Recent fast-food disappointments: Burger King's Big Knock-Off; A&W… sorta; Maid-Rong.

Burger King's Big King is the saddest McDonald’s Big Mac knockoff I've seen. Not as overburdened with 'special’ sauce as the Big Mac. Rather quite the opposite. The top side has a faint smear of sauce on the bun top and the upper side of the middle slice, whereas the bottoms are bone dry. And you see that half-ring of onion? That was it for the whole sandwich. In the final analysis, I'll take a double In-N-Out Burger, slathered with Animal sauce [see blog post], over either the Big King or the Big Mac.

A bacon cheeseburger from the Eastside Long John Silver's/A&W unholy union. Cool, crisp, abundant vegetables are a positive, but the hamburger patty wasn't anything exciting. The doughy bun was the least enjoyable aspect.

A franchise Maid-Rite namesake sandwich. Microwaved bun comes off chewy, and the seasoned meat has a sour aftertaste. If you must have a Maid-Rite, drive the extra mile to Taylor’s Maid-Rite in Marshalltown. Taylor’s doesn’t flavor their meat with Maid-Rite’s proprietary seasoning, nor is it microwaved, so the sandwich has a much cleaner flavor. Or better yet, go visit Canteen Lunch in the Alley in Ottumwa for a far-superior loose-meat sandwich [see blog post].