful. They were quickly able to begin a franchise program.

Queue Ray Kroc.

Appliance salesman Ray Kroc was intrigued by the brother’s need for eight malt and shake mixers. In 1954 he visited the restaurant and was intrigued. Realizing what the brothers had, he quickly became a franchise agent for McDonalds, launching McDonald’s Systems Inc in 1955.

He developed standards for how each McDonald’s should be run, from food preparation to cleaning. In 1961 Ray Kroc bought out the brothers and also created Hamburger University. Here franchisees were trained on the proper methods for running a successful restaurant. Hamburger U utilized a research and development laboratory to develop new cooking, freezing, storing, and serving methods.

In 1963, McDonald’s introduced something that would change the brand forever.

Ronald McDonald, made his way on the scene. This Clown was met with criticism however. People were weary of the brand marketing directly to children, with a creepy clown no less. But despite the misgivings, the clown eventually stole the show.

In less than 10 years after Kroc became the sole owner, the number of chain’s topped 1,000, and the company’s stock began trading publicly in 1965.

The growth became so huge that in the 1990s it was said that a new McDonald’s opened somewhere in the world every five hours.

Some other notable dates include…

In 1965 the Filet-O-Fish was added.

In 1968, McDonald’s added the Big Mac.

Quarter Pounders appeared in 1973.

Happy Meals debuted in 1979

Chicken McNuggets made their first appearance in 1983.

In 1975 a McDonald’s in Arizona opened the chain’s first drive-through window.

Today McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with over 38,000 locations in over 100 countries.

The States with the most McDonald’s are…

California - 1,190
Texas - 1,119
Florida - 853

In the United States, the cities with the most McDonald’s locations are…

Houston, Texas - 129
Chicago, Illinois - 113
Las Vegas Nevada - 73
San Antonio, Texas - 73
Los Angeles, California - 72
Miami, Florida - 66
Dallas, Texas - 64
Orlando, Florida - 54
Phoenix, Arizona - 52
Brooklyn, New York - 50

The History of Burger King

So the first thing I need to say is that this history is not nearly as clean cut as McDonalds. A lot of the stories I found were all over the place, even giving credit to different people as the founders of the restaurant. But I got as close as I could.

Burger King’s roots can be found in Miami, Florida. In 1954 James McLamore and David Edgerton started the business. Within five years they were ready to expand their Florida Burger Kings into a nationwide chain. Their initial concept was simple. Attract baby boom families with reasonably-priced, broiled burgers served quickly. Since this concept was far from new, the two men tried to give their restaurants an edge. They were the first chain to offer dining rooms. And to draw in the crowds, they came up with their famous Whopper, sold at 37 cents a burger.

Burger King expanded rapidly. By 1967 the chain included 274 stores and was worth $18 million, which is what McLamore and Edgerton sold the company for, to Pillsbury.

During their time as owners, McLamore and Edgerton failed to set standards and parameters with their franchisees, leaving a big mess when they sold to Pillsbury. Pillsbury struggled to reel in the franchisees who seemed to go rogue. But to gain control, Pillsbury hired a McDonald’s executive to help them. Donald Smith introduced a more demanding franchise contract, stipulating that franchisees may not own other restaurants and must live within an hour’s drive of their franchise. He also started introducing more menu items, which boosted traffic in restaurants by 15 percent.

By 1980, Smith left the company. And in 1989, Grand Met became the top share holder.

Today Burger King operates more than 19,000 locations in more than 100 countries and U.S. territories.

The states with the most Burger Kings…

Texas - 580
Florida - 570
California - 555

U.S Cities with the most Burger Kings

Houston, Texas - 81
Miami, Florida - 58
Chicago, Illinois - 52
Las Vegas, Nevada - 36
Phoenix, Arizona - 35
Brooklyn, New York - 33
Fort Lauderdale, Florida - 30
Orlando, Florida - 29
San Antonio, Texas - 29
Los Angeles, California - 29

The Results

**SPOILER ALERT!**

Listen to the episode first if you do not want the results revealed to you yet!

