NY State Fair 1,500 Calorie Donut Burger Might Outshine These Loser Burgers

A hamburger so divine makes these other burgers look really lame.

• baby burger

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• chicken burger

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• bed burger

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• turtle burger

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• face burger

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• skateboard burgers

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• canned burger

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• donut burger

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It’s pretty irrefutable that donuts—little edible secrets whispered from the mouth of god, soaked in oil, drenched in sugar and sometimes drizzled with chocolate, sprinkles, candy and a promise that the world might not be so bad—would be best paired with the second greatest food creation—the hamburger.

The hamburger and the donut have officially met and have engaged in greasy, hot, sticky coitus. Together they have made “The Big Kahuna Donut Burger.” This monster, which has 1,500 calories, will be debuted at the New York State fair in Syracuse on August 25, though many experimental donut hamburgers have come before it.
For only about $6 the consummator of the donut/ hamburger union will get to engage in a quarter-pound burger, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onions between two grilled, glazed donuts. Delish.
A hamburger so divine makes these other burgers look really lame.
The canned burger, for instance, is an embarrassment to cans and burgers. It must smell like cat food and probably falls from its can with a similar suction sound. What a nightmare.
Face burger, which is actually a burger replica of Stewie from “Family Guy” looks wildly unhappy, meaning this burger is a no go.
The skateboard burgers being ridden by the Chihuahua look like they could be a good time, but the Chihuahua appears bored, so I am too.
Bed burger is actually incredible, but probably too hot to sleep in. Plus, getting boned in a burger is not sexy (okay, maybe a little bit).
And turtle burger, chicken burger and Asian baby burger are cruel.

McDonald's Move May Make Healthy Business Sense

by Scott Neuman

Correction July 26, 2011

The original version of this story reported that milk would be included in Happy Meals by default. Milk will be among the beverages available with Happy Meals, but the choice will be left to purchasers.

A McDonald's Cheeseburger Happy Meal with the new apple slices option is shown Tuesday. McDonald's Corp. says it is adding apple slices to every Happy Meal, part of the chain's larger push to paint itself as a healthy place to eat.

When McDonald's announced Tuesday that it would make the standard child's Happy Meal more healthful, company officials said they were responding to the desires of their customers. But the move also makes business sense, analysts say.

"This is good publicity, and if you sell more Happy Meals, you're likely selling more Big Macs to the parents," says Peter Saleh, a restaurant analyst with Telsey Advisory Group in New York.
Sam Oches, an associate editor with QSR Magazine, a fast-food industry trade journal, says McDonald's won't say how many Happy Meals they sell, but they're rumored to account for about 10 percent of sales.
"They do more than $32 billion in sales every year, so Happy Meals are potentially a $3 billion chunk of that," Oches says. "That alone is more revenue than a lot of big restaurant chains."
For McDonald's, it's about holding on to a loyal customer base, one that has grown up being exposed to the Golden Arches.
"McDonald's has done great through the recession, they continue to grab market share and have had the cash to remodel their restaurants, while some of the other fast-food restaurants have struggled to keep up," Saleh says.
But the competition hasn't been standing still. The National Restaurant Association launched a similar initiative for healthier kids' choices earlier this month, pre-empting McDonald's. Among those signing on to the "Kids LiveWell" campaign are Burger King, IHOP, Denny's, Cracker Barrel and Sizzler.
And somewhere out there is an apple supplier who is even happier than the kids.
"The sheer size of McDonald's supply chain is kind of nuts, really," says Oches.
"You've got 14,000 stores, serving apples in every Happy Meal," he says. "You do the math. It's huge."
To be sure, healthier options at McDonald's have long been there for the asking. A parent could request fruit or milk instead of a soft drink, but most opted for the traditional meal by default. The big change is that the new Happy Meal will automatically include a quarter-cup of apple slices and about half as many french fries as before. Upon request, parents can hold the fries and get twice as many apple slices instead.
The move also should help ease criticism the company long has faced. In a study released in November, the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University listed the most nutritious Happy Meal at only 30th on a list of the healthiest meal combinations. The study was critical of the fast-food industry for its unhealthy kids' menus and for directing the power of its marketing at children.
"We found some pretty remarkable things," says Kelly Brownell, the center's director. "The average preschooler is subjected to 1,000 advertisements each year for fast food. No amount of education from school or from parents can compensate for that."
"It's a reasonable first step," Brownwell says of the changes.