Just a day after McDonald’s announced plans for a new chicken item dubbed Mighty Wings, Burger King has come out with a revolutionary $1 French Fry Burger – to compete head on with its rival’s lucrative Dollar Menu.
McDonald’s will roll out the Mighty Wings nationally as a limited-time offer through November, selling the bone-in chicken wings as three, five and 10 pieces, starting at $2.99. The morsels will come with nine different sauces to choose from including Chipotle Barbeque, Spicy Buffalo and Tangy Barbeque.
Meanwhile, the French Fry Burger will launch on September 1 and will be available through the fall.
Burger King is focusing more on cheaper items after McDonald’s aggressive push for its Dollar Menu, which brings in the most cash of all its offerings.
Burger King has come out with a revolutionary $1 French Fry Burger to compete head on with McDonald’s lucrative Dollar Menu
French Fry Burger, which clocks in at 360 calories and 19 grams of fat, is a relatively novel offering, but doesn’t require any extra investment from Burger King; it’s basically a standard beef patty topped with four of the chain’s french fries.
The offering comes as fast-food chains jump through hoops to get customers through their doors, in large part by heavily promoting their cheapest eats.
McDonald’s has stepped up advertising for its Dollar Menu, which now features its Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger and a more substantial McDouble, which has two patties and a slice of cheese.
That forced Burger King and Wendy’s to adjust their tactics earlier this year to stress value more clearly as well. Burger King, for example, has offered any two sandwiches for $5 and a Junior Whopper for $1.29.
It’s not clear whether the strategy will pay off for the chains, or what impact it could have on wearing away at profit margins over the long term.
But in the latest quarter, Burger King said its sales at North American restaurants open at least a year slipped 0.5%.
Wendy’s reported a 0.4% rise, while McDonald’s reported a 1% increase for US restaurants.
The metric is an important indicator of health because it strips out the impact of newly opened and closed locations.
Other chains, by contrast, are faring better. Chipotle reported a 3.4% increase and Starbucks said the figure rose 9%.
US fast-food workers are on strike, union leaders say, in what could be one of the industry’s biggest walkouts.
Workers want to be paid $15 an hour, double the rate for many employees at fast-food chains.
In New York City, about 300 protesters flooded into a McDonald’s near the Empire State Building.
The strike comes amid calls by President Barack Obama and some lawmakers to raise the US minimum wage.
Those members of Congress suggest bringing the current rate up to $9 an hour from $7.25, previously set in 2009.
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, who is taking a lead role in the Obama administration’s higher minimum wage push, said: “For all too many people working minimum wage jobs, the rungs on the ladder of opportunity are feeling further and further apart.”
In addition to a walkout at fast-food chains in 50 cities, employees at retail firms in some cities were expected to join, say union leaders.
Fast-food workers in dozens of US cities are on strike, in what could be one of the industry’s biggest walkouts
Workers say they cannot live on the minimum wage, which would net $15,000 a year for full-time work.
But many note they are rarely scheduled for full working weeks.
In a statement, McDonald’s and Burger King Worldwide said they do not make pay decisions at the majority of US restaurants that operate as independent franchises.
The firms have argued that raising entry-level wages would mean higher overall costs and higher prices.
A spokesman for the National Restaurant Association, a restaurant lobbying group, told the Associated Press news agency that low wages reflect the fact that most fast-food workers tend to be younger and have little work experience.
But Mary Kay Henry, of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a labor group which is supporting the strike, says many fast-food workers are no longer only teenagers.
“The median wage [for service workers] of $9.08 an hour still falls far below the federal poverty line for a worker lucky enough to get 40 hours a week and never have to take a sick day,” Mary Kay Henry said.
The US fast-food industry has come under increasing scrutiny because part-time work, including retail and food positions, have made up most of the jobs added since the recession.
It is unclear if the strike will close any restaurants for the day, given that organizers announced the action with enough notice for managers to adjust work schedules.
Earlier this summer there was a one-day walkout by about 2,200 fast-food workers.
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In-N-Out Burger, Subway and Wendy’s have emerged as the best fast food chains in a new survey by Zagat.
Zagat food guide, better known for its reviews of upscale restaurants, conducted a large-scale poll for its annual guide, which involved the input of 10,554 voters.
Chains were divided into two categories according to size: those with 100-5,000 U.S. locations and those with over 5,000 U.S. locations.
In-N-Out Burger and Wendy’s emerged as the chains with the best-rated food and overall ratings, while Subway ranked top for popularity and service.
Five Guys was named the chain with the best burger, however, beating Wendy’s and Burger King to the title.
Five Guys in turn was trumped to the title of top french fries by Fast Food giant McDonald’s.
Of course, some might be surprised to see the esteemed restaurant guide turning its hand to fast food in the first place.
The Zagat blog, however, insists that such chains are an important category, given the huge number of meals we consume from them each year.
“The convenience of these establishments makes them super-popular – the surveyors averaged 9.4 meals a month at chains, with 5.8 at fast-food restaurants and 3.6 at full-service eateries,” it read.
“That’s an amazing 1.2 million chain meals per year. Not quite one billion served, but still pretty impressive.”
Zagat reviewers cast verdict on each of the most popular menu items, with KFC taking home the title of Best Fried Chicken, and Chick-fil-A ranking top for the grilled variety.
McDonald’s had the best breakfast sandwiches while Steak ‘n Shake ranked top in the milkshake category.
For those attempting to cut back on calories, Panera Bread had the best healthy options, while Wendy’s was a winner again when it came to the best salads.
MOST POPULAR
LARGE CHAINS (100 to 5,000 U.S. locations)
1. In-N-Out Burger
2. Panera Bread
3. Chipotle
4. Five Guys
5. Chick-fil-A
MEGA CHAINS (over 5,000 U.S. locations)
1. Subway
2. Wendy’s
3. McDonald’s
4. Taco Bell
5. Burger King
TOP-RATED FOOD
LARGE CHAINS
1. In-N-Out Burger
2. Papa Murphy’s
3. Chipotle
4. Panera Bread
5. Bojangles’
MEGA CHAINS
1. Wendy’s
2. Subway
3. Pizza Hut
4. Taco Bell
5. Burger King
TOP-RATED SERVICE
LARGE CHAINS
1. In-N-Out Burger
2. Papa Murphy’s
3. Jimmy John’s
4. Fazoli’s
5. Panera Bread
MEGA CHAINS
1. Subway
2. Wendy’s
3. Taco Bell
4. Pizza Hut
5. McDonald’s
TOP OVERALL
LARGE CHAINS
1. In-N-Out Burger
2. Fazoli’s
3. Panera Bread
4. Papa Murphy’s
5. Chipotle
MEGA CHAINS
1. Wendy’s
2. Subway
3. Pizza Hut
4. Taco Bell
5. McDonald’s
BEST BURGER
1. Five Guys
2. Wendy’s
3. Burger King
4. In-N-Out Burger
5. Fuddruckers
BEST FRENCH FRIES
1. McDonald’s
2. Five Guys
3. Burger King
4. Wendy’s
5. Chick-fil-A
