To think It's not THAT odd to order a baked potato instead of chips, with a burger?

[Marygoround22]

Went for a pub lunch with my friend on Sunday.
Ordered a burger and asked for baked potato instead of chips.
I just don't favour the chips in this particular pub, and it saves fat/calories.

When my lunch arrived my friend was aghast (not exaggerating) kept repeatedly telling me how odd it was, that 'burgers go with chips that's that!' and 'You can order a baked potato on the menu anyway, so that's like you've got TWO meals!'
I see the point there but, a baked potato has fewer calories than a portion of chips, so doesn't that sort of negate that point at least?

I had the same comment a few years ago on a work do too-although they just made one comment rather than repeated ones.

There's a pub near me that offers any side with a burger, including baked potatoes, whereas most places I have to ask for a swap.

I kind of proved my friends' point in this pub on Sunday though, because the burger came with guacamole and roast veg on it, and I couldn't fit it into my mouth so I used them as a topping for the potato so I suppose that DID make it into two meals in the end!

YABU to have a baked potato instead of chips with a burger yes

Your friend was BU for repeatedly mentioning it though

the pub is BU for serving guacamole and roasted veg with the burger too

I wouldn’t do it but I don’t even like chips with a burger because I generally can’t manage the chips and the bun, as much as I’d like to. Too much carb (I fucking love carbs and am not on a diet but just have limited stomach space!) Similarly I find chips or bread with lasagne weird because you’ve already got carb in the lasagne.

But you can have whatever you want with your burger! I wouldn’t judge a friend for ordering what they like- I barely notice because I’m usually very interested in my own food at that point.

We have jackets as a side some times at home. It’s healthier then chips all the time. Usually with something like a steak / pork steak / chicken breast etc but not really any different to having it with a burger.

We wouldn’t then have a topping as well. Just some butter and if they are the huge jacket potatoes we would have half each as a side. Dinner the other week on the BBQ with a bit of side salad. I didn’t think that was odd.

I wouldn't want a jacket with a burger but then I'd probably prefer just the jacket with some cheese to the burger at all!

What's wrong with egg Mayo on a jacket?! It's delicious

Eh. People get too wound up about what "should" go with certain things.

A baked potato is delicious and a great side to things.

One comment is fine (if said nicely) but more than one is annoying and a bit ridiculous.
It's a baked potato, not you stripping and using the guacamole to finger paint on the table.

Who cares if its a weird food combination - why comment on it?

Weird but it's your prerogative.

I generally take the bun off the burger to save calories because burger buns are boring and chips are delicious 😁

I wouldn't class sausage, baked potato and beans as having a baked potato "as a side". You wouldn't have just a sausage and beans, and I view sides as things you can remove from the meal and it's still a meal (just a smaller amount of food).

Although I can see why one wouldn't want a mashed potato sandwich

You've clearly never had a vada pav, the Indian answer to a burger and one of my favourite ever food items.

I don't eat baked potatoes cooked by anyone except me because far too many pubs etc sell pre-made ones, which are usually disgusting, but if you want a baked potato with your burger, that's absolutely your choice. Plus I disagree with your friend that a potato in whole form with a burger is two meals, but if you cut that same potato into chips and fry them, that's just a side.

The only people I know who do this are brainwashed from years of slimming world, utterly convinced that calories from rice and baked potatoes don’t count but a slice of bread is a SYN!

Odd, but if that's how you like it, enjoy.

If chips and coleslaw with a burger isn't weird then coleslaw in a baked potato with a burger isn't weird. All perfectly normal.

Yes it is unusual.

I view sides as things you can remove from the meal and it's still a meal (just a smaller amount of food).

I don't view sides like that though. I'm talking about a meal I've often had at home, not whether I purchase "a side" at a pub.

That's an interesting take @YellowHairband . So, if the baked potato is removed here, It's not a meal-but if the beans were removed it still is?

So the actual meal is 'Sausage and Potato'?

Yes I thought that was odd logic too. Where do you draw the line? If the potato is cut into just a few thick wedges, is that okay?

I don't know. I can't even put it into words but it just feels wrong!

Even the thought makes me queasy. My brother agreed with me at the time, so I feel validated in my ridiculousness 😅

I wouldn't say a burger and jacket spud are natural bedfellows, but I can see the logic if you want a healthier choice than chips. And it's not like having two meals at all; a baked potato can be a light lunch but it's also a side order.

Perfectly normal, OP, I would'nt think twice.

Burgers are one of those weird double-carb meals with the bread from the bun plus chips or a spud - or sweet potato wedges if you must.

Anyone for whom a baked potato is a main meal is either on a diet, skint or a joyless fun sponge. A baked potato is the carb, you need loads of protein and vegetables alongside it. Roast potatoes aren't "a main meal", nor are mash or chips. Why would a baked spud be?

It is definitely permissible to have a sausage and beans. I had it for breakfast the other day.

I don't really like chips (unless they're covered in cheese) so I would like a baked potato with a burger.

I had nachos with a side of onion rings when I went out on Sunday and not one person commented on my order, which I think is weirder than yours! It was delicious though, and that's all that matters.

they called it a 'Festival Burger'!

To be fair, gross as it may be, I scraped the guac and veg from the burger (well, some of it, most of it had already fallen out!) and used that on the potato as a topping which was quite nice. So I can deal with that.

I find it a bit odd but I probably wouldn't comment if somebody ordered it. My DD ordered mash with her burger the other day which I also found a bit confusing!

Your friend sounds rude, and vastly over-invested in what other people eat.