# Cheeseburger hegemony **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066 "2018-06-14T02:14:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/61 "2018-06-16T09:55:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > In 'N Out has hamburgers without cheese on the menu. So does Five Guys. And Shake Shack. Some places that have hamburgers on the menu are incapable of making them. Not one of the ones you listed, but my daughter gets a jr. steakburger (hamburger with no cheese) kids meal from Steak n Shake, and 3 out of 4 times they put cheese on it. I specifically made a request to please not put any cheese on the burger at least 1/2 of the time. They did not charge me for cheese (the menu clearly lists cheese as an upgrade with a 50-60 cent charge), either. I have had to return it. My daughter will not eat fast food cheese. McDonald’s is sometimes the default option because somehow they rarely manage to screw up a Hamburger Happy Meal. As someone else mentioned, Burger King is the opposite and while I like a Whopper ( or double or triple) with cheese it’s inconvenient to order there, especially when they have many special deals revolving around various Whoppers without cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/62 "2018-06-16T16:11:43Z")
Studies show people who don’t like cheese on their hamburgers voted for Trump. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/63 "2018-06-16T21:18:47Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Has anyone else noticed the demise of the humble, yet iconic, hamburger from restaurant menus in this great land? I was at a restaurant today and ordered a hamburger, and received a cheeseburger. Seems like every hamburger comes with cheese as the default now, which, to my mind, makes it not a hamburger anymore. Want a QuarterPounder at McDonald’s? You’re out of luck, unless you order a Quarter Pounder with Cheese without the cheese. Take a look at the [page](https://menu.wendys.com/en_US/category/hamburgers/) labeled “Hamburgers” at Wendy’s and tell me if you notice some dairy product that they all have in common. > > I have no religious objection to cheeseburgers. I’m not lactose intolerant. I just prefer my burgers without cheese. As hardships go, ordering a cheeseburger without the cheese is pretty far down the list, but it does make me feel like I’m in a Jack Nicholson movie. Is there some reason I have to jump through hoops just to get a hamburger? > I beg the Dope’s indulgence in calling McDonald’s and Wendy’s “restaurants”; they were just convenient online cites for a much larger, and more pernicious phenomenon. I can assure you I have noticed this at more upscale establishments, too; the kind with napkins and silverware that you don’t throw away. I don’t know what others have said about reasoning for this; I do know that others have pointed you to “restaurants” which do not default to cheeseburgers. If a restaurant offers a “hamburger”, and a separate “cheeseburger” (or a hamburger with the option of adding cheese), the restaurant has to upsell you to a cheeseburger. That’s a good practice for the restaurant, as it certainly doesn’t take 20 or 30 cents of cost (product and labor) to add one or two slices of cheese to a burger. But the customer may decline the option. If a restaurant offers a “cheeseburger” only, then no upselling is needed. Instead, you the customer, have to ask for removal of the cheese (I do this all the time, for example, just today at Carl’s Jr., since I prefer the Famous Star without the cheese). This means that more burgers get sold with cheese, without having to convince you to make that choice. And since many places that sell “cheeseburgers” only do not refund you the price of the cheese if you opt to get your cheeseburger with “no cheese, please”, then those restaurants get the added value of charging you for cheese all the time. I blame the Big Mac, which was one of the first burger joint burgers that always came with cheese, and had that fact factored into the price. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/64 "2018-06-16T21:59:22Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Studies show people who don’t like cheese on their hamburgers voted for Trump. That’s the kind of thing I expect from a stooge of the Milk Marketing Board. What did they pay you to sell out your species in this way? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/65 "2018-06-16T23:59:11Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > I specifically made a request to please not put any cheese on the burger at least 1/2 of the time. They did not charge me for cheese (the menu clearly lists cheese as an upgrade with a 50-60 cent charge), either. I have had to return it. My daughter will not eat fast food cheese. You really need to explicitly say ‘no cheese’ every time if your daughter is this rigid. No one comes out ahead when you send something back. ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/66 "2018-06-17T15:14:05Z")
> [@fjs1fs](#): > > In the early 2000’s Burger King had a promotion–maybe it was 99 cent double cheeseburgers. So we went in and ordered 4 double hamburgers, fries, drinks, and the cashier told me an amount that was way too high. So I said, “the burgers are 99 cents each, right?” Her reply: “No you ordered double hamburgers–it’s double cheeseburgers that are on sale.” I really could not get through to her that it was ludicrous to charge me MORE because my burgers had no cheese on them. When we called the manager over, he refused to amend the charge, so we just left, and never ate there again. In fact, we started a ritual of saying “F you burger king” every time we drove past. Yes, I had this issue with them. Cheeseburgers 2 for $1. Hamburger 89 cents I ordered 2 cheeseburgers ,no cheese. , they asked " you mean hamburgers?" I told them yes but the 2 for a $1. They told me they couldn’t do that. Cheeseburgers have to have the cheese. I got a little hardheaded then. Q: Could I get it without pickles? A : Sure Q: Could I get it without Keychup? A : Yes Q: Could I get it without mustard? A : Yes Q: Could I get it without a bun? A : Yeah we can do that Q: But I can’t get it without Cheese? A: no sir, they won’t let us do that, then it is a hamburger But Burger King has to pay for cheese, your profit will be higher if you do not use that ingredient, The regional manager won’t let us. ( light bulb moment) Can I get it on the side? A: Yes sir. Then makes my order, gives me the 2 hamburgers ( well cheeseburgers, no cheese), and a French fry paper, with 2 slices of cheese in it. I say thanks, hand her the cheese and ask her to throw it away for me. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/67 "2018-06-17T21:11:18Z")
