Fast Food Hoedown - Page 3

For the most part, I'm a chicken whore. McDonald's: All four Premium Chickens (Spicy, Bacon Ranch, Club and Classic). Fries are good.
Burker King: Chicken Fries, Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich. Fries are great!
Wendy's: Spicy Chicken Sandwich w/cheese. Fries are very good.
Jack In The Box: Jack's Spicy Chicken, Sourdough Grilled Chicken Sandwich. Curly Fries are a godsend! I miss their pannidos.
Taco Bell: Cruchy Tacos, Spicy Chicken Soft Tacos, Caramel Apple Empanada. No fries to speak of.
Arby's: The Big Montana and the Chicken Cordon Bleu. Curly fries are exactly the same as JITB, so they rule by default.
White Castle: HATE ALL AROUND
Hardee's: Never had it before.
Sonic: I only had it once, but I don't remeber any bad experiences.
Whattaburger: n/a
Weinerschnitzel: Chili cheese dog!!
In-and-Out: n/a
Carl's Jr: Loaded Breakfast Burrito

It's amazing so many of you are still alive. Way to beat the odds guys!

After watching Super Size Me I pretty much cut out all the lower tier fast food, except in emergency situations. Once in a while I'll hit the upper tier places like Panera or Baja Fresh or Chipotle.

Recently I got some McDonalds coupons that were like 50% off so I figured what the heck, I'll use a couple. The Chicken Selects were OK, but nothing else tasted like real food. And good lord are those breakfast sandwiches nasty. Next time I'll just throw the coupons away.

Usually, I only pick up Burger King burgers if I'm eating it at home, which is where I keep my bottle of Ketch Fire habenero ketchup (nothing makes cheap fast-food burgers taste better). However, if I'm on lunch break or something, I usually hit up Wendy's for a couple Double Stacks (Jr. Double Cheeseburgers that I've never seen on a menu but they make anyways) or a Spicy Chicken Sandwich.

Other than that, it's Chinese food and Chipotle for me most of the time.

Oh, I RARELY eat this unhealthy crap. It's just that sometimes I crave it, so I chow down. I figure if I bust my ass avoiding it (eating chicken, fruit and veggies) and working out as much as possible, I deserve a little slip every now and then. And even in those cases, I don't order anything fried.

Fast food is 100% the devil. But damn if the devil don't taste good sometimes!

Bah! Another place I forgot to mention. Anyone else have Pollo Tropical? I guess it originated in Miami and has spread North. It was called Tropigrill at one point, but they've all swtiched back to the original name.

Anyways, it's fast-food Cuban. And it's really, really good. Fortunately, you can eat pretty healthy (and cheap) there by getting 1/4 chicken with red beans and rice, and the portions are great. The roast pork is great as well.

Damn you fast-food! Now I'm hungry! At least today is Super Bowl Sunday, so all bets are off. Actually picking up some wings from Gator's Dockside to bring them over to a friend's house and watch the game around 5.

Anyone doing fast-food today?!?

We had a bunch of El Pollo Locos here, then they became Pollo Tropical, and now they're TropiGrill (if there's even any still around).

For those that didn't already know, other than some missing and/or additional menu options, Hardee's and Carl's Jr. are one in the same. It's Hardee's in the East and Carl's Jr. in the West. They have the same smiley star logo and the big Angus beef burgers.

http://www.carlsjr.com/menu/

http://www.hardees.com/menu/

Also, while I haven't ever had Carl's Jr, I have Hardee's every now and again. Their burgers are phenomenal and delicious, although they are equal to the caloric intake for an entire day.

And their hand-dipped shakes are to die for.

I love reading everyone's praise for the sometimes little-known local places that no one else has really heard of. Pollo Tropical, Carl's Jr., Beto's....etc., etc. It's great. I hope some of these make it to my area, as we're typically a test market for new concepts and will usually see any kind of restaurant open at some point.

If I had money I'd franchise most of these places.

Shout out to Fuddruckers!

In three minutes I can walk to an Indian restaurant, a Vietnamese restaurant, an Ethiopian restaurant, and if I'm really needin' I can get a burger and fries at the bar across the street. AND I can chase that burger and fries with a Lagavulin (neat). What are these 'Big Macs' of which you speak?

After years of bad mouthing Taco Bell, I learned that I LOVE Bean Burritos yesterday.

I've worshipped Taco Bell for years.

And I definitely disagree with Werbal about BurgerKing and Hardee's. Vehemently so.

Much love for Checkers's burgers and fries.

Arby's is tops for me though. Melts, hash browns and curly fries. Can't be beat.

How about that unique sub-set of fast food -- the mall food court venue? Pricey as hell, but I love me some Panda Express, and a mall near me actually still has a Sbarro (which has all but vanished outside of malls here in Orlando).

Sbarro is pretty good, though I like pretty much any pizza and my favorite is the giant slice variety.

