“Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce. Special orders don’t upset us. All we ask is that you let us serve it your way!”

Burger King started using that slogan in 1973, and since then the chain really did let you “have it your way” – if what you wanted was to choose your favorite fixings on a white bun. But starting last month, Burger King has begun offering their burgers and sandwiches our way – on a ciabatta roll containing 8g of whole grain.

The whole wheat ciabatta comes automatically on Burger King’s TENDERGRILL® Chicken sandwich, which has also been reformulated to be lower in calories (470, down from 520) and sodium (a still-high 1100mg, down from 1410mg). When I went to order one (that’s me below) at our local BK in Portsmouth, NH, they assured us that the same whole grain ciabatta is also used on their Ciabatta Breakfast sandwich – and that you can request the whole grain option on any of their sandwiches.  

Now that would really allow whole grain lovers to have it their way. Sara, our intrepid President, tried to order a burger with the whole grain ciabatta bun at a Boston Burger King and got a blank look – but it’s early days, and staff at restaurants sometimes take a few weeks to get up to speed on new initiatives. We have faith that Burger King will really make this work.

Choice is what it’s all about. Yes, we’re the Whole Grains Council, but no, we don’t spend our time pushing for refined grains to disappear off the face of the earth. Our position is that first, restaurants need to offer whole grain choices – then second, it’s up to all of us to vote with our forks and our wallets to show restaurants that we appreciate their decision to have at least some whole grain choices on the menu at all times.

In fact, in offering a whole grain option, Burger King is jumping on a bandwagon that’s been speeding down the road for a good while.

Back in 2006 McDonald’s informed us that the buns on their Premium Chicken sandwich contain 8g of whole grain, and in 2007, PF Chang’s told us their customers choose almost as much brown rice as white rice.  Jack in the Box offers a Chicken Fajita Pita on whole grain pita, Ruby Tuesday serves a Brown Rice Pilaf, and almost four dozen chains now grace our list of restaurants offering at least one whole grain choice at all times.  (Take a look at our list – if you know of others we should add, leave a comment here or email us and tell us!)

It’s an interesting commentary on the groundswell of interest in whole grains that today, in 2010, Burger King is trumpeting the whole grains in their ciabatta, with the big placard you see pictured above. Back in 2005 or so, McDonald’s simply slipped those whole grains in the bun, without any fanfare, under the “premium” label. (We might not have even known McDonald’s bun was made with whole grain, if we didn’t check in with all the major restaurants regularly, as part of our campaign to nudge whole grains along.) Five years ago, whole grains might have seemed suspiciously healthy. Half a decade later, everyone out there has enjoyed a fairly wide variety of whole grain foods, and there’s an understanding that “healthier” and “tasty” don’t have to be opposites.

So how about you? Do you make sure to just ask for whole grains whenever you go into a restaurant?  Have you tried the whole grain offerings at any of these restaurants? We tried both the Burger King and McDonald’s chicken sandwiches last week – you can see both of them here, in my kitchen (those restaurants sure get anxious if you try to take photos on the premises!).

Which one did we prefer? We’re keeping our favorite a Big Secret so that you can decide for yourself. Come back and tell us what you think, with a comment here on the WGC blog. (Cindy)