By Morgan Tarpley

mlt017@latech.edu

 

 

Greasy wrappers, hot fries and questionable service are sometimes a part of the mental picture of fast food restaurants.

A stirring question that is pondered upon on few occasions but nonetheless is of importance is: are you really getting a sweet deal with a combo meal?

“I think with combos you would be getting a deal,” Brandon Mik, a junior mechanical engineering major, said. “If you got everything separate, it would be more expensive.”

After studying seven area fast food franchise menus, there may be something concrete with what Mik said.

McDonald’s Big Mac value meal and Burger King’s Whopper meal have been discovered to both include a medium drink and fries and cost nearly four dollars each.

If you were to buy the items separately, it would cost almost five dollars. You can save even though it is really not very much.

Morgan Frith, a sophomore communication design major, said the prices are not the worry all the time.

“It’s not really to do with the prices all the time,” said Frith. “Sometimes I don’t want fries, so then it is definitely cheaper to buy food separately.”

Daniel Ray, a junior mechanical engineering major, said he eats fast food about seven to 10 times a week and he eats about five meals daily.

“I seem to prefer the 99 cent menu at Wendy’s over the McDonald’s $1 menu,” said Ray. “I can save those pennies to buy more gas; saving is especially important if you eat out as much as I do.”

Jessica Manning, a sophomore speech pathology major, also prefers Wendy’s due to the flexibility of the menu choices.

“Wendy’s is good if you don’t have a lot of money,” Manning said. “I also like it for allowing me to substitute fries with a salad.”

Through the seven restaurant survey and student comments, Wendy’s seems to be a top choice for many individuals from price to healthier eating choice reasons.

Even with the savings of the Wendy’s 99 cent menu taking each item and adding it together would cost more than the same items in a combo.

Even with all the savings in combo meals, some students would like the best of both worlds.

Susan Barnes, a freshman speech pathology major, said she thinks it all comes down to wishing different parts of different restaurants’ menus could be combined into one meal.

“It would be ideal for me to swing by McDonald’s to grab some fries, get a Whopper at Burger King and round [it all] off with a salad and frosty from Wendy’s,” Barnes said. “That would be an ideal meal for me.”