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TASTE TEAM
Best fast-food burger in the Dayton area
How well do you know your fast-food burgers — and more importantly, which one is the best?
The ActiveDayton Taste Team put eight fast-food burgers to the test. The Taste Team sampled each of the burgers in a blind taste test in a neutral setting. Our taste-test organizers ordered popular burgers in the same price range from each of the restaurants as they normally come, meaning we made no special requests for toppings of condiments.
Our team rated these burgers on a one to 10 scale (with one meaning "I'd rather eat the wrapper" and 10 meaning "This is the best burger I've ever tasted.") They judged each burger based on overall taste, freshness, quality of the meat, quality of the bun and condiments. Members of the panel also were asked if they could identify each burger based on taste alone.
The results were mixed. Everyone had his or her own burger preferences. Most burgers ranked middle of the road, while some burgers with more distinct flavors prompted a love it or hate it sort of reaction (particularly White Castle and Frisch's), but averaging out to middle of the road in the end.
Surprisingly, most people could not identify most of the burgers — even their favorites — by taste alone.
One thing is for sure: when it comes to fast-food burgers, our tasters wanted it their way.
— Michelle Fong, Staff Writer
The results:
Comment on our findings »
Wendy's (Single w/cheese — toppings standard) |
McDonald's (Quarter pounder with cheese — toppings standard) |
Frisch's (Big Boy —toppings standard) |
White Castle (slider with cheese — pickles and onions standard) |
Burger King (Whopper w/cheese — toppings standard) |
Sonic (Sonic burger with cheese — toppings standard) |
Hardees (Small cheeseburger — toppings standard) |
Steak 'n Shake (Single steakburger with cheese. Note, this burger came plain with no toppings) |
|
Overall taste |
Overall rating: 5.9 The good: "It was decent, but I don't like onions." —Dara "Pretty good. I think this is Wendy's." —Hillary The bad: "Blah." —Amelia "Not enough beef." —Teesha "Too squishy. More condiments than meat." —Anthony |
Overall rating: 5.3 The good: "Nice reliable taste." —Amelia "Very good. I especially liked the cheese." —Dara "Good burger. If I was in a hurry, I'd stop for one of these." —Anthony The bad: "Tastes like the hamburger we had in high school." —Teesha "Familiar and boring." —Gerald |
Overall rating: 5.5 The good: "Love their tartar sauce." —Teesha "Very different. The tartar sauce will do that. But it's delicious. This burger is a guilty pleasure!" —Hillary "Interesting and new. My palate loves meeting new flavors." —Gerald The bad: "The sauce and the pickles turned me off." —Dara |
Overall rating: 5.4 The good: "Good and oily." —Amelia The bad: "Not good." —Dara Undecided: "Strange, but strangely appetizing. I didn't really like it, but I kinda did. Huh?" —Gerald "Distinctly disgusting. This is a classic burger, but you've got to be in the mood for this one." —Hillary |
Overall rating: 7.0 The good: "Like the taste of the chargrill burger." —Teesha "This one would do in a pinch." —Anthony "Familiar favorite. Able to identify various flavors and textures. Very good." —Gerald The bad: "Blech. I hate onions." —Dara "It's all right if you're hungry ... you won't starve. Can be tasty though." —Hillary |
Overall rating: 6.1 The good: "Really good." —Stephanie "Tastes exotic! But in a good way." —Hillary The bad: "Oh, there's so much mustard." —Tony B. "Just a boring burger. I wasn't impressed." —Gerald |
Overall rating: 5.1 The good: "Pretty tasty. Textures and flavors were distinct." —Gerald "Pretty good overall." —Anthony The bad: "It was edible, but that's about it." —Tony B. "Didn't like the pickles." —Dara "Immediate pickle taste. Kinda gross." —Hillary |
Overall rating: 4.6 The good: "Kind of basic. Not really spectacular, but not bad by any means." —Hillary The bad: "Very dry ... there was a crunchy hard thing in the meat." —Tony B. "A little too plain." —Dara "Boring. Average. Plain." —Gerald |
Fresh- ness |
Overall rating: 5.8 The good: "Tasted like I just ordered it." —Tony B. "Ingredients were fresh and crisp." —Hillary The bad: "Maybe it had a visit to the burger tanning bed before I got it." —Gerald "Lettuce was kind of soggy." —Dara |
