Chili's Starts Beef With McDonald's In The Form Of A Brand New Burger

Quarter Pounder, step aside, because there's a new version in town — sort of. Chili's is firing shots at McDonald's by releasing its own Quarter Pounder-ish burger called the Big QP, which is being added to the Chili's 3 For Me menu. If you don't recall, the 3 For Me menu (which has done wonders for Chili's bottom line) is a three course lunch deal that starts you off with bottomless chips and salsa, gets you a main entree, and is served with fries and a drink, all sold at prices that are similar to that of fast food restaurants.

The Big QP name is sort of a misnomer, however, because the burger patty Chili's uses is 85% larger than a quarter pound. This means it's 7.5 ounces before cooking it, as opposed to McDonald's four-ounce patty. So in reality, you're getting something that's more akin to a half-pound burger in a meal deal that also includes chips and salsa. The price for the Big QP 3 For Me meal is $10.99. To put this all into perspective, my nearest McDonald's location here in Chicago sells a Quarter Pounder meal for $10.19.

The burger comes similarly dressed to McDonald's Quarter Pounder with two slices of American cheese, ketchup, mustard, diced red onions (a slight deviation from McDonald's), and pickles. With ever-rising fast food prices, it's clear Chili's is reaching down to meet potential customers while they're hunting for the best bang for their buck. (And not terribly long after one of McDonald's worst food contamination issues in recent history.)

If you think this burger is some kind of miraculous coincidence with McDonald's, things start to get a little harder to refute when you realize Chili's has had a Big Mac-ish burger on its menu since last April called the Big Smasher, which was also released as part of its 3 For Me menu. It has that same large burger patty, American cheese, Thousand Island dressing, shredded lettuce, pickles, and diced red onions. Its original press release even touted the fact that the Big Smasher has twice the beef of a Big Mac (it called the burger out by name), and it's still part of the meal deal at the $10.99 price point.

Another notable fact is that these meals are available to-go, which means you don't need to sit down at a Chili's location to eat them, so long as you order them beforehand for pickup. So there is that slight concession, considering Chili's isn't a drive-thru restaurant. But with the Big QP and the Big Smasher now on Chili's deal menu, along with its chicken tenders (which McDonald's will be releasing a version of this year), the brand is continuing to go toe-to-toe with the Golden Arches.