If you've read Eric Buscemi's Battle of the Brands post: McDonald's vs. Burger King, you know the Big Mac and Whopper do not fall in the category of "healthy" foods. Add in fries and a drink and you've already clogged your first artery. But Arby's takes it one step further: they give you your pick of five fast-food items on a special menu -- two more than the standard value meal at McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) or Burger King (NYSE: BKC).
I went to Arby's for lunch today to pick my "5 for 5.95" and I must say it's overwhelming.
I decided upon an Arby's Melt sandwich with medium curly fries, a medium drink (sounds like the standard fast-food value meal so far but I had two more choices) mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce and a small jamocha shake.
Needless to say, I couldn't finish everything. I sat at my table staring at my unfinished meal thinking of Thomas Aquinas and what he said about gluttony in his SUMMA THEOLOGIÆ, "Gluttony denotes, not any desire of eating and drinking, but an inordinate desire ... leaving the order of reason, wherein the good of moral virtue consists."
This was just too much food, I thought. It defies all reason. How bad is this for you?
After a quick scan on their website, I nearly choked: all five items at Arby's added to 1763 calories, 78 grams of fat and 236 grams of carbs.
Take a look at the caloric intake of McDonald's and Burger King's famous "value-meals."
McDonald's: A Big Mac, medium fries and a medium drink contained 1,140 calories, 49 grams of fat and 150 grams of carbs.
Burger King: A Whopper, medium drink and fries with salt contained 1,230 calories, 59 grams of fat and 145 grams of carbs.
Burger King's marketing is more geared towards the hungry man in comparison to the healthier image McDonald's tries to show. With all three "value meals" around the same price, I'd like to see what marketing plan Burger King will counter with.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-21-2007 @ 9:22AM
Lynn said...
Kevin, Arby's 5 for $5.95 special doesn't have any stipulation as to number of consumers. I've loved being able to share the deal with a friend or family member. I get a diet Pepsi, fries and sandwich without the caloric intake you mention, and it's a great value for me!
5-29-2007 @ 9:18PM
fred said...
Why dont you all grow up. Food is food and we are lucky to live in a nation where we hvae a choice. Eat what you want when you want, we are going to die of something anyway, so why not eat drink and be merry for on the morrow we shall truley die.
5-29-2007 @ 9:45PM
Kisha said...
Kyle said it all. I am so tired of hearing Americans come up with law suits and documentaries blaming others for their problems. Get up and exercise after your intake or just stop eating it. Your Choice!!
5-29-2007 @ 9:57PM
Jo said...
How many people eat all 5 items themselves? Seriously. Usually it is 2 drinks, 2 sandwiches, and a fry to split between two people. Not so bad.
Many families order 5 sandwiches and take them home for a meal. Why would you assume that one person is going to eat all of it? Oh, that's right, it makes for a good story.
5-29-2007 @ 10:33PM
roro said...
yea...more obese people...great job america! hmmm and I thought they were trying to cure it. Gosh, where was I reading this whole time?
5-29-2007 @ 10:34PM
Brian said...
What amazes me in all this is that anyone even considers "fast food" actual food! I didn't much care for it as a child when it was considered a "treat' and I absolutely abhor it as an adult! Come on people it doesn't even taste good, let alone the health considerations!!!
5-29-2007 @ 10:36PM
geminite said...
Hey Kyle, no one, including god or anyone on the left, cares if you choke on curly fries and die. Keep eating like that, it will be one less right wing nut in the world.
5-29-2007 @ 10:37PM
Kimberly said...
I personally like the 5 for 5.95 deal at Arby's. No not all at once, but spread out over 3 days worth of lunch for myself. The McD's 1.00 menu is great for a big family too though. But! The thing is, most people do not go in a sit down to try to eat all of it at once. It is too much food.....for one sitting. It is a better deal than most fast food joints, because the average person will take home with them what they can't eat and have it at another time. But. I know that the author is just trying to stir things up. :)
5-29-2007 @ 10:56PM
Donna said...