In other news, don't get Rodeo Burgers from Burger King. Cheeseburger with BBQ sauce dumped haphazardly all over the place. BBQ sauce is not a condiment to be overused, but I guess the average Burger King employee (something I used to be) doesn't know that.

Also, while I was there I saw a sign that said their 2 tacos for 1.89 was back. I was unaware it ever existed. Has anyone had this?

You may be the first one to mention Jack in the Box. Is it not a national chain? I like their Ciabatta burgers but hate their moronic employees. Best fast food employees are at Whataburger. They must be on salary with medical and a pension plan, because they never get it wrong, it seems, whereas Jack in the Crack seems to botch it at least 50% of the time.

EDIT: Never mind, Supremo mentioned Jack in the Box back on post 20, but there seems to be little love for the establishment.

And PS: When will Wendy's bring back the Wild Mountain Chicken Sandwich? I could eat one every day. Bring it back, make it permanant!

When Wendy's gets a specialty sandwich that's actually good they bring it back as little as possible. Instead, it's reruns of the mushroom cheddar burger for eternity.

Jack in the Box is mostly a West-of-the-Mississippi chain these days. I remember going to one here in Orlando back in the late 70s, but there's none here now.

There's are about 22 Jack in the Box locations here in Upstate South Carolina. I've been here for a little over a year and have never tried their food though. I've heard mixed reviews.

When I was working in the States:

Del Taco - about 1,000,000 times better than Taco Bell. The Steak Taco's were cheap and very tasty.

Fatburger - I only went here a few times, but DAMN.

In-And-Out - I actually liked the fires here, and the burgers were awesome.

Fuddruckers - the only place I have been too that let you pick how well you wanted your burger cooked. I was surprised to find one in Burbank, (San Fernando Blvd, near the promenade of stores and theatres before you got to that god-awful mall that intersected San Fernando, I believe?) but it was pretty good.

If I am going to eat shit like that these days, it's local restaurants or nothing. We used to go to a truly hole in teh wall Chinese place called Ken Hong's that had some great if really simple dishes. The Won Ton soup there couldn't be beat. The other great place was Albert Street Burgers, better than all of the other burger places I mentioned above, and cheaper to boot.

They have one of these that opened a few months ago in Greenville, SC. I went a few weeks ago with some friends and it was damn good, but left my stomach twisted in knots.

Wendy's is now promoting its Carolina Classic again. It was Wendy's claim to fame for many years.. chilli and slaw on a burger. For a limited time only!

I recently discovered Five Guys. Lord have mercy those are some good burgers. Truly the closest you'll get to grilling one at home.

Good call. My favorite is the Great Steak and Potato Company. Not a bad cheesesteak for mall food, and the fries are good.

Yeah, Pollo Tropical got its start in South Florida. Usually, I eat a TropiChop (chopped up skinless chicken breast) over white rice and black beans, topped with their exclusive "tropical salsa", which adds some kick.

Also, if you've never tried deep-fried ripe plantains (platano maduros), it's the perfect side order. I think on the menu they call it "Bananas Tropical".

Jesus Christ, these BK Stackers are kicking my ass. They go in my "list of things I would gladly give head for", but they'll probably also end up going on the coroner's report, under "Cause of Death"

Lots o' love for Taco Casa. They have the best taco seasoning on earth.

A BK Stacker is something different than just adding extra patties to a whopper? I guess I don't pay attention to the ads very well. I just think it's funny to see goblins get abused.

It's patty, bacon, melted cheese sauce, patty, bacon, melted cheese sauce, some other kind of tangy sauce, bacon, patty, tears of a thousand unclean spirits, melted cheese sauce, bacon and patty.

no lettuce. No tomato. No onions. That's it.

When dining on a budget I just got the Junior Chicken sandwichs at McDonalds. But something i've learned from McD's, even their napkins feel disgusting. My favorite fast food place is Wendy's, not too pricey and still good, or Churchs chicken, which certainly beats the shit out of KFC's trademark weird ass poultry.

Of all the threads I would expect to receive a resurrection months later, this wouldn't have been one I'd predict.

Not complaining. It's just weird.

We interrupt Patrick's ever-shortening life to bring you the nutritional information on a quad BK Stacker:

Calories: 1,000
Calories from fat: 620
Total fat: 68 g
Sodium: 1,800 mg

That's.. heroic.

Any New Yorkers who would like to experience In-N-Out should visit Blue 9 Burger near Union Square. For all intents and purposes an In-N-Out clone, right down to the secret orders (except its "medieval style" instead of "animal"). And they have some awesome mango chile sauce for the fries.

I'm a Subway regular. I go there like every other day. At least I don't have a guilt trip leaving the place, and everything's fresh.

It's been nice knowing you, Ripoll.

I go there a lot since I pledged to cut down on the burger places (Damn you, Spurlock!). I love the bread and the toppings, but the meats themselves tend to be a little bland. I pick up the Spicy Italian on roasted garlic pretty regularly.

