Burger King's New Side Solves The Fries Vs. Onion Rings Dilemma

If you're the indecisive type, ordering from Burger King's menu presents multiple dilemmas that could lead to you experiencing high levels of drive-thru anxiety (and likely annoying the people stuck in line behind you). For one thing, the menu claims to offer 200,000 different variants on the Whopper (here's what yours says about you). After all that, you have to pick a drink. Once you've settled on your main course and your beverage, you still have to clear the most difficult hurdle of all. What side should you choose, french fries or onion rings?

While BK may be over-complicating things a bit with its complex collection of customizable Whoppers, it is, at least, simplifying its choice of sides. The chain has come up with a new side with the descriptive name of Fries n' Rings, which consists of, yes, cheese curds and tater tots. Ok, no, you got us, it's really fries. And rings — of the onion persuasion, of course. The 50/50 mix can be ordered as a side or as part of a value meal. There is one catch, though: Fries 'n Rings is for Floridians only, as it will be available only in Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Even at that, the option may not be available at all locations in those cities, and of course is available for the proverbial limited time, specifically June 19 through July 20.

When it comes to Burger King sides, are fries and rings really on the same level? Not everyone agrees. In a survey Mashed conducted a year or so ago, Burger King's onion rings were chosen as the best in fast food by 32% of the people we polled. The fries, however, did not fare nearly as well with our readers. Instead, a similar number (28%) chose the chain's fried potatoes as the worst of the worst. Speaking more generally, french fries top the list of the very best burger sides on Ranker, while onion rings are in second place. However, it's a fairly close second, and due to the nature of the site, a sudden influx of votes could still tip the scales.

Back to Burger King. Assuming you are not in Florida and you do like both fries and onion rings, which one is a better choice from the chain? Both are priced the same, but the fries have just a few more calories: 370 for a medium order as opposed to 360 calories for medium rings. Poh-tay-toe, poh-tah-toe (or technically poh-tay-toe, unn-yun). Instead of trying to decide, you could just go for broke and get the chicken fries instead. They're one of the more unique sides in fast food and one thing that BK has all over its golden-arched rival. Sure, they cost about 60 cents extra, but you'll end up with a bit less calories and significantly more protein.