Used to be Wendy’s, but then I tasted BK’s Sourdough Bacon cheeseburger… Oh! I WHISH I WAS EATING ONE RIGHT NOW!!
::drool::
To me, Sonic is an ISP. They’re an excellent provider, (5+ megabit DSL, wheee!) but can’t imagine they’d be any good at hamburgers. In California, Sonic the burger joint doesn’t seem to exist outside of Bakersfield at all.
As for the others, I’m not too crazy about Jack in the Box and their gristleburgers. The “Six Dollar” burgers at Carl’s aren’t a lot cheaper than six bucks, and I’d be pretty pissed to pay six bucks for one at a real restaurant. In-n-Out will do in a pinch, but I’m not too crazy about their ethos - want a side of Gospels with that?
A Whopper has its strong points, but the Big Mac remains unique. McD’s also got the better fries. BK’s are just bad, but McD’s were a lot better back when beef tallow didn’t scare everyone away.
One of the best burgers I ever had was one I had just yesterday. Five bucks for a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a soda at a little hole in the wall sorta donut shop near a freeway offramp in the seedy part of town. The fries were done just right, the bacon was thick-sliced, plentiful, crisp and actually had flavor. The burger itself had good flavor and the whole thing was hot. Not tepid, cooling in a bin waiting to be sold - this thing was hot. Just a fantastic lunch. I’ve never had anything that good at a chain.
I’ve never had Sonic or In n Out Burger, but Culver’s Butter Burgers and Steak N’ Shake are the best fast food burgers in my opinion.
Probably have to go with Wendy’s and Hardy’s after that. McDonald’s sucks, but I have to go there about twice a year. Burger King tastes good, but there is some sort of requirement that all their stores have to be extremely scuzzy, and most have closed in my city.
Based on the four you presented, and rating based on ‘whole experience’ and not just burger:
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Sonic - the burgers are good, but not remarkable. Having real onion rings is what sells me on it (even though their batter tastes a bit off), and I love the watermelon slush.
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Wendy’s - I worked at one for a year, and EASILY the best burgers and chicken of the bunch. The fries are also the best if you can get them HOT.
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Burger King - Onion rings are mediocre, but better than fries. The artificial grill flavor on the beef is poor, but better than number 4.
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McDonald’s - I haven’t eaten at one in two or three years. The fries are good when hot, but not great. The burgers are thin, relying more on the ingredients of the stuff around it (special sauce, ketchup, etc) than the beef itself.
Of course the best burgers I’ve had have been from Fuddrucker’s (thick beef = good), and Cheeburger Cheeburger (beef not quite as good, but the topping selection makes up for it).
Sonic. Nothing beats a Super Sonic Jalapeño Double Cheeseburger. Nothing.
After Sonic: BK, then a tie between Wendy’s and McDonald’s.
No fast food burger is as good as one you can make at home, but just as a place to stop for a quick bite or while on the road, they’re okay.
My rankings would go like…
Wendy’s
BK
Sonic
After saying that, if I had a choice where all three chains were available, I’d probably go to Sonic just as a change of pace. There are no Sonic within 200 miles of me, while there are Wendy’s and BK’s everywhere.
McDonald’s is awful.
- Local Diners
- Denny’s
- Wendy’s
- Carl’s Jr
- Jack in the Box
- In 'n Out
- Burger King
- McDonald’s
I haven’t had eaten at a Sonic or a Hardee’s in years.
I have no ‘Sonic’ restaurants anywhere nearby. My personal Burger rankings are as follows:
1.) Wendy’s
2.) Hardee’s
3.) Tie between BK and McD’s.
I love Hardee’s new burgers… but Wendy’s has always been my favorite. McD’s burgers are kinda bland, and sometimes make me sick… but BK isn’t any better, since all I can taste with them is char.
Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s are supposedly two differently-named branches of the same chain these days, or so I’m told. I would imagine they’re fairly similar.
I don’t often eat my burger at a fast food chain place rather than the alternatives up or down the scale.
