I Compared McDonald’s New Big Arch to the New and Improved Burger King Whopper and The Winner Surprised Me
You’ve got to love the internet. Leave it to social media to pit CEOs of ultra popular fast food burger chains against each other, but here we are. Burger King vs McDonalds.
The whole burger comparison took off when a video of the CEO of McDonald’s showed him trying the Big Arch. He stoically referred to it as a product instead of a burger over and over, and hesitated before taking this minuscule, embarrassingly small nibble of the sandwich that made it look like he despised his own “product.” It went viral, and from there, other burger chain CEOs (like Burger King’s), responded by taking confident, massive bites of their own sandwiches. The CEO of Burger King went on to say that the Whopper has been newly revamped, adding a heartier mayonnaise with notes of citrus, fresher ingredients, improving the bun, and updating the way it’s served customers to preserve its shape and appearance. This launched another viral trend of foodies tackling the comparison, setting out to discover if the Big Arch or the newly revamped Whopper is better.
The Look:
The Big Arch is McDonald’s way of incorporating a larger burger like the Big Mac in a new way. It’s stuffed with two patties, and topped with white cheddar cheese, regular onions, crispy onions, among other vegetables and slathered in a sauce that seems to be more mustard based from first glance, based on color. The Whopper is just a classic. It always looks superior and now it’s new and improved as far as quality of ingredients, the amount of vegetables and toppings, the shape and feel of the bun, and the taste of the mayonnaise. Comparing the size, the Whopper definitely seems more substantial and less sloppy. Important, especially when you’re eating it on the go.
The Taste of the New Whopper:
The Double Whopper with Cheese ($8.49) has been a longtime favorite fast food burger of mine. It’s the only one to me that actually tastes like grilled beef. I love when the juice from the tomatoes blends with the mayonnaise to create this fresh, delicious sauce that seems to scatter perfectly throughout the entire burger. It’ll always be one of my longtime favorites! That said, I’m not noticing too much of a difference. It looks a little different, but didn’t taste much different to me, despite the upgrades. It now comes in a box, half wrapped in paper, making it easy to take the handheld burger in your car or eat it on the go without it being crushed. The Whopper is usually my favorite, but it also lacked a little sauce. Everything was on the top, so in between the beef patties, and the bottom of the bread were dry creating this weird contrast of textures when I bit into it. That can just be how my Burger King made it, but it wasn’t pleasant compared to the Big Arch.
The Taste of the Big Arch:
When it comes to the Big Arch ($9.99), I did notice a significant difference in flavor when comparing it to not only the Whopper, but the original Big Mac. It was absolutely loaded with sauce and toppings. Far messier and much harder to eat on the go, but the flavor was there and it was evenly distributed throughout each patty, and on each bun. I love adding crispy onions to dishes at home, and really appreciated the texture contrast of the crispy onions and the fresh onions on the burger. The sauce really made this. I love the Big Mac sauce, or even a classic ketchup and mayo combo for a burger, but this flavorful, mustard-based sauce brought something else to the table completely.
The Verdict:
I’ll always be a longtime fan of the Whopper with its delicious flame broiled taste, made even better now with the tangy mayo and the sturdier bun, but the Big Arch was a stand out favorite in this comparison. It wasn’t even close, which tells you everything you need to know about why you need to run to McDonald’s and get this “product” ASAP.