The official ATOT Fast Food discussion thread

[Kaido]

Five Guys has shakes now (some locations). They are decent - I wouldn't go out of my way to get one, but they're not bad. Not nearly as good as Johnny Rocket's, but probably like a thicker McDonalds shake with wider flavor options. I have tried the Oreo Doublestuffed (tastes like every other Oreo milkshake out there), Malted Milk (retro flavor, very sweet, wish it came in Chocolate Malt), and Salted Caramel. The salted caramel was the least sugary, but it was probably my favorite. You can add bacon to any milkshake (no joke). Whipped cream optional.

 

[zinfamous]

I roll cheap and got my hot dog/drink from Costco (for the free drink and sauerkraut, of course)

I tried one of those $0.75 hotdogs from Ikea the other week.

....it was a mistake.

 

[Linux23]

I can confirm that with enough butter/honey, the Popeye's biscuit becomes edible.

oh btw, here I am balling out of control:

God now I want fried chicken at 10am. Thanks a lot.

Edit:. What did you put in your rice?

 

[zerocool84]

Five Guys has shakes now (some locations). They are decent - I wouldn't go out of my way to get one, but they're not bad. Not nearly as good as Johnny Rocket's, but probably like a thicker McDonalds shake with wider flavor options. I have tried the Oreo Doublestuffed (tastes like every other Oreo milkshake out there), Malted Milk (retro flavor, very sweet, wish it came in Chocolate Malt), and Salted Caramel. The salted caramel was the least sugary, but it was probably my favorite. You can add bacon to any milkshake (no joke). Whipped cream optional.

I'm just not a huge fan of Five Guys, you can put a ton of stuff in your burgers but it's not cheap and the buns are always super soggy because of how greasy it is. Plus their fries suck.

 

[Craig234]

Since this is the official thread I'll repeat what's by me and some comments:

McDonald's
Burger King
Nation's
Arby's
Der Wienerschnitzel
Casper's (bay area hot dog chain)
Wendy's
Carl's Jr
Five Guys
Popeye's
Chick-Fil-A
Del Taco
KFC
A&W
Taco Bell
Chipotle's
Various Hawaaiian Chicken BBQ
Subway
In-n-Out Burgers

Best tater tots: Nation's (no other good food, but shakes are not bad)
Best potato cakes: Arby's
Best biscuits: Carl's Jr by far - worth the trip, if you haven't had them, go
Worst burger: probably A&W
Best soft drink: A&W Root beer, of course
Best sodas including a local chain: clearly the housemade sodas at PJ's Brewhouse - three flavors, Root Beer, Vanilla, and Cherry - all possibly the best ever for each flavor.

I enjoy chicken less because of the bad treatment of chickens.
I haven't had Chick-Fil-A in 25 years because of the anti-gay politics it funds.

There are also other local chains, like this amazing pizza slice at Bronco Billy's, with all you can drink soft drinks including RC Cola and 'small batch fruit bunch':

Casper's I mentioned is old-style:

Oh, the food?

One of the better rated burgers in the country, old diner Val's:

 

[Craig234]

I'm just not a huge fan of Five Guys, you can put a ton of stuff in your burgers but it's not cheap and the buns are always super soggy because of how greasy it is. Plus their fries suck.

I call them the most disappointing burger. Not the worst - they're not bad. But all the hype on those quote all over the walls. They're just 'eh'. Not enough flavor.
Most overrated: In-n-Out.

 

[zinfamous]

God now I want fried chicken at 10am. Thanks a lot.

Edit:. What did you put in your rice?

He only added the fried skin bits from the chicken. Otherwise, it's standard RB&R from popeyes--the only thing of real value you can get at popeyes.

 

[zinfamous]

I call them the most disappointing burger. Not the worst - they're not bad. But all the hype on those quote all over the walls. They're just 'eh'. Not enough flavor.
Most overrated: In-n-Out.

blasphemy! D:

who are you comparing InO to?

They are only in McDonald's/Burger King/Wendy's, et. al. class.

You can't compare them to, say, Five Guys or Whattaburger or anything like that.

There really is no better burger value in the country than In-n-Out's double double at ~$3.42 or whatever it costs these days w/inflation.

 

[Linux23]

He only added the fried skin bits from the chicken. Otherwise, it's standard RB&R from popeyes--the only thing of real value you can get at popeyes.

Well a fried flip flop is way better than Hojangles.

And on that note Popeye's here I come.

 

[Ns1]

God now I want fried chicken at 10am. Thanks a lot.

Edit:. What did you put in your rice?

all the chicken skin that falls to the bottom of the basket + whatever I feel like breaking off the chicken.

 

[Ns1]

You can't compare them to, say, Five Guys or Whattaburger or anything like that.

There really is no better burger value in the country than In-n-Out's double double at ~$3.42 or whatever it costs these days w/inflation.

I'll just leave this here:

 

[slag]

Bojangle's fried chicken:

Better than everything.

review over.

