Where is that juicy burger?

It's fast food. Honestly, why does everyone expect so much from these dingy, flea ridden fast food chains? It's always the same - you walk in, wait in a queue for 20 minutes, are served by some teenager who is more interested in what her mate got up to the night before and then after getting the wrong order a few times, you suddenly don't feel very hungry anymore.

Nothing ever looks as good as it does in the pictures. They have food artists to make it look that way but who can blame the staff for not making the effort to make it look pretty? They are low paid and poorly treated. We, the customers, choose to eat at these places. I can't remember of anyone forcing it upon us.

I love Burger King and I think it is great and the food also. They do a really tasty burger.

Why go to a butcher? By the time you are done collecting the ingredients and travelling for them you could have bought a 22 acre plot of land for less.

Nikki you are the one that is daft. So, if you venture to the cinema, evening out of whatever you would rather go home and make yourself a 'Houseburger'?

Nikki is right. I only eat decent meat, sadly it's a rarity in Europe (I'm with you there, Saffa girl - give me a good Spur Burger or a rack of ribs any time). There is a chain in UK that makes decent burgers though, and that's GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) outstanding! I'd rather starve than go to MuckDonalds or its ilk.

That scene from the Michael Douglas film Falling Down is one of my favourite pieces of cinematography.

come to South Africa, our fast food chains make delicious burgers

well if you make your own food you will appreciate it more because you know WHAT is in them, and obviously it will be as THICK as you want and you can put your OWN choice of REAL CHEESE and not the plastic toy cheese you get from mcdonalds taht tastes of nothing

Anon, you sound just like my brother he is a jamie oliver fanatic aswell. Did you get the new cook book off the net for free, it's great.

DON'T eat them they are rubbish, learn how to make yoru own buger like jamie oliver.

Well, IMO anyone daft enough to eat in McDonalds, Burger King etc. deserves all they get. You know damn well that at these prices the animals involved have lived a grotty life, suffered an horrific death and the resultant meat is tough and tasteless. This food is just pure garbage, and not fit for human consumption.

Much better is to go to your local butcher, buy some Aberdeen Angus minced steak, and make your own. Yes, I know AA beef is expensive, but because it is pure a little goes a very long way. You can bulk the meat out with lots of yummy onions and any other type of veg that takes your fancy.

By supporting chains like McDonald, you are contributing to the destruction of the Amazon rain forest, vast chunks of which every day are destroyed to make way for grazing cattle which ultimately end up as disgusting beef burgers in places like McDonalds.

I personally would rather starve than eat in McDonalds. I am an inveterate meat eater, I am not a bunny hugger. I just believe in eating good food.

I'd think something fishy was going on if I was handed a perfectly proportioned symetrical burger in McDonalds.

Beef Burger + Cheese! How disgusting, Urghh!!

Why are they always sold with the cheese?

Why am I never given a discount when I refuse the cheese?

And never, never buy one of these at a motorway service station! You are ripped-off doubly.

Oh! by the way the one in the picture is made of plastic.

Of course it is just an advertising gimmick, and a really good one at that. There's nothing to do about it, and since you know pretty much of what the burger will look like whenyou get it, it should not bother you a bit because you know what you are paying for. You are paying just what you are expecting to get.

This gripe brings back a very happy memory of my blunt Yorkshire father in law taking a young barman to task over the poor state of a ham sandwich, compared with the photo on the menu. Happy days...