# Best fast food hamburgers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382 "2007-07-19T14:05:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/61 "2007-07-20T07:25:36Z")
[QUOTE=T\_SQUARE] This list should start and end with **In-N-Out**. [/QUOTE] Alright then. In- N -Out ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/62 "2007-07-20T07:54:26Z")
This is just local, but in Nashville, the only place to go for a fantastic burger is Fat Mo’s…big, juicy and cooked to order…mmmmm!!! ---
**Author:** ![PerditaX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@PerditaX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PerditaX)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/63 "2007-07-20T11:46:41Z")
If “fast food” _only_ refers to places with drive-thru, I’d have to go with **Checkers**. In my definition, if you order it at a counter and take it to the table yourself, it’s fast food. If you go by that, my favorites are **Fuddruckers, Fatburger,** and **Five Guys.** FYI, I live in Tampa, Florida and we have all three of those here. They have **Backyard Burgers** in Orlando, but I’ve never tried them. My husband ate there when he was working in that area, and says they’re good. Is it worth the drive to find out? ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/64 "2007-07-20T11:57:59Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] In Thailand, we have both Burger King and McDonald’s. Same as stateside, I love Burger King and cannot stomach McDonald’s. We used to have Wendy’s, but it did not catch on. Disappeared after a couple of years, but it was good. We do also have A&W, the old root-beer company’s hamburger chain. It’s not bad, but they’re down to one or two locations, at least half what they had before. [/QUOTE] This last one is tough for me to fathom. How could a fast food chain that sells it self, primarily, on root beer, try it overseas? We have had a few threads (and I claim some personal knowledge) that the flavor of root beer is predominantly only liked in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/65 "2007-07-20T15:02:38Z")
[QUOTE=missred] This is just local, but in Nashville, the only place to go for a fantastic burger is Fat Mo’s…big, juicy and cooked to order…mmmmm!!! [/QUOTE] Glad you recommend them. I’ve passed the place(s) many times and have yet to eat there. I keep meaning to. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/66 "2007-07-20T15:13:32Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] Oh come on, now you’re just being silly. You know exactly what I meant: Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. are the same restaurant, with different names. [/QUOTE] No, they are not. Hardee’s was a very large chain of restaurants with its own menu, before somewhat smaller Carl Karcher Enterprises (parent of Carl’s Jr. Restaurants) snapped them up a few years ago. Since then, there has been some rationalization of the menus, but a Hardee’s menu still bears only passing resemblance to a Carl’s Jr. menu. The burgers are somewhat similar, but the rest of the food definitely shows the differences in taste developed by the Carl’s customers over the years. You can view the Hardee’s menu [here.](http://www.hardees.com/menu/) You can view the Carl’s Jr. menu [here.](http://www.carlsjr.com/menu/) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/67 "2007-07-20T15:19:26Z")
For my money, the best national chain burgers have always been the ones from Carl’s Jr. The Hardee’s burgers are slowly coming around to having similar taste. Of course, prior to the acquisition of Hardee’s by CKE, Inc., Carl’s Jr. was not a national chain, restricted to the southern portion of the Western US (California, Arizona, some Nevada, Colorado, some Texas). So it is hard to say that they have the best nationwide fast food burger. Fudrucker’s isn’t fast food. That’s why they taste so good. 🙂 In ‘n’ Out has mighty tasty food, but it doesn’t charbroil, and I prefer charbroiled burgers to griddle fried burgers. Wendy’s used to have really good fried burgers, but they’ve been less appealing lately, not sure why (but those frittata sandwiches are good eats!). Burger King is ok at best, and McDonald’s has nothing in the way of a burger that tastes good at all, unless you like whatever sauce is on it (I do give props to Mickey D’s for at least SEASONING the burger, even if it is only pepper and salt). ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/68 "2007-07-20T15:35:04Z")
