# How often do you eat fast food? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059 "2011-06-11T02:12:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/1 "2011-06-11T02:12:28Z")
Out of curiosity, I thought I would ask everybody how often they eat fast food. For the sake of the thread, I am defining fast food using Wikipedia’s [list of fast food restaurants.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fast_food_restaurants) If it is on the list, or comparable to a restaurant on the list, it counts. For myself, I eat around once/week at either [Chipotle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipotle_Mexican_Grill) (on the list) or [Qdoba Mexican Grill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qdoba_Mexican_Grill) (a restaurant that is for all intensive purposes identical to Chipotle). With regards to the stereotypical fast food restaurants (McDonalds, Arby’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc…), I have not eaten at one in at least a decade. I knew in my heart that Chipotle, et. al., was fast food, but I like to pretend it is not… (Poll is coming) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/2 "2011-06-11T03:18:59Z")
I eat it every now and then, but I do know the guy who made the news the other day for having eaten 25,000 Big Macs. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/3 "2011-06-11T03:22:15Z")
I haven’t eaten at a fast food restaurants since Nov of 1997. I love fast food but it’s expensive and I’ve been trying to keep my food budget less than $70 a month. But I would LOVE some Burger King and Taco Bell right now. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/4 "2011-06-11T03:44:17Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I haven’t eaten at a fast food restaurants since Nov of 1997. I love fast food but it’s expensive and I’ve been trying to keep my food budget less than $70 a month. > > But I would LOVE some Burger King and Taco Bell right now. 😃 Wow, $70 / month for food? What do you eat? Does this include your spending on beverages (i.e. beer and wine)? I am probably an order of magnitude higher than you, but my wife and I are food snobs, coffee aficionado, and serious winos. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/5 "2011-06-11T03:49:47Z")
I said rarely, but not because it’s bad for you; I just don’t have any hankering to most of the time. Once or twice a month I might pick up an 8-piece fried chicken deal at the grocery deli counter, or takeout teriyaki, when I don’t feel like cooking. Or a take-and-bake pizza for the family on nights that I work. Daughter works at a local fast food burger place and will occasionally bring home a burger for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/6 "2011-06-11T03:57:03Z")
Fast food places are just not very vegetarian friendly, and they like to sneak animal origin ingredients into foods where there should be no animal stuff. So I just don’t go. Once in a while, people from work will get Taco Bell, and I’ll join in on that, since it is much more vegetarian friendly than the other chains. That’s only every couple of months, though. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/7 "2011-06-11T03:57:37Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > For the sake of the thread, I am defining fast food using Wikipedia’s [list of fast food restaurants.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fast_food_restaurants) If it is on the list, or comparable to a restaurant on the list, it counts. Comparable in what way? There are some places that I go to often that might be “comparable,” but they’re pretty idiosyncratic–([Zankou Chicken](http://www.zankouchicken.com/) for example)–and you’ll only find them here. They’re not big chains. If I lived in some place like Irvine or Orlando, Florida I’d probably never eat fast food. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/8 "2011-06-11T04:01:14Z")
I’m disgusted with myself for having to reply 3-10 / week I really need to get back on a healthy track. Working and single means I never want to cook at night, and lunch with co-workers will kill me if I keep it up. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/9 "2011-06-11T04:16:48Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Comparable in what way? There are some places that I go to often that might be “comparable,” but they’re pretty idiosyncratic–([Zankou Chicken](http://www.zankouchicken.com/) for example)–and you’ll only find them here. They’re not big chains. If I lived in some place like Irvine or Orlando, Florida I’d probably never eat fast food. Looks good. That said, I would probably classify them as fast food. Wikipedia classifies [Zankou](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zankou_Chicken) as a [fast casual restaurant](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_casual_restaurant), a classification that includes Chipotle and Qdoba. These are the only “fast food restaurants” that I frequent, though (with dismay) I note they also list Panera bread in this category (a restaurant I probably eat at 1/month). ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/10 "2011-06-11T04:45:13Z")
I answered 3-10, but it’s on the low end, and often a salad… I love love love McDonald’s Asian grilled chicken salad! ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/11 "2011-06-11T04:56:28Z")
I said 2-3 times a month, but then I started wondering. Is a take and bake pizza from Papa Murphy’s considered fast food? What about Jamba Juice? If so, then my answer should probably be once a week. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/12 "2011-06-11T04:59:47Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I haven’t eaten at a fast food restaurants since Nov of 1997. I love fast food but it’s expensive and I’ve been trying to keep my food budget less than $70 a month. > > But I would LOVE some Burger King and Taco Bell right now. 😃 What the hell do you eat for less than $70 a month??? Perhaps you watch so many old sitcoms, to take your mind off your hunger. 😃 Me, I eat fast food about 2-3 times a year. Way too much fat and sodium. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/13 "2011-06-11T05:10:46Z")
I don’t trust anything about fast food from the source of the food to the zit faced teens serving it. I don’t eat fast food ever, unless I’m away from home and starving and there is nothing else available. So once every 3 or 4 years, I suppose. Last time I was in one I walked up to the counter and asked for a Big Mac. Turns out I was in a Burger King. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/14 "2011-06-11T06:55:53Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Way too much fat and sodium… This is how I’d personally define fast food: A product that is so industrialized that it requires large amounts of fat, salt and sugar to be appealing. ---
**Author:** ![JohnnyMac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@JohnnyMac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnnyMac)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/15 "2011-06-11T07:56:16Z")
2-3 times a month. It’s veggie Subway, not anything unhealthy, but Subway was on your list of fast food places. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/16 "2011-06-11T08:40:42Z")
I love cooking and it helps that I have an Italian girlfriend who has taught me the beauty of Italian ‘fast food’ made using simple and fresh ingredients. E.g. putanesca takes less than five minutes to make and tastes incredible. I have maybe a Subway tuna sub once every couple of months. Burgers, KFC, kebabs and the like maybe once a year. I do have nachos with plastic sauce and maybe a hot dog at the movies, but I only go to the movies every three months or so. Delivery pizza maybe every two or three months as a treat. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/17 "2011-06-11T11:19:39Z")
I voted “never” because I don’t eat at the ones listed for the UK which is where I live. Of the international chains, the only one I’ve eaten at would be Subway and even that is very rare. I prefer to cook for myself at home rather than waste money on something that’s unhealthy and probably deep fried in all sorts of nasty things. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/18 "2011-06-11T11:46:12Z")
I ran a fast food restaurant up until recently, so at the time it was pretty much every day. At my new job, I do so less often - I sometimes grab a bite from McDonald’s or Taco Time or Dairy Queen to eat in the car on my drive to work, and once a week I get my lunch at the Popeye’s next door to the supermarket I work for now. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/19 "2011-06-11T12:03:05Z")
I answered 2-3 times a month on the basis we go to a pub quiz fortnightly, it starts early so we have a take away pizza that the landlady allows us to bring beforehand. Decent pizza though not crappy big chain deep pan crap. If we are taking real fast food - burgers etc then it would be maybe once or twice a year tops. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059/20 "2011-06-11T12:57:48Z")
Less than once a month. Hadn’t thought about it until just now and was surprised when I realized how little I actually do eat fast food. I do love that shit, but I just never go to any of those places anymore. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-eat-fast-food/585059.md?page=2)