It's Good To Be King

Ask anyone, anywhere in the world, to name the first fast food restaurant that comes to mind, and I all but guarantee you that they'll say McDonald's. Nobody ever -- ever -- says Burger King. Burger King has amassed a very impressive worldwide fast food empire in its own right, but for all time, it will have to play second fiddle to Mickey D's. Sometimes, though, it may not be such a bad thing.

McDonald's has found itself the target of anti-junk food activists. Between the movie Super Size Me and the book Fast Food Nation and all those people who take advantage of the legal system and try to make a quick buck by disavowing the concept of personal responsibility and suing fast food restaurants for their own obesity, McDonald's has become public enemy number one. Mickey D's has responded by phasing out it's Super Size drinks and fries, citing lack of demand (yeah, right), and introducing salads and grilled chicken sandwiches for more health-conscious customers.

Burger King, likely because of its lower profile, has largely been immune from these assaults. Indeed, BK has taken advantage of McDonald's recent belt-tightening to establish itself as the less healthy alternative. First, BK unveiled the Enormous Omelette Sandwich for breakfast. The press releases were practically boasting about how many grams of fat and calories were inside. Next, BK introduced Chicken Fries, as if the chicken nuggets or french fries weren't bad enough for you on their own. The latest innovation is the BK Stacker. The website describes it as letting the customer "choose from double, triple, or quadruple layers of beef and cheese -- topped with bacon and sauce." That's right: four patties of meat, four slices of cheese, and just in case there's not enough meat, throw on some bacon. Buy ten, get a free angioplasty.

As a faithful McDonald's shareholder since 1993, I have eaten at Burger King just once in the last thirteen years (and then, it was only because I was able to ascertain that NYU contracted some of its food service operations out on a flat-price basis and BK was making no incremental revenue from my purchase). Nonetheless, I give kudos to Burger King for standing up to the health food Nazis, or, more accurately, seizing a market opportunity now that McDonald's has all but conceded its place atop that niche. One of our great American freedoms is the right to eat ourselves to death. Burger King helps us make that happen.