"Thicker Cut, More Flavor?"

Today is Free Fries Friday and I went to Burger King to get mine. Did you? The fries are "new and improved" and they claim to be "thicker cut, more flavor." If these have more flavor, I would be scared to try the original!

On decor of restaurant, I give it a 2. I went to the Burger King in Bellevue but there are locations all over the country. This place needs a lot of improvement. It looks like a dirty fast food restaurant with no pride. The pictures on the wall were of lily pads, flowers and a waterfall - what do those have to do with burgers? Maybe the owners got them free at a local garage sale. The bathrooms were gross and unsanitary. There was a HUGE fake plant in the center of the restaurant. Maybe there is some sort of nature theme?

On friendliness of staff towards kids, I also give it a 2. There were two men working there and they seemed desperately confused. When I asked for the fries they looked confused and asked, "the free ones?" When I asked them how the new fries were different they didn't even know. They were goofing off and seemed too casual for people who are supposed to be working. They didn't make eye contact with me and they seemed like they thought they were at a party instead of at work. Maybe they just don't like kids because a huge group of pretty teenage girls walked in and they got a lot better service than I did.

On service speed, I still give it a 2. The fryer was right in back of the counter. After I ordered they walked to the fryer to make my fries so slowly it seemed like they were trying to irritate me. Marone! (If you aren't Italian, look it up:))

On taste of food, I give it a 3. The fries were definitely a thick cut although I prefer them thin. They were "reduced sodium" which means "less salty" or "not as good." They were kind of crispy on the outside, but not as much as they were mushy. The inside tasted like an uncooked potato. The flavor just tasted like normal fries. I ordered ranch dressing to dip them in and the ranch dressing was much better than the fries. The fries weren't enticing enough to make me keep eating them, and that says a lot.

On appearance of food, I give it a 3. They looked generic. They were thick, square and really long. I like them long so that part is good. They were yellowish in color, and to my surprise they were not greasy at all. The bag didn't even have one drip of grease on it.

On price, I give it a 5! They were free!

For a total score of 17/30. Good news for all of you kids or weirdly demented adults, they still give away the free crowns!

If you can't get enough of Burger King, you can go to bkcrown.com and play online games. The store was empty so the fries must really be bad if they can't even give them away for free.

My favorite thing about Burger King is that they sell Icees! Not Slurpees, but Icees! And they have the classic flavors, cherry and Coke. Inhaling my Icee helped me forget about the "flavorful" fries.