Overall rating: 6.5 The good: "Pretty fresh for processed meat." —Amelia "Tasted like it just came off the grill." —Dara The bad: "Too long under the artificial sun like it was made hours ago." —Gerald |
Overall rating: 5.6 The good: "Pretty good. Travel considered, it held up well." —Hillary The bad: "Hard to tell when all flavor is trumped by mayo or special sauce." —Tony B. |
Overall rating: 4.4 The good: "Soft, but that's how it's best." —Teesha The bad: "Freshness is overrated. And you can really taste the saturated fat. Yummy!" —Amelia "Warm, but soggy and wet." —Tony B. "Tasted like it was made yesterday." —Dara |
Overall rating: 6.3 The good: "Good. The King would be OK with this hamburger representing it." —Amelia The bad: "Lettuce seemed a little off." —Hillary |
Overall rating: 6.0 The good: "Pretty fresh, enjoyable." —Hillary The bad: "I couldn't really tell with all the mustard." —Tony B. |
Overall rating: 4.3 The good: "Pretty fresh. Lots of good flavor." —Gerald The bad: "Hard to tell. It was soggy but warm." —Tony B. "This is a weird burger. It's almost sweet. Not sure what's going on." —Hillary |
Overall rating: 3.5 The good: "Decent freshness. Not much that required fresh." —Hillary The bad: "Looked very old and soggy." —Tony B. |
Quality of meat |
Overall rating: 5.5 The good: "Thin and somewhat rubbery, but it tasted just fine." The bad: " A little on the dry side of life." —Amelia |
Overall rating: 5.8 The good: "Good. Seemed thicker than other burgers." —Dara The bad: "Tastes like a soy burger." —Teesha |
Overall rating: 5.1 The good: "I like fried meat." —Amelia "Thin, but the mix of onion, sauce make it perfect." —Teesha The bad: "There was meat on this?" —Anthony |
Overall rating: 4.4 The good: "Love the onion taste." —Teesha The bad: "It's not real meat, but I like it anyway." —Amelia "Not a fan." —Dara "That was meat?" —Tony G. "There was barely any meat to taste." —Tony B. |
Overall rating: 7.0 The good: "It tastes flame broiled. I like flames." —Amelia "Tastes flame broiled like it's right off the grill!" —Gerald The bad: "Nothing spectacular." —Hillary "Didn't have much flavor." —Dara |
Overall rating: 5.4 The good: "A decent burger." —Dara "Meat tasted pretty good." —Anthony The bad: "There wasn't much flavor ... you know, because of the mustard." —Tony B. "Not impressed. It wasn't flavorful, but at least it wasn't rubbery." —Gerald |
Overall rating: 5.5 The good: "I liked the flavor." —Dara "Pretty good. Thicker than most fast-food patties. It tasted grilled. Not rubbery at all." —Gerald The bad: "Slightly burnt taste." —Tony B. "Was this dog food? It's chewy." —Hillary |
Overall rating: 3.5 The good: "Seemed meaty enough. It didn't have the fake taste." —Hillary The bad: "Very roughly textured ... felt like dirt when I was swallowing." —Tony B. "Has a processed taste. Doesn't taste bad though. I'd liken it to McDonald's, but thicker and drier." —Gerald "Where was the meat? All bun and dry." —Stephanie "Doesn't taste that great." —Anthony |
Quality of bun |
Overall rating: 5.3 The good: "Nice and fluffy without any gross sesame seeds." —Tony B. The bad: |
Overall rating: 6.5 The good: "I liked the sesame seeds." —Dara The bad: "Could have done without the sesame seeds." —Tony B. |
Overall rating: 5.9 The good: "The bread was the best part." —Anthony The bad: |
Overall rating: 5.1 The good: "Festive! It is an after-hours snack. The grease helps settle the stomach." —Amelia The bad: "Very soggy. Probably due to the microwaving they use to prepare them." —Tony B. |
Overall rating: 5.4 The good: "Not very fresh, but I like the sesame seeds." —Dara "I taste more bun than anything else." —Anthony The bad: "Sesame seeds. Need I say more." —Tony B. |
Overall rating: 5.7 The good: "Soft and fresh." —Dara The bad: "Very soggy. The whole sandwich fell apart in my hands." —Tony B. "I've had better." —Hillary |
Overall rating: 4.5 The good: "Good. Bready. Average." —Gerald The bad: "Too crumbly." —Tony B. "Not so fresh." —Dara |
Overall rating: 4.3 The good: "Good buns." —Gerald The bad: "Soggy and dry at the same time ... a miracle of modern science." —Tony B. "A little too soggy." —Dara |
Condi- ments |
Overall rating: 5.1 The good: "I don't normally like condiments, but these were very complimentary to the meat." —Tony B. The bad: "Too much mayo, ketchup." —Teesha "Too much. Too drippy." —Anthony |