I’m eating a NY street-vendor hamburger right this very moment, simple ground beef tossed onto bun with lettuce and tomato; and I’m also quite fond of the chili burger deluxe at the diner down the block where if you try to stack all the loose lettuce tomato bermuda onion kosher dill etc on the chili-drowned sirloin patty and crown it with the fancy seeded roll top and hoist it to your mouth instead of going at it with fork and knife, you’ve got an 8" tall stack of 'burger to cope with; also wonderful at the diner, a real vanilla shake (not a stupid soda), a shake that isn’t clotted up with artificial powders that make it so thick you can’t consume it with a straw, a vanilla shake actually made from ice cream and milk and spun in a steel cup with a Hamilton Beach soda-fountain blender.
But if I’ve gotta:
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Wendy’s. Best burgers, fries as good as anyone’s, flexible menus. Tell 'em to hold back on the condiments on the burger.
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Dairy Queen, if you can find one that still does the full menu and not just the ice cream stuff. Very underrated burgers, quite good. Decent fries. Used to have good milk shakes but then they went to powder. Good onion rings, a rarity.
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Burger King. Good burgers, lousy fries.
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Anyone else. Carls, Burger Chef, etc. Lots of mediocrity. I’ll eat there if I’m hungery and it’s a case of eat there or eat at MacDonald’s.
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MacDonald’s. Lousy burgers, fairly good fries, decades of annoying commercials for which I still hold a grudge. I’ll eat there if I’m hungry and it’s a case of eat at MacDonald’s or don’t eat.
Mmmm…Licks. Can’t wait until I get to go home and get a Licks’ burger. I wish they’d keep expanding. Come on Licks we’re waiting for one in Windsor and I think they’re still waiting for one in London.
Harvey’s is better than the above four places, I mean who can resist those huge Harvey’s pickle slices. But to be honest, I think I’ve only had BK once or twice in my life, haven’t had McDs in years, and when I do go to Wendy’s I get the chicken. Never heard of Sonic. Must be U.S. only.
I’d rather eat the ass out of a dead skunk than eat anything from Sonic. Horrible, horrible sodium pattys soaked in lard. Bad service to boot!
If I had to rate them, I’d put Wendy’s at the top.
Wendy’s Chicken, nuggets, and other ‘real’ food.
McDonald’s for not much at all except $.99 double cheeseburgers
Burger King burgers.
Sonic desserts, fries, tots and flavored sodas (like Vanilla Coke). Also, the availability of a tasty grilled cheese.
Hardee’s burgers, (I miss Carl’s Jr.). There also isn’t a Hardee’s within 40 miles, so I don’t go there often.
- Sonic
- Wendys
- McDonalds
- BK
It’s a chain, there’s one in the Fifth Avenue Place mall-like place in downtown Pittsburgh. My former co-workers and I used to joke about how it was probably a good thing they didn’t offer tossed salad.
Anyway, to get back to the list:
- Swenson’s. Franchise local to Akron, OH. Best burgers in existence, hands down.
- Wendy’s. Best fast-food burgers, close second to McD’s on fries, 99c menu.
- Hamburger Station. Another one local to the Akron area, has mini-burgers similar to White Castle, except these aren’t completely disgusting.
- McD’s. Quick and easy, the one near Pitt that’s open until 3AM is great for quelling the post-drinkin’ beer munchies.
- Never been to a Sonic, but it’s got to be better than what’s below.
[insert any number of burger joints, and a couple waste-treatment facilities]
N) BK. Dried-out burgers, every one I’ve been to since I can remember has been slow as hell, fries are gross when not eaten straight from the fryer.
N+1) White Castle. I fail to see how anyone could consider that garbage “food”.
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Wendy’s. Like the toppings, and their fries are underrated. I get most of my fast food burgers there.
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McDonald’s. The Big Extra finally gives them something edible on the menu. Good, but overrated fries.
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Sonic. Never eaten there; never even seen one.
