How fast is too fast?

[Czarcasm]

Moving thread from IMHO to Cafe Society.

[DesertDog]

@HeyHomie

I wonder if such a thing would work in the US. A fast-food place that serves ONE THING, and one thing only (excluding, say, drinks), and your choices are take it, or leave it. One guy cooks, another guy takes the money. Beautiful in its simplicity, but I wonder if it would work in the execution?

In-N-Out Burger is pretty close. Burger with or without cheese, “soda” – they give you the cup and you get your own at a fountain station – shake (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry) if you don’t want a soda.

About the only variants are specifying the fixings on the burger. Standard is lettuce, tomato, sauce (kind of like thousand island) and onion. There is a supposed ‘secret menu’ that is mainly recombinations of the basic ingredients. Also, you can order a Y x Z where Y is the number of patties, and Z the slices of cheese. The 100x100 has been ordered at least once.

They have a lot more than two people working, though.

[Sublight]

@Miller

You got off lucky. My last job, I yelled out 379, and got reported to HR for racial insensitivity.

Post reported.

[Pine_Fresh_Scent]

mmmm pho.

My GF is vegetarian so when we go through McDonald’s I’ll buy her cheeseburger-minus-burger only if she orders it by asking them to leave off the “poodle paddy” because I think “poodle patty” sounds funny. It doesn’t matter that the McDonald’s people don’t know what she’s talking about.
Ok, I lied. She told me to stick it when I asked her to do that, but “poodle patty” still cracks me up.
Poodle paddy = burger patty that little old ladies take home to their dogs, as I learned here on the SDMB.
This post is worthless.

[Pine_Fresh_Scent]

paddy / patty, bluh.

[KneadToKnow]

@Sublight

Post reported.

I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there.

[UncleRojelio]

@Philster

Most of my drive-in visits would be much faster if the dope in front of me would just move up another three feet so I could speak into the damn microphone and place my order. “MOVE UP!”

Never too fast for me.

I always get stuck behind the moron that fails to decide on their order before pulling up to the mic. If you don’t know what you want, or have more than two people in the car, park it and go inside.

@Sublight

One system a lot of fast-food restaurants here use is a vending machine by the door with a button for every menu item. You put your money in, push the appropriate buttons, and out comes your change and a ticket for each item. You sit down, hand your ticket(s) to the server, and he brings your food a minute later. This eliminates cashiers, and in the case of some of the really small places (like the noodle shops on the train platforms), lets a single person cook and serve a steady stream of customers.

There used to be establishments where there were dozens of little glass fronted cubby holes containing lunch items laid out in a long row. You inserted money into the slot next to the item you wanted which unlocked the door so that you could grab your lunch. The kitchen workers behind the row of cubbys then refilled the slot. This type of establishment has a name which I can’t recall right now and apparently they are making a comeback.

[aruvqan]

@UncleRojelio

I always get stuck behind the moron that fails to decide on their order before pulling up to the mic. If you don’t know what you want, or have more than two people in the car, park it and go inside.

There used to be establishments where there were dozens of little glass fronted cubby holes containing lunch items laid out in a long row. You inserted money into the slot next to the item you wanted which unlocked the door so that you could grab your lunch. The kitchen workers behind the row of cubbys then refilled the slot. This type of establishment has a name which I can’t recall right now and apparently they are making a comeback.

Automat

[iamthewalrus_3]

@DesertDog

In-N-Out Burger is pretty close. Burger with or without cheese, “soda” – they give you the cup and you get your own at a fountain station – shake (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry) if you don’t want a soda.

I love In-N-Out, and they do have a fairly simple menu, but it’s not really even close to what I’m talking about. It generally takes 5-10 minutes to get your order, there. I want the kind of thing where I can walk up (maybe there’s even a special line), say “give me the premade” and I get handed a bag with food, and walk out. I don’t care if I don’t get to decide the toppings, or the number of whatever. I wouldn’t use this every time, but there are lots of times I just want a cheeseburger, I’m not that picky, and I’d rather have it right now than in 5 minutes.