Burger King, McDonalds, and Dining in Vienna in General

I had visited McDonald's soon after I arrived in Vienna and immediately noticed the major differences and similarities to the American McDonald's. Although it was not until today that I ate at a Burger King and observed how the two fast food burger places differ in both marketing and overall appearance here in Vienna. While the two “burger giants” have very similar characteristics in America, the atmospheres of the two restaurants are very different. That isn’t to say that the two restaurants are completely different by any means, they still serve roughly the same food and drinks, but it is the subtle differences not only between themselves, but also with their American counterparts that shows the influence of Austrian culture on the two American companies.

The McDonald’s down the street from our apartment complex is a true hybridization of fast food burger place and sit-down restaurant. The menu and ordering process are roughly the same with the addition of curly fries and a sour cream dipping sauce (probably the best addition to the McDonald’s menu since the Happy Meal) and that is about the extent of the similarities with American McDonald’s restaurants. The restaurant is not only huge, but also extremely well decorated with what appear to be leather chairs and high quality tables. This represents a significant departure from the American McDonald's that I know. Its clear that the restaurants here are trying to market themselves as a more classy place to sit down and have a meal, rather than in America where the atmosphere is significantly more casual and geared for children to come have a good time with the Ronald McDonald décor and have fun in the play structure. I think what it comes down to is that in America, McDonald's is trying to sell their food and the tradition that McDonald’s has as one of the first major hamburger places in America. With the absence of that tradition in Europe, they must change their entire method of appeal. If I had to speculate, they are taking their reputation from America and attempting to transform their image into a more upper class restaurant in order to attract the crowd they have in America with the popularity of their and also attract people in Europe who want to go out with a nice dinner. This goes to show that history can work both for and against you when it comes to restaurants and tradition. McDonald's has a tradition of great American hamburgers, but not as a nice place to have dinner in American culture. There is virtually no way for them to break this cultural knowledge in America, but moving into new European countries gives them the opportunity to reinvent themselves. I don’t know how well this is working for the McDonald's Corporation, but its clear that the European market is an opportunity for them to both embrace certain elements and try to escape others of their American history.

Burger King takes a much different approach. When I stepped in Burger King I immediately noticed the elements of American culture all over the restaurant. The walls are lined with pictures of American Football players complete with a lot of red white and blue wall decorations. The atmosphere is complete with running videos of American sports, most notably highlights of Michael Phelps’ Olympic triumphs. It’s clear that Burger King is taking a much different route here than McDonald's in that they are almost attempting to create an “American Oasis” of sorts while you eat your American food. At first this seemed strange and a little tacky to me, but then I realized that this is an extremely common trend among restaurants in America. For instance, Italian restaurants in America seem to always try and create an Italian atmosphere with lots of wine bottles, fake grape vines, etc. just as Greek and Asian restaurants do as well. Burger King is simply trying to do the same thing as these restaurants only we don’t notice it because American restaurants are trying to look overly American. My initial overlooking of this cultural norm in restaurants serving food not associated with the home culture opened my eyes to my need to step back and examine life here in Europe to notice the similarities and differences. When I first got here everything seemed completely different, but the more I observe the more I see huge similarities that simply require some further examination and a small departure from my American background. Seeing McDonald's and Burger King was a very interesting and valuable experience and I hope I continue see more and more elements of European society as an exposition of the cultural differences. On a final note, having to pay for ketchup is an atrocity and if there is ever an instance for America to lead the world and bestow its customs upon others, this is unequivocally it!!