I remember reading an article about White Castle's cooking practices, and while I must admire the incredibly efficient little burger production process they've got going on (something like 300 on a grill at once, and no need to flip them), the burgers just sounded terrible. I'd rather not have my meat and bread dissolve in my mouth.

Oh, and why hasn't anyone mentioned Philly Connection? Is it just local?

Fries are "okay"?

Sorry man, but considering how rotten fries are for you, I hate myself for eating the soggy, cardboard-tasting White Castle fries (yes, I know the answer is "so don't").

But those burgers - I think my main issue is that White Castle is far enough away (about a 30 mile drive) to be attainable yet highly inconvenient, so it's sort of a super-special treat.

When I was in SoCal we ate at a place called Freshburger that I thought was a chain; damn good stuff.

So is this thread to be considered Fatty Werbal's origin story?

White Castle is definitely a love 'em/hate 'em proposition.

My buddy from East St Louis married a Swiss woman who simply cannot believe he eats WC. I married a woman from Northern Wisconsin who feels much the same as the Swiss woman. My wife and I were in Cincy and after I passed out standing up, she decided it was time to go back to the hotel; I said "sure, and we gotta go to Whitey's"; she foolishly assumed this to be a negotiable point and watched in horror/amusement (I don't think even she knew which, probably both) as I ate 10 sliders by myself. I recall feeling pretty full at about 7 but figured what the hell, it's only 3 more.

She also got points for eating at both Skyline and Gold Star chili in the same day, though ironically she had the chili at neither.

I usually get the Roasted Chicken, Turkey, Roast Beef or Chicken Teriyaki (all on white). Once in a great while the Steak & Cheese. Their mini-pizzas aren't too shabby, either.

Tijuana Flats is damn fine. I work in Lake Mary, so we hit the one up there every so often.

As for the White Castle burgers, I think they're nasty. But I LOVE Krystal (ate there today, actually). Call me weird I suppose.

I'm pretty sure Burger King injects extra cholesterol into everthing on their menu. That place exudes an unhealthy vibe that could hurt your health just by being near it regardless of if you actually eat there.

The DC area equivalent to In and Out Burger is the aforementioned Five Guys. And by the way, both places are overrated, the only thing that is good about either of those places is that everything is fresh, which is nice but it's really basic other than that. Fuddruckers takes things up a notch but is slower. Carl's Jr. does too but brings shitting in your pants back into the equation. However, McDonald's burgers are still extremely "processed" tasting in comparison.

Chick Fila, Arby's market fresh options, and especially Chipotle could be described as healthy.

I like Zaxby's as a sleeper chain in the south.

I agree that Del Taco clearly trumps Taco Bell but either way you'll be taking a semi solid shit within 5 hours of eating it.

Roy Rogers, while at this point only existing in New York and random areas of the northeast, once ruled the breakfast hours options with their perfect bacon egg and cheese biscuits and unparalleled seasoning on their hash browns.

Mississippi is the fattest state in the country. One too many fast food hoes on every corner I suppose:

http://www.slashfood.com/2006/08/14/...-fattest-state

http://calorielab.com/news/2006/08/1...t-states-2006/

Delaware is 28th, Werbal. Be proud!

The one on 436 & 17-92 is fantastic! Best drunk food around, just not in the best location. It should be closer to the interstate (at least for me). Right off the Altamonte Springs exit would be perfect...

Man, I was happy as hell when they put that in. I hated going down to the other one on University, traffic was just too much of a bitch. And despite the fact that I live in Longwood, I've been to the Lake Mary Tijuana Flats maybe 5 times. I'll have to make a trip soon....

I was gonna start a thread about the BK Stackers, until I remembered this one.

I just had KFC for dinner and it was fucking awful.

I remember me and my girlfriend parked in the middle of a parking lot on a sunday afternoon and sat in the backseat with a bucket of KFC, because we both hadn't had it in a while. The first piece was a pleasant suprise. "Hey, this is good!" By the time it was near the end she was threatening to leave me forever if I took another bite of that disgusting shit.

We had a similar experience with a Little Ceasar's 5 dollar "Hot N Ready", except she enjoyed that.

KFC would be well-served to put a Bucket O' Skin on the menu. It's the only thing worth going there for.

Oh, and the gravy. If the Devil made a condiment, that would be it. So evil but so tempting.

I think the ladyboy who works at my local KFC has it in for me.

Fuck yes. It's pretty clear that nothing even resembling anything remotely organic is used to make that stuff but man....it's good.

Talk about cholesterol death...is there anything not fried at Zaxby's?

Back when I was in college ('92-'96), we'd go to a place called Taco Mayo. They had a combo called the "Macho Meal" and it consisted of:

2 lbs of tortilla chips
2 bowls of queso
4 burritos
12 tacos
4 large drinks

and it all cost $12. More often than not, I'd split this with one of my friends and we'd walk (roll, rather) out of there sickly full. But it was college and that shit filled us for at least two meals.

Unfortunately, they went out of business not long after I graduated.