[QUOTE=PerditaX] If “fast food” _only_ refers to places with drive-thru, I’d have to go with **Checkers**. In my definition, if you order it at a counter and take it to the table yourself, it’s fast food. If you go by that, my favorites are **Fuddruckers, Fatburger,** and **Five Guys.** [/QUOTE] I’m not sure where you are, but some of the Fatburgers around here definitely have drive-thrus, so even if they’re a bit slow compared to a McDonald’s, they still meet the stricter definition of fast food. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/69 "2007-07-20T18:19:45Z")
[QUOTE=PerditaX] If “fast food” _only_ refers to places with drive-thru, I’d have to go with **Checkers**. In my definition, if you order it at a counter and take it to the table yourself, it’s fast food. If you go by that, my favorites are **Fuddruckers, Fatburger,** and **Five Guys.** FYI, I live in Tampa, Florida and we have all three of those here. They have **Backyard Burgers** in Orlando, but I’ve never tried them. My husband ate there when he was working in that area, and says they’re good. Is it worth the drive to find out? [/QUOTE] Have to be careful with that definition. After all, Carl’s Jr. and now Hardee’s bring your food to you at your table, though you still order at the counter, and they are definitely “fast food”. And if counter ordering is your criteria, then so are many pizza joints. To me, “fast” food is everything the name implies. Food that is delivered speedily to you, without more than three or four minutes of wait at most. Steak and Shake is not fast food, and the prices are confirmation of that fact. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/70 "2007-07-20T18:28:07Z")
I’ll be the lone northwestern voice calling for Burgerville USA. Mmmm. Otherwise, and if farther south, In-n-Out, if not just for the slabs of onion. Disappointing: Hamburger Habit. Good fries, crap burgers. Rather go to Fatburger. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/71 "2007-07-20T18:31:50Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] Not quite, in my experience. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Hardee’s (That will change very quickly), but from what I remember, they had a decent breakfast menu. Carls Jr is just plain bad when it comes to the breakfast menu. I know that Hardee’s menu has changed since I have been on the west coast so I will be interested to see how similar they really are in a few days. [/QUOTE] Hardees and CJ are identical restaurants just different names. I just moved from Utah, where I ate CJ at least once a week, to Ohio, where I eat Hardees at least once a week. They are identical. They only difference is I think CJ gives their burgers fancy names, where as Hardees has the exact same burger, but may just call it the 1/3 pounder or something plain. They even have the same star symbol and do the same promotions at the same time. Check out the 2 websites and you will see they are identical except for the dish names. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/72 "2007-07-20T20:10:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **SSG Schwartz** > \*Ok, it’s regional, but my pick goes to Cook Out. \* Thanks for the heads-up, **SSG Schwartz**! I love their milkshakes, but have never tried the burgers. (Usually the milkshake alone is enough to fill me up.) ---
**Author:** ![Taters](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/taters/32/2845_2.png) [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/73 "2007-07-20T20:50:27Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Never heard of them, they must be regional? I agree with **pulykamell** about _Fatburger or In 'N Out burger_. Both are fairly regional, however, Fatburger being SoCal and LV only, afaik. In 'N Out is so damn fresh and juicy. The fries are hwaaayy underdone for my taste, but they will make them extra-crispy if you ask. White Castle has never made it to CA, either, afaik. ☹ Red Robin _is_ out here, and used to be great, but not so much anymore. Carls Jr’s the Six Dollar burger is always too damn dry every time I have had one. Big yes, but dry as a hockey puck. Denny’s is weird. Sometimes it will be the perfect burger- juicy, tasty, big, decently priced, other time you get that hockey puck again.[/QUOT We’ve got a FatBurger up here now. My husband, kids, and I went to check it out. It was okay, but certainly not worth $40.00. Call me cheap, but I don’t consider a forty dollar tab to be a fast food tab. My burger was good, but I found the dill to be overpowering and it ruined the whole thing. I’m not a huge dill pickle fan. I ate at In-n-Out last year while visiting California. I liked it. Simple, fast, hot, and not lost in sauces. Carl’s Junior: meh, not impressed. Ate at two of them. Both were dirty, the service was bad, and I didn’t really like the burger. I have to say, I don’t really prefer one burger over the other for “big” national chains. They pretty much taste the same, which is to say, somehow watery and flavorless; although, I tried the new sirloin burger from Jack in the Box and I did like that. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/74 "2007-07-20T20:54:30Z")
Yep - definitely In & Out. Only 8 items on their menu, and there’s always a line of cars halfway down the street. They seem to have discovered the novel concept that people simply like food that tastes good, not a bunch of bullshit & hype. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/75 "2007-07-20T21:14:12Z")
