Burger King: An Underlooked Resource for the Budget Traveler

by Ryan Vagabundo

(Note: This isn't a paid ad for Burger King. I didn't get bribed with Whoppers or threatened with sexual violence by Sneak King. I've genuinely been finding the place really useful in my travels, but I assume a lot of people ignore it out of hand due to not-great food.)

I totally understand turning your nose up at cheap fast food. It usually isn't very good. Sometimes fast food places offer savvy travelers more than just an iffy hamberder, however.

Take Burger King, for example. Burger King has become for me what Starbucks is for most people - a reliable mobile office, present nearly any place I go.

I've tried out a number of fast food places for this purpose, and The King consistently beats them all. BK is pretty much crushing the cheapest end of the fast food game.

So what makes Hamberder King so useful to the penny-pinching traveler?

• The biggest thing is a fairly standard renovation (the "20/20" style) that started rolling out in 2010 and is now in place at most of their properties. These modernized stores tend to have power outlets near a lot of their seats, way more than you usually see at a fast food place

• The renovated stores also almost always have "Whopper WiFi", which actually tends to be pretty good

• Now that they've got any size coffee for 50 cents, they're the cheapest table rental in the business ... the coffee isn't great, but it's OK for the price

• I find the breakfast really isn't bad for how cheap it is ... under $3 for a breakfast burrito jr., one of those 89 cent pancake stacks and a large coffee

• Lunch and dinner are more iffy but it is hella edible calories on the cheap with those $1 / $1.50 nuggets and the $4 "King Meal Deal" thing, if you just need something to keep ya going

The 20/20 restaurants are actually kinda pleasant to sit at for awhile, with a variety of booth types and more plushy seats for lounging (some even have a faux fireplace, and most have one or two TVs on with sports or news or something).

The only big obstacle I consistently run into is dirty tables. Locations vary greatly about how diligently they clean their tables. You might have to wipe some crumbs off yourself, or a table might be in such a state that it can't be used to put gear and your hands on ... gotta look carefully before you sit down. This is true of any eatery you want to use as a work space, though.

Other fast food places offer some of these things and are OK in a pinch, but nobody brings all of the traveler needs together the way BK does: the outlets, the good seating, the good wifi, the cheapo but decent enough food and drink deals. The one thing they lack is the large $1 drinks that McDonalds has, but they do have a $1 "value drink" that you can just refill as desired - just about every location I've seen in the last few years has those "Freestyle" machines now.

You might not have such a good experience in the usual crowded bum-filled big city areas ... like downtown LA or San Francisco I could see being a problem. Basically any of those locations where they have an armed security guard and actually count down 30 minutes before moving people along. But in more normal America, where armed guards at fast food places is still a laughable idea, I've hung out for up to two hours getting stuff done on the 'puter and never been bothered by anyone.

So that's why BK is usually the first chain I look for if I need to sit down for a bit and get some work done or just pass some time. Appreciate it, creepy King.