29 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

The Ringer: What’s the Best Fast Food?

https://theringer.co...aa01#.7jj7gjit6

[BSLChrisStoner]

The Ringer: The Top 50 Fast Food Items in America
http://fastfood.theringer.com/

[Mackus]

I don't think Five Guys, Shake Shack, Chipotle, or any of the others that don't have drive thrus should really count as Fast Food.

 

In 'N Out for burgers (double double animal style) and Chick Fil A (spicy chicken regular, no lettuce/tomato/cheese) for chicken for me.  In 'N Out is a rare treat for me since I almost never am near an area that has one, so I probably inflate it more than I would if there were one every square mile like there are Chick Fil A's.

 

McDonald's and Wendy's I like as well, both burgers and chicken.  Prefer McDonald's for burgers and fries and Wendy's for spicy chicken.  Not a fan of Burger King.  I like both Popeye's and KFC for fried chicken and biscuits, but prefer Popeye's.

 

As far as fries, it's McDonald's #1 for me by quite a bit.  I don't really like the Chick Fil A waffle fries, they are ok but I think they get cold really fast and are often under-salted.  I hate In 'N Out's fries, they aren't worth purchasing, getting them cooked well done helps make them crispy but they still are terrible.  Fresh cut fries have to be cooked correctly and In 'N Out doesn't even try.  Five Guys does fresh cut fries perfectly, but I'm not counting them as a fast food place.  I really like seasoned fries, so Arby's curly fries, Popeye's cajun fries, and and Checkers seasoned fries are all favorites of mine.  I don't like KFC's big thick cut wedge fries at all.

 

I gotta be in the right frame of mind for Taco Bell.  That usually means a crippling hangover.  But sometimes it really hits the spot.  I like the double decker taco supreme loaded with hot sauce and the steak grilled stuffed burrito.

[mweb08]

That's a reasonable distinction IMO. I tend to focus on cost more than the drive thru element since it's fair to compare Royal Farms chicken to KFC, but not fair to compare a $5ish meal at a fast food place to a similar item that costs almost twice as much (In-N-Out combo compared to Shake Shack).

 

I love In-N-Out so that's my favorite fast food burger.

 

Chick-Fil-A does have excellent chicken sandwiches and waffle fries.

 

Royal Farms and Popeyes are great for fried chicken.

 

El Pollo Loco is a good West coast place and I also have a soft spot (figuratively and most likely literally) for Del Taco.

 

I've also like the BK whopper and original chicken sandwich as well.

[Chris B]

Raising Cane's is so goddamn good. 

[NewMarketSean]

Good call on the terrible In-n-Out fries. Pretty much inedible. Burgers were solid from what I remember.

 

I think overall Wendy's is the best when you look at the whole menu. Their burgers are great and the fries, while not as good as McDonald's, are still good. McDonald's burgers are awful.

 

And where do you put in Fatburger? It's a fast food chain primarily on the WC but here it's pretty much on par with Five Guys.

 

Sure, you have different classes of fast food, like Chipotle and Cava Grill, but they're still fast food.

[RShack]

Agree that 5 Guys, etc., don't count... only places with drive-thru's count...

Even apart from that, the list seems goofy to me...

*****

McD fries by a mile... (God knows what chemicals they use to approximate beef tallow)...

Whataburger's double burgers are great... but *only if* you eat it right then... for some reason, they don't travel well... not even from drive-thru back home... (they're the Krispy Kreme's of the burger world in this way)...

A Chick-Fil-A sandwich is hard to beat...

 

BK Whopper-w/-cheese is good... needs the cheese... but it's lousy for eating-while-driving due to mess... (same for Big Mac... IMO, Big Mac is perfectly OK but is over-rated...)

Best bargain: McD's Double Cheeseburger... it's a Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese for less than half-price... same ingredients just slightly rearranged... I think it tastes better... the ratio of meat, cheese, condiments, bread is just plain better... (my bride and I each decided this years before we knew each other)... it's the best eat-while-driving choice, due to MIN mess...

Arby's Jamoca (sp?) shakes for me, please...

*****

Questions:

Why don't most chains have large shakes any more?

And why are McD's shake machines down 30% of the time?

[BobPhelan]

Big Mac (new Mac Jr is great too) Spicy Chik-Fil-A Sandwich (and fries) Cheesy Gordita Crunch Wendy's Frosty Burger King Chocolate Oreo Milkshake

[mweb08]

I like the In-N-Out fries. They aren't great, I admit, but are better animal style. 

[SportsGuy]

Agree that places like 5 guys, Chipotle, etc...should be in a different category.

 

For me, it depends on what I feel like.  Chik Fil A has a great salad and the best milkshakes.  Their breakfast is also very good.

 

Wendys is the best in terms of burgers/sandwiches/fries...IE, they are good in all phases there.

 

Hardees/Roy Rogers has the best fried chicken of the fast food places.  I think its easily better than KFC and Popeyes (and i like them both).  Of course, you rarely see Hardees/RR anymore, so just go to RoFa.

[Markus]

In-N-Out gargles balls. Overrated like a mugg. And their fries are terrible (even if your order them extra crispy). And spare me on the whole 'secret menu' bullshoot.

If for some reason I need a drunk fast food fix, Jack on the Box is where it's at. Such a wide variety of food choices.

[RShack]

In-N-Out gargles balls. Overrated like a mugg. And their fries are terrible (even if your order them extra crispy). And spare me on the whole 'secret menu' bullshoot.
 

 

I went twice in CA... once just to see what all the fuss was about.   It blew.  

 

So I went to another one, figuring the first one was just a bad fluke.  Same boring bland "What's all the fuss about?"  food I got the first time.

 

Twice was enough.

[Mike in STL]

Roy Rogers Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich is still the king. Too bad they are hard to find anymore.

[NewMarketSean]

There's a RR in Frederick. I never go...

[You Play to Win the Game]

Roy Rogers Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich is still the king. Too bad they are hard to find anymore.

Yes, it is... and unfortunately there's one within a mile of my house.

[DJ MC]

I miss Roy Rogers so much.

 

I always liked their burgers, and of course the roast beef was really good.

 

My family is also weirdly obsessed with Long John Silvers.

[SportsGuy]

Long John Silvers looks disgusting on TV...can't even imagine what it is like in real life.

[You Play to Win the Game]

I used to hate walking by LJS at the Frederick Mall growing up. Never even close to intrigued about that place. Granted, not a huge seafood fan outside of Crabs and Shrimp, but seafood and fast food just doesn't match up well. Oh, but Wendy's seems really proud of their extra strong breading for their fish filet lol. 

[You Play to Win the Game]

Chick-Fil-A's new app is pretty cool. Not all stores do this, but many now provide curbside pick up. Order 5 minutes before you arrive, and they bring it right out to you. Sure beats the 2 mile back up for the drive-thru.

[SportsGuy]

Chick-Fil-A's new app is pretty cool. Not all stores do this, but many now provide curbside pick up. Order 5 minutes before you arrive, and they bring it right out to you. Sure beats the 2 mile back up for the drive-thru.

There are a lot of businesses, fast food or not, that could learn from Chik Fil A.  Their political/religious points of view aside (which I know bother some), the service you get there is excellent, at least in my experiences.

 

They are polite and never f up your order.  Its very family oriented too.