Fries vs Fries

McDonald’s Fries: Most people really enjoy McDonald’s fries. And when they are cooked correctly, when they are golden brown, when they are fresh and lightly salted, they really are quite delicious. However, this time we got undercooked, cold, floppy ass fries. Inedible really. Disappointing.

Nate: “These just weren’t there.”
Amy: “Undercooked and under salted.”
Kris: “When cooked right, they are great. Not today.”
Matt: “These are really undercooked.”

Burger King Fries: If you like a thicker fry, but not a steak fry, maybe try out Burger King’s. And even though these were cooked all the way through, we did not get the freshest batch of fries. Makes me wonder if any place can do it right?

Nate: “I do like that Burger King has more potato meat.”
Amy: “The seasoning is weird to me.”
Kris: “I enjoyed these even kinda cold.”
Matt: “The clear winner.”

WINNER: Burger King

Chicken McNuggets vs. Chicken Fries

McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets: A classic Happy Meal entree. These crispy nuggs are a staple for many. And even when they are not the freshest, you can guarantee that there will be some delicious BBQ sauce to get your dip on.

Nate: “There is more chicken paste to enjoy.”
Amy: “I have always liked the taste of McDonald’s nuggs.”
Kris: “The light breading is slightly off putting.”
Matt: “The sauce put it over. Execution is important people.”

Burger King Chicken Fries: Queue the childhood memories of Big Kids Club meals and salty chicken fries. These went away for awhile and then came back. Should they have come back? We will let you be the judge of that.

Nate: “They have that Burger King stank.”
Amy: “They don’t look good but they are okay.”
Kris: “The breading flavor was really good.”
Matt: “The sauce is a big deal. They would have won if they included the sauce.”

WINNER: McDonald’s

Signature Sandwiches

McDonald’s Big Mac: Are you really hungry? You want an extra patty, maybe some extra carbs? Well step right up and try a Big Mac. Everyone knows that a Big Mac belongs to McDonald’s. Did they do an okay on this one? Well we are a bit torn.

Nate: “The flavor was chaotic.”
Amy: “The thousand island is doing nothing for me.”
Kris: “It definitely needs the sauce.”
Matt: “It was a rodeo ride I was willing to undergo.”

Burger King Whopper: It’s been years for all of us, but we dove right into this Whopper. Expectations were low. The amount of sauce was high. But I think it managed to step over the bar.

Nate: “This smells like a dirty grill.”
Amy: “You can actually taste the meat.”
Kris: “The Whopper is more like the classic taste of a burger.”
Matt: “I’m not tasting anything in this Whopper.”

WINNER: Burger King

Hamburger vs. Hamburger

McDonald’s hamburger: You have to try the most basic thing on the menu, right? And there really is not a whole lot of ways to mess up a burger. As long as you have meat, bread, and a few condiments, it can’t go too poorly, right?

Nate: “This tastes like ketchup and bread.”
Amy: “I like the flavor of the bread.”
Kris: “I am not a ketchup and onion guy.”
Matt: “It tasted…. McDonald’s.”

Burger King hamburger: Again, you gotta try something that is hard to mess up. Burger King does win points on the sesame seed bun. And it does have that classic BK grill taste. But the consistency between the two burgers hurt them a bit.

Nate: “My god! Mustard and pickles!”
Amy: “They definitely overdid it on the condiments.”
Kris: “Sesame seed buns are really appealing.”
Matt: “Everything about it looked more appetizing and it had way more flavor.”

WINNER: TIE!

There you have it. After trying all of these burgers and fries, we give Burger King the Quest for the Best seal of approval. Check out their website to find a kingdom near you.

www.bk.com

Thank you for joining us on this exclusive episode of Quest for the Best. Let us know what you thought. Have you tried all these menu items? Which one is your favorite?

Also, do you have any foods you would love to get the coveted seal of approval? Let us know in the comments what you want to hear next.