It might also have to do with the method they use for take-out. I knew a place with fantastic fries… but they also sucked if you took them out of the store. The reason was that they were still shedding moisture after cooking. If you put them in a bag or a box, they couldn’t steam off enough, and got soggy.
I remember my first Fuddrucker’s burger when they opened a restaurant in the Chicago area where I lived when I was in high school.
When I went off to college in Houston, they had one there, too. Still very good, but like an earlier poster said, it wasn’t as memorable as that first one.
Huh–I lived in Houston in the 80’s, too. 
Only that I want it to at least survive 10-15 minutes so I can get home to eat it.
tough town!
Slate has a timely articleon the topic: taste-testing the new elk burger at Fuddrucker’s.
Verdict: bleah.
The writer tried it twice. One burger (ordered medium) was “completely grey… flavorless and dry,” and the other (ordered medium-rare) was “bleeding rare, not medium rare—tasting slimy and metallic, like a wastewater oyster.”
So there you go. Bleah, like I said.
So you’re saying that In-N-Out’s fries are not zombies, unlike this thread?
Actually, that last sentence explains the rest of your post.
If you mean “espresso” where you typed “coffee” they still have that rule. If the shot sits so long that the crema and body get separated, it’s a stale shot and it gets dumped. A new shot gets pulled.
If you really meant coffee…I can’t imagine any coffee shop ever working that way. It would be literally impossible to even attempt that. You’d just end up brewing and pouring away pots of coffee all day long.
20 seconds I don’t believe, but 20 mins I would. IIRC, Tim Horton’s had a commercial saying they dump theirs after 15 mins.
As for Fuddruckers, last time I had one it was still good, but that was several months ago. It was also a carryout order. I haven’t actually eaten at the place in over a year.
I’ll have to ask my dad to clarify. I don’t drink coffee and never have, and thus only very superficially even know the difference between coffee and espresso, but he was a big Starbucks fan in the early/mid '90s, and he bragged about this point a lot.
I’ve only been to Fuddruckers a few times, all within the last few years, but have never ordered a beef burger from there. They just don’t look THAT good.
First time: Tried ostrich-burger. Didn’t care for it; it was mushy. Eww.
2nd time: I got the nachos. OMFG awesome.
So awesome that the next half dozen times I’ve gone, I’ve gotten the nachos, and always been happy with that decision.