[QUOTE=Stinkpalm] Hardees and CJ are identical restaurants just different names. I just moved from Utah, where I ate CJ at least once a week, to Ohio, where I eat Hardees at least once a week. They are identical. They only difference is I think CJ gives their burgers fancy names, where as Hardees has the exact same burger, but may just call it the 1/3 pounder or something plain. They even have the same star symbol and do the same promotions at the same time. Check out the 2 websites and you will see they are identical except for the dish names. [/QUOTE] Did you bother to read my post? Did you look at the links? Did you see that there are substantial differences between the two menus? (Example: No Western Bacon Cheeseburger in Hardee’s; no Chili Cheese Burger at Carl’s) No, you did not… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/76 "2007-07-20T21:20:54Z")
Rally’s and Checker’s are absolutely the same, but what I don’t get in my area they closed some Rally’s for remodeling, and reopened them as is as Checker’s. 😕 Now Big Kahuna burger- that’s a tasty burger! ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/77 "2007-07-20T21:57:08Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] I agree with **pulykamell** about _Fatburger or In 'N Out burger_. Both are fairly regional, however, Fatburger being SoCal and LV only, afaik. [/QUOTE] There’s a Fatburger in Pleasant Hill, CA. I think I’ve only eaten there once or twice, but it was decent. I had a chicken sandwich, though, not a burger. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/78 "2007-07-20T22:05:35Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] \ Some that were good before turning to crap: Wendy’s What-a-burger [/QUOTE] I need to amend this. I don’t think I ever ate a What-a-burger, but even if I did this is not what I was remembering. There was a little hole-in-the-wall box that was purely drive-thru but which had some bodacious burgers. It was about the size of a Photo-mat or one of those little bitty buildings. Anyway they got bought up by Wendy’s or another chain and immediately lost anything special about their food. So please replace “What-a-burger” with “Beefy’s” in my comments earlier. Sorry to have said anything negative about What-a-burger. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/79 "2007-07-20T22:32:32Z")
**Big Kahunaburger**? Damn, that\* is \* one tasty burger! No, seriously, \*\*Rally’s/Checker’s \*\* is my pick. The burgers are good and the fries are out of this world. If you’re gonna do fast food, you oughta do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382/80 "2007-07-20T23:32:55Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] No, they are not. Hardee’s was a very large chain of restaurants with its own menu, before somewhat smaller Carl Karcher Enterprises (parent of Carl’s Jr. Restaurants) snapped them up a few years ago. Since then, there has been some rationalization of the menus, but a Hardee’s menu still bears only passing resemblance to a Carl’s Jr. menu. The burgers are somewhat similar, but the rest of the food definitely shows the differences in taste developed by the Carl’s customers over the years. You can view the Hardee’s menu [here.](http://www.hardees.com/menu/) You can view the Carl’s Jr. menu [here.](http://www.carlsjr.com/menu/) [/QUOTE] Interesting. I loved Hardee’s when I was in grad school. I tried a Carl’s Jr. when I moved to CA, and wasn’t particularly impressed. It was 20 years later, though. Another vote for the non-fast food Red Robin. And an upchuck for Inn’N’Out. The burgers are marginal, but the wait is too long, and their fries are the worst on the planet (and I’ve had them both ways.) I’d prefer supermarket brand freezer fries. Around here we have a bunch of locally owned burger shops, which are quite good. Of the real fast food places, I prefer Wendy’s, though McDonalds fries are a bit better. I’ll have to give Carl’s another shot, though none of the ones near me are all that convenient. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-fast-food-hamburgers/412382.md?page=5)