The appeal of McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell etc. has fallen so far off my radar lately, I wonder if I am alone in the changing attitude I have toward fast food, and especially over the past few years.
I grew up with fast food and it was was somewhat a treat at first when I was a kid , then just a part of the landscape. In the last few years everytime I try fast food because I am pressed for time or just want to feed the kids quickly, I always wind up thinking after the meal “Wow that was even crappier than usual, what the hell was I thinking?”
Now it’s just bleeeaahhhh. Whopper Jr’s, Chicken Tenders, Mc Burgers, Taco Bell etc., it’s all just so crappy and so tired. I know the main ingredients and preparation methods haven’t changed so it must be me. I’m not a food snob (far from it) but franchise fast food units seem to have lost their appeal to me, especially Burger King and McDonalds.
Is anyone else in their 30’s or 40’s suffering from fast food burnout?
I burned out on fast food in my mid-20s. I’m 32 now. Not sure why it happened, but these days I only eat at fast food places once or twice a year and then only if there are no other choices or I am super pressed for time (like 10 minutes to eat and not another chance for food for 8 hours).
The satisfaction I derive from the meal just never seems worth the calories anymore. Bleh. And my burps are really gross afterwards.
I have been avoiding them the past few years, more for my dietary concerns than the quality or taste of the food. I have found Subway and Quiznos to be acceptable substitutes as long as I stick to the lower fat menu. I also live near a couple of the family owned burger joints and have found their burgers to be just a good, if not better, than the chains. And there is a place in a little town called Buckley that sells Fair Burgers. Nothing but a beef patty and a pile of fried onions on a bun. I add a few squirts of mustard and I am in Heaven. Now I’ve gone and made myself hungry.
I’m 18 and burn-out on fast food. I’ve never cared for it. Now I just don’t eat it. I watch my weight closely, and they are far to many calories and I rather eat something good for those calories
I’m not a person who eschews meat or fat, but I got over fast food awhile ago.
I never ate that much fast food in the first place, but after reading Eric Schlosser’s book, Fast Food Nation, I haven’t eaten any at all.
Even convinced my 20 year old and 13 year old. Haven’t yet convinced the spouse.
I am in my mid-thirties and want to be buried with McDonalds French Fries.
What I have noticed lately is that the franchises of FF restaurants seem to really vary in quality. There is a McDonalds near me that is revolting. The buns are always stale, the burgers are like hockey pucks, the fries are never salted enough. I’ve never been a McWorker but it seems like the standards are not what they used to be for the franchises.
Used to eat it all the time - burgers, subs, chicken - then I worked overseas for years and never touch the stuff now. It’s important to me who touches my food and what’s in it. Plus I’m a lot wiser with my money. I brown bag to work and, like anything else, it gets better with practice. There’s always healthy and interesting lunch stuff in the fridge and a practiced lunch-maker can toss it together in 7 minutes. My wife’s the same, any time either of us will be away from the home for any length of time we pack snacks, water bottle, whatever. It’s a lifestyle change, for the better. We laugh and joke at the junk food commercials on TV. They don’t get my money.
35, have eaten and still eat a fair share of fast food. There is a Burger King that I pass every day when leaving work, so quite often I go there for dinner. But funny that you should mention it, lately I seem to have lost the taste for it. Is there some kind of conspiracy going on? People, help me out here! Since I’ve forgotten to put on my tin-foil hat I can’t think of the ans…
Sorry to have bothered you with this obvious silly suggestion. There is no conspiracy. I repeat, there is no conspiracy.
astro, this seems to be as good a moment as any to commend you on your excellent OP’s. You have a knack for starting highly original, must-read threads. Keep it up!
31 years old here and yes I grew up on it. As kids I’d say my brother and I ate at least five meals a week from fast food. Now I can’t stand the stuff. It’s been a least a year since I’ve been through a drive thru (well, except for the bank that is.)
I’m 50 and look at fast food for what it is – cheap nourishment when you’re pressed for time. I was never a big fast food eater – when I was growing up, the category barely existed, and the nearest McDonald’s was a half hour away.
You also know how to pick and choose. Wendy’s is the best overall, though the Burger King Whopper is the best burger (but their fries are terrible). Then there are places like Subway (like their tuna sub) and Taco Bell (can’t stand), Long John Silver’s (so-so) and Arthur Treacher’s (excellent).
