Tuesday, June 21

burger battle in Big D

Sometimes, the spirit of competition makes businesses do unnatural things. A recent price comparison has made me aware of their other competitors, when I otherwise wouldn't have noticed.

Recently, I stopped at Burger Street (probably for a cherry limeade - yum) and got their usual Comment Postcard with my order. Along with this was a chart comparing their burger (1/3 pound = 5.3 oz), French fries and milkshake prices with no less than 15 competitors. Naturally, their comparison shows they have the lowest price for a "combo meal" among everyone:

6.37 Burger Street
7.89 JC's Burger
8.25 Ball's Hamburgers (8 oz)
8.28 Purdy's Richardson
8.45 JG's Burger
8.47 Steak n Shake (6 oz)
8.65 Gazeebo Burger
8.95 Fuddrucker's
9.13 Chips
9.23 Chuck's Hamburgers (7 oz)
9.24 EZ's Burger
9.20 Cheeburger Cheeburger
9.28 Purdy's Addison
9.32 Scotty P's (6 oz)
10.75 Snuffers (8 oz)
10.97 Chili's (7 oz)

The ones in bold are the ones I've patronized.

Their chart doesn't contain the usual "4 point type" legal disclaimer, so I'm left to wonder:
how do the portion sizes compare? ...
1) French fries?
2) milkshakes?

what about the nutrition in the ...
3) hamburger?
4) French fries?
5) milkshake?

6) what about the type oil used for the fries? Can you say "transfat"?

7) what about the condiments on the burger? are they normalized with the same amount and quality of lettuce, pickles, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard?

8) are all the buns made of nutrition-challenged white bread? do they contain poppy seeds, which could make me test positive on a drug test?

9) do the milkshakes contain all sorts of unnatural ingredients whose sole purpose is to increase shelf life (while making the shake taste like a soggy bowl of cornflakes)?
Lessons learned

0) A lot of places sell burgers.

1) It's cheaper to eat in Richardson (than Addison). The price difference must be due to the ambiance.

2) I need to check out Ball's Hamburgers (Midway @ Northwest Highway, or Snider Plaza) because they have a bigger (8 ounce) burger at a good price, and we Americans have been trained to seek out the best value. Was that what Burger Street was trying to tell me?

3) By omission, they're telling me who they don't view as competitors: the national/regional burger chains! Nowhere did they say anything about Burger King; Denny's; Jack in the Box; McDonalds; Wendy's or Whataburger. Nor did they mention the King of Cheap Burgers: 7-11 Stores. Hmm. Nor did they mention Jill-Bob's favorite: Addison Pointe (must be that ambiance thing again).

1 comment:

William Bob said...

The stuff in the air at the Addison Pointe is ambiance?

Also, EZ's Brick Oven & Grill has a "world famous" beanburger which is pretty good, though it isn't ingredientially comparable to your standard burger. Their menu is online if you want to check it out.