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Burger King. The Whopper is a first-class burger, but their fries are just plain awful; they taste like they added detergent to the oil. They used to be my favorite until the messed with the fries (for no apparent reason – they were the equal of McD’s). Now, every time I think about it, I end up thinking “but I want some fries and I won’t eat their crap.”
There was a schism in fast food restaurants a few years back. There really are three types of fast food restaurants. They are:
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Burger Joints: They sell hamburgers, fries and shakes and that’s basically it. They make pathetic efforts to expand their menu, but inevitably, they “refocus on their core business”, which is burgers. McDonalds. Burger King, Dairy Queen, Hardee’s, Carls Jr, Jack in the Box*, Whataburger. I’ve never had In and Out burger, but I assume it’s the same. It really doesn’t matter who makes the best burger here. It’s all about price. Personally, I prefer Whataburger, but it honestly makes little difference. A major warning sign that you are about to enter a Burger Joint is that they talk about their french fries way too much.
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Fast Food Restaurants: These are the guys who have successfully introduced other menu items. Sonic and Wendy’s are in this category. Wendy’s has decent chicken sandwiches, and chili and salads that aren’t a joke. The food is relatively good. I think we are all in agreement about the superiority of Wendy’s burgers. Sonic burgers aren’t great, but where else can you get a drink called Ocean Water? Or Cherry Limeades? Tater tots, ice cream, frito pie complete the variety. Also, they have the best breakfast sandwich EVER. The sausage toaster is perfection. I shan’t tolerate discussion on this issue.
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Other Types of Food. Now, we know Wendy’s and Sonic built their empire on burgers, but successfully introduced other stuff. Naturally, there are restaurants that became successful just selling the other stuff. Long John Silvers, Taco Bell, Weinerschnitzel fall into this category, along with dozens of regional favorites (Taco Cabana). These guys know better than to sell hamburgers. My personal opinion is that the food at most of these places is slightly better than edible. Sometimes you just have a jones for Long John Silvers or Taco Bell. That’s fine. That’s cool. But they aren’t really in competition.
- I hesitated to put Jack in the Box in this category. The first time I visited a Jack in the Box they had teriyaki bowls, hotdogs, tacos, salads, burgers, and all sorts of crazy stuff. I developed a theory about how they were the only restaurant that truly represented America. It was quite complex and interesting, if I may say so. But a week ago, I went into one, and they only had burgers, tacos and that pannido thing. So, I’m assuming they “refocused on their core business.”
I’ve never heard of In n Out, and I’ve only heard of Sonic because of that show with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie a few months ago. We don’t have those restaurants here.
Here are my favourite places:
Overall: BK (love everything basically, but I can skip the fries)
Second: Wendy’s (love their chicken burgers, and their burgers)
Third: A&W (like their burgers and LOVE their fries, but can be a little pricey)
As for Harvey’s, McDonalds, and the select others that slip my mind that I’ve eatten at… I don’t like them much at ALL. Sorry!
Well that’s my 2 cents.
Nothing is better than a Sonic burger.
Much better.
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Wendy’s; the Wendy’s double with cheese is the gold standard as far as I’m concerned; best fast-food salads bar none. Prefer Wendy’s fries to McD’s (less salty, for one thing)
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Hardee’s; don’t eat there regularly, no particular fave, but just about everything I’ve had there has been decent.
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McD’s, mainly for the Big Mac and double cheeseburger; fries OK but I’m not in love with them the way most people seem to be.
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Whataburger; excellent burgers, miserable fries; I’ve never had a W fry that wasn’t shriveled, limp and oozing grease.
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Jack in the Box; hilarious TV commercials but mediocre burgers; doesn’t do anything particularly well and doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be any more
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BK: back in my partying days a double Whopper w/Cheese was my preferred Sunday brunch/hangover rememdy, now I can’t even bear to look at, much less smell one. And their fries are indeed hideous.
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Sonic: ate at one a grand total of once in my life, remember nothing about it and have never been back.
A special circle of hell is reserved for the yuppieburger chains like Fuddrucker’s and Beck’s Prime; twice the price for at best a 5% increase in quality.
I really eat too many burgers.