We use the 5 for $5.95 option to get milkshakes for the family. That's $1.19 each before tax. A small shake is $2.19 at McDonalds.
Did the Arby's menu say that one person must consume all 5 items?
5-29-2007 @ 11:03PM
MChelle said...
When we do the Arby's 5 for 5.95, it feeds myself, my son, and my husband. 3 sandwiches and 2 mozarella sticks to share. We always bring it home and so we drink whatever we have in the house. Where else can you feed a family of 3, and actually fill their tummys for basically 6 bucks.
5-30-2007 @ 12:15AM
will said...
LMAO Kyle. I wouldnt brag about being 5'11" and 158, that's like a girl with no boobs or butt. Lift some weights.
5-30-2007 @ 12:49AM
HELLO!!! said...
This sounds like a meal to be shared, like they are trying to save the average fast food junkee some change. Why would any one person try to eat it all? Get a clue, Kev!
5-30-2007 @ 12:53AM
Michele said...
The one who is happily feeding her family on one Arby's meal is basically feeding them crap. If you must do fast food, go to Subway. Their "Fresh Fit" meals are backed by the American Heart Association and they are GOOD. Now Subway offers "Fresh Fit for Kids." Get your family accustomed to making healthy choices and they won't be looking for the garbage at McD's and BK. By the way, by having one Slim-Fast shake in the morning, a "Fresh-Fit" subway meal in the afternoon and a reasonable dinner ( fill half the plate with cooked veggies of your choice, 1/4 plate with your protein and 1/4 with your starch ) I lost 14 lbs in one month and DID NOT go hungry.
5-30-2007 @ 12:55AM
jess said...
5'11'' and 158lbs....oooh, can we meet? retard. who cares
5-30-2007 @ 1:17AM
Jess said...
Kevin,
Your article is very one sided. As most people have noted, people who usually partake in the 5 for $5.95 deal are mostly families. Generally also these families are of a low socioeconomic background which is why they are even buying the food in the first place. Sure it isnt Fresh Fit at Subway but to those who only have maybe $10 in their pocket and a hungry family, the deal is to their benefit.
5-30-2007 @ 1:31AM
Ashley said...
It never occurred to me that one person would eat all 5 items in one setting. I saw that deal when I was at the beach, and got it so that not only would I have food that night, but have some left for lunch the next day! It is a great value and this article is trying to make a good deal sound negative.
5-30-2007 @ 1:33AM
mary said...
I have to believe that these 5 fo 5.00+ meals are not intended to be solo meals but family specials.
5-30-2007 @ 1:51AM
Linda said...
I have two children working at McDonald's and my daughter in law is a store manager with them. No one has their arm twisted to eat with McDonald's. I eat with them almost every day and for everyone's information, I have lost 40 pounds in a little over a year. Don't feed me the bunk about crap at McDonald's. Who knows what the same people eat at home. No one bothers to share that information. Another thing for all of you hypocrites. If it wasn't for McDonald's hiring the young people in our area, that would not be one thing for them to do. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
5-30-2007 @ 3:30AM
chris said...
When did America or the drug companies think about creating or making a "cure?" They always do treatment. It's money.
5-31-2007 @ 1:21PM
Kyle said...
Big Brother and the food Nazis just keep growing in numbers.
No one is forcing you clowns to eat at McDonalds, Burger King, Arby's or the the rest.
It's called FREEDOM!
So kindly buzz off and mind your own business!
I eat fast food a lot. Yet at 5,'11," I weigh just 158, have a blood pressure that's 108/68, and a resting pulse that runs fron 46 - 54 bpm. I exercise a lot, so burn off the fat and calories the fast food joints sell me. That's my choice., not yours!
The end result is that the problem is not fast food. The problem is that the world is full of lazy, sedentary slobs who would rather blame McDonalds for their obesity than they would themselves.
God, do I hate the left!