Of course, I only eat fast food 1-2 times a month, so I don’t get as tired of it.
Being vegetarian, there is very little fast food I’m inclined to eat. For a while I stopped into Taco Bell for a plain bean burrito, which are OK (and cheap too). But I’m also like haj, most fast food, when I am compelled to eat it, just upsets my stomach.
There is a chain, Fazoli’s, which has nice pasta dishes which don’t have a heavy fast-food feel. They’re about the only place I go willingly anymore.
Don’t care for fast-food at all these days, either. I don’t think it’s my age, at least not directly. Just about a year ago I decided to start eating better and so said goodbye to most things fast-food. A few months ago I was with friends at Jack in the Box and decided to have a burger. Bleck! Not as good as I remembered, that’s for sure. Everything seemed either too much or not enough. The sauce was intensely sweet, but the hamburger was tasteless as a kitchen sponge (and just about the same texture, I’m guessing).
I am 36 and I have not eaten fast food for several years and I do not miss it at all. If I have to get something it would likely be a sub. Now the thought of eating a big mac or some such is plain unappetizing. While the food does smells good when people bring it into the work lounge area, I still have no desire to get any myself.
I eat a lot of lean cusiene…I went to Fazoli’s, got the chicken fettecini, and I promise it taste just like the stuff in the tray I warm up at home. Its still fast food. Arby’s is about the only decent fast food place as far as taste goes…Subway is the only one I eat becuase of the health aspect of it.
I’m with the folks who eat fast food only in rare, dire grab-and-run moments. This isn’t food snobbery. I adore honestly-made diner and comfort food, for example. But most times the fast food stuff just plain doesn’t taste all that great in the first place, even if I’m starved, and then I feel kind of oogy after eating it. It fills up the empty space but I feel clogged after eating it. (And equally ftr, I have the delicate, finicky digestion of a garbage truck.)
I experimented and found alternatives that are both fast and provide good food. For example, there’s a little local diner (with drive-thru), run by a Greek couple, who put out soups, veggie pitas, gyros and salads that are to die for, and within minutes. The area is also blest with a large Mexican-American population so there are lots of little mom-and-pop places that serve great food, fast. (They’re the farthest thing from Taco Bell or Chichi’s.) Same w/ some soul food cafes and bbq joints: excellent, honest food.
The big chains are the Walmarts of food, IMO. They’re omnipresent, familiar and in-your-face obvious. But even if you don’t have the time or inclination for the home-food route, there might be some quiet, equally-fast but much better alternatives tucked away nearby.
Veb
[sub]Who loves cooking but thoroughly enjoys having other people feed her well.[/sub]
I’m 24 and by and large can’t stand the stuff. Right now Jack-in-the-Box is the only fast food I’ll eat (their spicy chicken sandwich is pretty good) and even then it’s maybe once a month. I won’t touch anything else, they all just taste like crap. Growing up fast food was something of a treat, we’d eat there maybe once or twice a week. In college I went through a semester when BK was my best friend, I think that was probably when I really started to burn out on it.
As a matter of fact McDonalds “food” is, as far as I know, the only thing capable of making me sick to my stomache. I have the proverbial cast iron stomache, I can eat anything without getting sick. Any type of ethnic cuisine available in the US, week old pizza that’s been sitting on the counter, questionable pork products - all fine. On a recent trip to Central America I was the only person at the hostel whose GI system didn’t need a day or three to adjust to the local cuisine, I ate anything in front of me and doused it in hot sauce - no problems. I really can eat anything commonly called food, unless it comes from McDonalds. Last two times I ate that crap I ended up laid out on the couch for half a day with an upset stomache. I’m better off just not eating if McDonalds is the only choice. Something is seriously wrong with that place if it makes me sick.
As far as the other places go I just can’t stand the taste. Plus it’s exspensive, I can make a much better burger myself for a lot less or go to Subway for a decent sandwich for about the same price. The servings are generally more than I can eat in one sitting, not to mention drink - I swear the next superize fad will include a 128oz soda. Oh and did I mention that it all tastes like complete shit too? I can’t emphasize that point enough. I’d better stop now before this comment devolves into something more suitable for the Pit
