If people thought Wendy's was being snarky with its competition, Burger King just brought the fast food beef to a whole new level.
Literally.
Its new beefed-up burger, aptly called the Big King XL, launched nationwide Thursday and is alarmingly close to a certain iconic sandwich known by almost anyone who has ever been to a fast food restaurant: the Big Mac.
A Big Mac has two juicy beef patties with melted American cheese, pickles, onions, lettuce and McDonald's Special Sauce on a toasted sesame bun.
A Big King XL has, well, two juicy beef patties with melted American cheese, pickles, onions, lettuce and special sauce — no wait, it's called "special savory sauce" — on a toasted sesame bun.
The only real difference between the two sandwiches is that Big Macs have three pieces of bread, whereas Burger King swaps that third slice of bread for extra beef — the XL's patties total 8.8 ounces versus McDonald's 3.2 ounces.
To make matters even more uncomfortable (or fun!), Burger King is accepting a form of payment that might make McDonald's fans want to side with the king once and for all. In 2018, McDonald's invented the MacCoin, a universal "food currency" created to honor the Big Mac's 50th birthday. McDonald's accepted these coins in 50 different countries as payment redeemable for a Big Mac burger through the end of last year.
But this year, Burger King announced that participating restaurants in Chicago will take any recently-expired MacCoins as payment for a Big King XL. One coin gets customers one sandwich. Otherwise, the burger costs $6.
Meanwhile, McDonald's is keeping busy by buttering up its diners with extra bacon.
As the fast food wars wage on, it's good to remember that not all public slams work in favor of the aggressor. When Subway launched commercials that took a hit at McDonald's, for example, the ads backfired (with many calling them insanely annoying) and really just made people want a burger.