We stopped at a BoJangles in Alabama? I think on our Florida trip and wasn't impressed. It was decent, but nothing to write home about. It very well could have been just that local place though. It was clean and nice inside also. Popeyes is several times better imho.

My favorite fast food place has to be Schlotzsky's though. Their fiesta chicken on a jalapeno cheddar bun, or their original on sourdough is the tastiest of tastys..

Drool.

 

[vi edit]

Yeah, I ate a Bojangles once on a road trip with a guy who said it was the best thing since buttered biscuits. Meh. Popeye's spicy chicken and blackbeans & rice any day over Bo's.

 

[Craig234]

blasphemy! D:

who are you comparing InO to?

They are only in McDonald's/Burger King/Wendy's, et. al. class.

You can't compare them to, say, Five Guys or Whattaburger or anything like that.

There really is no better burger value in the country than In-n-Out's double double at ~$3.42 or whatever it costs these days w/inflation.

Right, and I'm not saying they're bad but overrated - all this talk about 5 star chefs who rave about them and 25 car-long lines, way overrated. They're 'ok'.

 

[Linux23]

Thanks AT

 

[Craig234]

Best value $4 double burger?

I think Carl's Jr's 4-for-4 with cheeseburger, chicken sandwhich, fries and drink would argue; even the McD quarter pounder 2 for 5 has 'value' comparatively.

Burger king has a similar 5-for-4 deal with a cookie added.

 

[Ns1]

Best value $4 double burger?

I think Carl's Jr's 4-for-4 with cheeseburger, chicken sandwhich, fries and drink would argue; even the McD quarter pounder 2 for 5 has 'value' comparatively.

Burger king has a similar 5-for-4 deal with a cookie added.

For bulk/cheap deals, both the Carj's Jr and Wendy's 4 for 4 deals are decent. At McD the pick 2/$5 is much worse than the pick 2/$2. I mean FFS the 10pc nuggets are on the 2/$5 list, but a 20pc nuggets was already only $5.

 

[Linux23]

Burger King blows. Had the 2 for 5 cheeseburger special. The burgers were the size of Oreo cookies. It was dry and devoid of any burger flavor. Wtf happened to this chain?

 

[vi edit]

Another great value is Cookout. I think it's only a south/east coast thing.

http://www.cookout.com/menu/

You can get a decent double cheeseburger with a side of corn dog and chicken nuggets and a shake for $6. It's perfect if you have young kids. I can go there on a weekend when I've got Dad detail and feed myself and two kids for under $8.

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah, I ate a Bojangles once on a road trip with a guy who said it was the best thing since buttered biscuits. Meh. Popeye's spicy chicken and blackbeans & rice any day over Bo's.

popeye's doesn't have blackbeans and rice.



Yeah, Cookout is awesome. Haven't been there in so long.

 

[zinfamous]

Best value $4 double burger?

I think Carl's Jr's 4-for-4 with cheeseburger, chicken sandwhich, fries and drink would argue; even the McD quarter pounder 2 for 5 has 'value' comparatively.

Burger king has a similar 5-for-4 deal with a cookie added.

YOu also have to talk quality (which is a major part of "value")

Carl's (ne Hardee's) has generally been up there compared to others, but I-n-O stands above all others in that space when ti comes to sourcing their food.

Anything McD's puts out at the same price isn't really comparable, because you are talking $4 of mostly sawdust compared to I-n-O's beef.

 

[Ns1]

Anything McD's puts out at the same price isn't really comparable, because you are talking $4 of mostly sawdust compared to I-n-O's beef.

yeah but sometimes there's no InO available or you don't feel like waiting 20 minutes in line and another 10 minutes for food.


and I'll admit, there's a certain shitty nostalgia in eating the cheeseburgers/mcdoubles - reminds me of when I was 9 with no taste buds. of course, I can only eat 1 before feeling sick.

 

[glenn1]

I love Steak 'N Shake also, but the closest one here is a bit of a drive.

We used to stop in there after Buccs games on the way home when we had season tickets, was a fan of just going in and getting the Chili and Spaghetti with a Shake myself.

Steak N' Shake kicks In and Out's ass handily.

Ruby's is probably tops on my list now, the one on Oceanside Pier is particularly kickass. If you could somehow combine Ruby's and Rocket Fizz that would be the ultimate prize.

 

[vi edit]

I hate McDonalds. It's only slightly above White Castle at the bottom of my list of fast food places I'll willingly eat at. At least for anything other than breakfast. Their breakfast menu is the only redeeming value they have. 20 years ago at least they had awesome fries. That's no longer the case. If we had food that was produced in a 3D food printer...it would taste like McDonalds.

Whenever I'm forced to eat there it's hit the value menu for as cheap of food as I can get and then bury it in BBQ sauce and hope for the best.

 

[nakedfrog]

The weird thing for me about McDonald's is that I really feel like the double cheeseburger tastes much better than the quarter pounder or Big Mac.