Overall rating: 5.1 The good: "This was the first time I had eaten a burger with pickles and mustard, and it was surprisingly good." —Tony B. "Just enough. Not too much." —Anthony The bad: "Not enough sauce. Very dry." —Teesha |
Overall rating: 5.6 The good: "Love the sauce." —Teesha "Love, love, love this tartar sauce. I order with extra sauce." —Hillary "New and interesting. Very unique combination of flavors and textures." —Gerald The bad: "I hate lettuce like this. I like my lettuce to keep it real." —Amelia "That sauce is nasty." —Anthony "The mayo (or special sauce) was gross mixed in with the lettuce. It overwhelmed the taste of the burger." —Tony B. |
Overall rating: 4.9 The good: "Just enough. Not messy." —Anthony "For what it is ... pretty good. This is a burger best enjoyed drunk." —Hillary The bad: "Didn't like the toppings." —Dara "Blech," Tony G. |
Overall rating: 5.9 The good: "I like this one messy!" —Teesha "Crispy, crunchy, creamy. The three C's of condiments." —Gerald The bad: "Too saucy." —Tony G. "Too much messy. Too many onions." —Anthony |
Overall rating: 5.5 The good: "Good sauce." —Stephanie "Average. Hard to mess up ketchup and mustard." —Hillary The bad: "I think I have expressed my disgust for the mustard." —Tony B. "Very mustardy. Use a napkin." —Gerald "A little too messy." —Anthony |
Overall rating: 4.0 The good: "Good crispiness and sauciness." —Gerald "A good mix. Tastes sweet." —Anthony The bad: "Yucky —too horseradishy —maybe the mustard? Weird taste." —Stephanie "Too ketchupy." —Dara "Yuck. That's all. I'm not sure I'd feed this to my dog." —Hillary |
Overall rating: 2.8 The good: "None. That's the best way." —Anthony The bad: "There were no condiments unless old cheese is a condiment." —Tony B. "Could have used a condiment or two." —Dara |
How many could guess burger's identity |
25 percent |
37.5 percent |
25 percent |
75 percent |
37.5 percent |
Zero. This one stumped our panel |
Zero. This one stumped our panel as well |
Zero. This one stumped our panel as well |
In a pretty close contest, the winner is…
- Burger King
Where the burgers came from:
- Wendy's, Wayne Avenue in Dayton
- Frisch's, Wilmington Pike in Kettering
- Hardees, Needmore Road in Dayton
- Steak 'n Shake, Miller Lane in Dayton
- McDonald's, Wilmington Pike in Kettering
- Sonic, Hoke Road in Clayton
- White Castle, Wilmington Pike in Kettering
- Burger King, Dorothy Lane in Kettering
Meet our Taste Team:
- Amelia, 32: She usually avoids fast-food burgers — they make her feel like a sinner.
- Tony, 24: He's very picky and usually orders burgers plain so he doesn't have to worry.
- Teesha, 27: She's an occasional burger eater
- Gerald, 23: He eats burgers sometimes, but usually prefers sandwiches or tacos
- Dara, 29: She doesn't eat burgers very often
- Tony, 40: He rarely eats fast-food burgers, but prefers Wendy's and Burger King when he does
- Anthony, 32: If he's not getting a burger at the bar, then it's always at Wendy's (and he hates pickles).
- Hillary, 23: She's your average burger eater and usually orders them as is unless there's cheese (which is a deal-breaker).
- Stephanie, 28: She's an occasional burger eater
Comments
By Allison Lyn Rowe
April 11, 2008 8:40 PM | Link to this
Wendys singles are the best then Burger Kings Whopper then the Big Mac.
By Allison Lyn Rowe
April 11, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this
Wendys singles are the best then Burger Kings Whopper then the Big Mac.
By Hannah
April 11, 2008 8:37 PM | Link to this
WENDYS HAMBURGERS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE ONE ELSE IS JUST JEALUS BECAUSE THEY STINK!!!
By Hannah
April 11, 2008 8:37 PM | Link to this
WENDYS HAMBURGERS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE ONE ELSE IS JUST JEALUS BECAUSE THEY STINK!!!
By Hannah
April 11, 2008 8:37 PM | Link to this
WENDYS HAMBURGERS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE ONE ELSE IS JUST JEALUS BECAUSE THEY STINK!!!
By Aharon Klum
April 11, 2008 7:27 AM | Link to this
The BEST burger in Dayton was the Cheeseburger from White Tower across from the Neon Movies.
By james e stark
April 7, 2008 11:40 PM | Link to this
By Dean
March 9, 2008 9:03 AM | Link to this
Where is Rally’s??? White Castles??!?! White Castles have a special place in the “party crowd’s” heart, but as far as a every day lunch hamburger……Don’t think so.