For penny pinchers who eat out, the value menus at fast food restaurants should be utilized. Many places actually have great deals on their value menus, which can certainly serve as small meals.
Taco Bell's Best Value Deals
The Grilled Chicken Burrito at Taco Bell, available for 89 cents is arguably the best value in the world of fast food. This burrito has seasoned rice, chicken, cheddar cheese, and avocado ranch sauce. The Chicken Ranch Gordita at Taco Bell (chicken, ranch sauce, and lettuce in a flatbread wrap) also retails for 89 cents, as does the beef soft taco. Nachos are available for 79 cents, but the Grilled Chicken Burrito is certainly the best fast food deal Taco Bell has to offer, as it really is hefty, especially considering its price. Even after taxes are added, the number of burritos available for purchase is the same, or greater than the amount of dollars one is willing to spend buying any number of burritos. For instance, four burritos may be bought with four dollars, and there will be change to spare. Other restaurants, which offer sandwiches starting at 99 cents, would make someone spend over four dollars for four sandwiches.
McDonald's Best Fast Food Deals
The McDonald's dollar menu also has some great fast food values. The McDouble and the McChicken sandwiches are both 99 cents, and provide a nice, filling sandwich meal. Although neither of these is nutritionally valuable, they are both great on the wallet. The McDouble contains two beef patties, a single slice of American cheese (the double cheeseburger, formerly on the dollar menu, has two slices, which the company decided was too costly, so they took it off the value menu), pickles, chopped onion, ketchup, mustard, and buns. The McChicken has a chicken patty, lettuce, mayonnaise, and a bun.
Burger King and Wendy's Best Values
The value menu at Burger King has two sandwiches, which are the Whopper Jr. and the Spicy Chick'n Crisp. The Whopper Jr. has a beef patty, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup, and a sesame seed bun. The Chick'n Crisp is very similar to McDonald's McChicken, as it also includes a chicken patty (with a hint of hot sauce flavor and spice), lettuce, mayonnaise, and a bun. These cost 99 cents on BK's menu. Wendy's offers one great dollar sandwich on its value menu, the Double Stack. It has two beef patties, American cheese, onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and a bun (much like the McDonald's McDouble). There is also the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, which is just as it sounds, and retails for 30 cents more.
Although any filling sandwich is a great deal when it costs around a dollar, Taco Bell has the right idea. As it charges less than a dollar (89 cents) for its Grilled Chicken Burrito and Chicken Ranch Gordita. Even with taxes, people do not have to spend more than a dollar on these items, whereas the value sandwiches from McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's will have people spending at least as many (if not more) dollars as they get in sandwiches. The burrito from taco bell is not only the cheapest value meal item, but it is also no smaller or less filling than any of its competitor's sandwiches.
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