I wanted to go to Popeye’s for lunch today but my wife had me go to CFA instead. I typically choose Popeye’s largely because the sandwich is delicious and the line is usually shorter. It’s certainly true that CFA has far stronger competition in the fried chicken sandwich market than they did twenty years ago.
Sounds like my experience with In ‘n’ Out. I was really looking forward to trying it after all the raves on this board. I thought it was one of the worst burgers I’d ever had, almost beating out McDonalds for most tasteless crap on a plate. And the fries sucked, too.
One aspect to the CFA and In ‘n’ Out cultishness that I have found is the astoundingly long drive-thru lines. They both do as good a job as possible working the long lines with outside order takers using tablets, but if I’m looking to grab something for a quick lunch or while I’m on the road, I will invariably choose something else to avoid the astronomically long lines.
And regarding the religious politics underlying both, yeah, I’m not too keen on all it. But with In ‘n’ Out the vibe is 50’s clean-cut, which I am OK with. With CFA it’s more glassy-eyed church camp, which makes me kinda itchy.
Cane’s prices around here have probably increased ~50% over the last 3-5 years. They have an individual meal – the six-tender Caniac – that (with tax) costs $16 locally, in one of the lowest cost-of-living areas of the U.S.
I know I’ve heard your story before, but that comparison just boggles my mind, even accounting for de gustibus. (Well, the fries do suck.) My 75-year-old mother-in-law detests fast food hamburgers, especially McDonald’s, and begrudgingly came with us to In N Out while driving back from the airport in Phoenix. She just ordered a normal hamburger (no cheese). She took one bite and was like “now this is what a hamburger should taste like.” She now goes around with In N Out gift cards for her trips there. I have never in my 15 years of knowing her seen her voluntarily eat at a fast food place, but now, that’s the only one she ever goes to. To compare it to McDonalds–I just don’t understand. Then again, I think Wendy’s is tasteless crap, but they have their adherents, too.
What does it mean if I like McDonald’s and Wendy’s (well, they can be wickedly inconsistent as well) but think In-N-Out is very overrated, though may choose their burger over McD or Wendy, but then swing by McD’s for fries. 
That’s sensible enough. The fries are positively bad. They’re fresh-cut, but, somehow, they screw it up. (I think they are single fried instead of double fried.)
With the hype, it’s hard not to have some grand expectations for what an In N Out hamburger should be. I’m lucky and so is my mother-in-law that we didn’t really have any expectations. I first had it in California in 2007, and I just thought it was just some local joint. I had heard of it, but no hype, as I live in Chicago. I ran out to get like eight regular cheeseburgers for the boys, and on the first bite, I was smitten. I hadn’t even heard of the “secret menu” yet. And, when I did, I ordered it wrong, just asking for an “animal style,” not knowing it had to be appended to a regular order. These days, I order regular items more than half the time, with the occasional double double animal style.
Is it the best? No. Shake Shack does a better burger at like double the price point. Five Guys is comparable, but I like In N Out better. And, once again, Five Guys has a significantly higher price point. That said, if there’s one burger I’d be most happy with eating for the rest of my life, it’s In N Out. I never get tired of it.
Which does not necessarily correlate with quality. There are usually long lines in the local McDonald’s drive-through, which I’ve never understood because there are at least two burger places nearby that are far superior in every way, offering a better product with faster service. The only time I ever go to McDonald’s is for breakfast. They do have good coffee.
This.
You can watch them being cut and tossed in the fryer to be served immediately after cooking, which is actually a BAD thing. That’s too fresh.
You can ask for them ‘well done’ which helps a little, but I just don’t bother getting fries there.
I felt like this thread was getting hijacked into an In-N-Out discussion, so I created a new thread to discuss In-N-Out.
I won’t derail this any further, but will concede that it was possibly that particular franchise.
Hey, there’s another thread. Hop on in!
The nearest Popeyes is 8 miles/25 minutes from my home. And not close to anything i go to. I guess that’s why I’ve never been there.
Eta: there’s one close to an office park i used to work at, 25 years ago. I wonder if it was there when i was.
Hehehe, I love Chick-Fil-A. Normally I get the spicy sandwich these days, but occasionally I will get the original just to feel like I’m six again. They also have the best fries in the business. And yeah, the staff is so friendly it’s almost creepy.
Popeye’s is great (and yeah, woah, that’s a variable staff), but I’m ehh, on their sandwich. If I’m going to Popeye’s, I’m probably going get bone-in chicken. And if I’m getting bone-in chicken, I might as well just stop at one of the many Church’s locations that I’d pass on my way there (seriously, Church’s in Oak Cliff are thick on the ground). Church’s now offers a spicy version that I think compares well with Popeye’s.
See, that I don’t get. Those waffle fries are legendary, and do show up on these “best fast food items” lists all the time, but they’re just … eh … to me. They’re just waffle fries. I guess maybe I’m a traditionalist? Now give me a tub of Merkt’s cheddar, melt and pour over those waffle fries, and now you might get my attention. (Place in college almost thirty years ago had waffle fries served that way that I would get on my way to or back from work like 3 days a week. How I didn’t balloon in those years, I don’t know.)
I dunno, they just seem to be the perfect combo of crispy and tender. Plus, they hold salt really well due to being waffle fries.
Naw, they are good. Like I said, they show up as “best items at a fast food chain” all the time. I’ve just been conditioned in my earlier years to view waffle fries as a vehicle for transporting stupid amounts of Wisconsin cheddar cheese spread into my gob, so when they’re naked, it doesn’t compute. Like I thought it was their whole raison d’etre. (Though I’m reading that Chick Fil A does have a “secret menu” item of cheese fries? Or is it simply you can order the mac and cheese sauce on the side to dip the fries in? Then again, I don’t want to know. I don’t need to be ordering cheese fries at my age.)
I went to CFA a few years ago when one opened near me. I got a sandwich and the fries for takeout but found the fries cold and not crispy. Cold may have been because there was a long drive-thru line to order and get served but are the waffle fries meant to be crispy?
The menu is all pretty pictures but everything tastes like sand. See also, Panda Express, Noodles & Company, Panera Bread and it’s ilk. It’s a scam that soccer moms keep falling for.
If you go by how the food looks in commercials, even Domino’s Pizza looks delicious.