Never mind the cheese. A pair of nice buns are, as always, de rigueur. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/68 "2018-06-17T21:55:35Z")
> [@Tread](#): > > ( light bulb moment) Can I get it on the side? Brilliant! You will clearly be a valuable asset once I mobilize the anti-cheeseburger resistance. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/69 "2018-06-17T22:19:35Z")
Two pages in and no one’s commented that “Cheeseburger Hegemony” would be a great band name. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/70 "2018-06-18T02:23:43Z")
> [@fjs1fs](#): > > In the early 2000’s Burger King had a promotion–maybe it was 99 cent double cheeseburgers. So we went in and ordered 4 double hamburgers, fries, drinks, and the cashier told me an amount that was way too high. So I said, “the burgers are 99 cents each, right?” Her reply: “No you ordered double hamburgers–it’s double cheeseburgers that are on sale.” I really could not get through to her that it was ludicrous to charge me MORE because my burgers had no cheese on them. When we called the manager over, he refused to amend the charge, so we just left, and never ate there again. In fact, we started a ritual of saying “F you burger king” every time we drove past. Could you not have ordered the double cheeseburgers, without cheese? Also, BK used to have specials for 99¢ Whoppers. Awesome deal, but the default is no cheese. When asked if you want cheese, they didn’t tell you that it was a 50¢ upcharge (at the time, about 10¢was normal). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/71 "2018-06-18T02:25:46Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Could you not have ordered the double cheeseburgers, without cheese? From reading **Tread** ’s experience just a couple posts up, it seems not. (Though Tread did eventually get around it by asking for it “on the side.” Clever cat.) ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/72 "2018-06-18T15:39:47Z")
> [@Tread](#): > > Yes, I had this issue with them. Cheeseburgers 2 for $1. Hamburger 89 cents > > I ordered 2 cheeseburgers ,no cheese. , they asked " you mean hamburgers?" > > I told them yes but the 2 for a $1. They told me they couldn’t do that. Cheeseburgers have to have the cheese. > > I got a little hardheaded then. > > Q: Could I get it without pickles? A : Sure > Q: Could I get it without Keychup? A : Yes > Q: Could I get it without mustard? A : Yes > Q: Could I get it without a bun? A : Yeah we can do that > > Q: But I can’t get it without Cheese? A: no sir, they won’t let us do that, then it is a hamburger > > But Burger King has to pay for cheese, your profit will be higher if you do not use that ingredient, > > The regional manager won’t let us. > ( light bulb moment) Can I get it on the side? > > A: Yes sir. Then makes my order, gives me the 2 hamburgers ( well cheeseburgers, no cheese), and a French fry paper, with 2 slices of cheese in it. I say thanks, hand her the cheese and ask her to throw it away for me. “On the side.” Brilliant. I wish I’d thought of that. Nah, I’m much more satisfied with our “boycott” and “F-you BK salute!” ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/73 "2018-06-21T22:58:52Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Has he? She, sir. ---
**Author:** ![HyacinthBucket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hyacinthbucket/32/3063_2.png) [@HyacinthBucket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HyacinthBucket)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/74 "2018-06-22T04:45:46Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Studies show people who don’t like cheese on their hamburgers voted for Trump. Absolutely _not_ true. Unless it’s bright orange cheese. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/75 "2024-10-04T03:51:15Z")
There is a junior HAMBURGER and a junior CHEESEBURGER option and they have different prices. The customer is not the one being rigid when they don’t specify “please give me this thing I ordered and not this completely different thing I didn’t order” 100% of the time. It’s also not that picky when a kid who likes hamburgers does not like said hamburger with gross American cheese product melted into the beef and does not want to eat it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2024, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/76 "2024-10-04T03:52:46Z")
You waited six years to reply to that? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2024, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/77 "2024-10-04T04:03:49Z")
One doesn’t want to be too hasty in debates. Words must be weighed, thoughts organised… ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2024, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/78 "2024-10-04T04:23:16Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > The customer is not the one being rigid when they don’t specify “please give me this thing I ordered and not this completely different thing I didn’t order” 100% of the time. Do you want the right burger or not? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2024, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/79 "2024-10-04T05:02:57Z")
IT’S ON! (Yes Discourse, that is a complete sentence: it’s got a noun and a verb. ) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2024, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066/80 "2024-10-04T05:10:24Z")
My first zombie thread. Woohoo! I’m a real Doper now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheeseburger-hegemony/816066.md?page=5)