In-N-Out is OFFICIALLY the best fast-food chain.

[Shoeless]

@TWDuke

1. In-N-Out - heard of it, never seen one
2. Capriotti’s - never heard of it
3. Chick-fil-A - heard of it, seen one, never been to one
4. Raising Cane’s - never heard of it
5. Panera Bread - have one in town, don’t like it but my wife does
6. Giordano’s Pizza - never heard of it
7. Cafe Rio - never heard of it
8. Idaho Pizza Company - never heard of it
9. Penn Station - never heard of it

@pulykamell

You missed #6: Pei Wei. - never heard of it

@RealityChuck

Never ate at any of these except Panera. It appears the survey is heavily geographically biased.

Further, chains like Five Guys Hamburgers or Red Hot and Blue are much better.

ETA: I see In and Out uses vegetable oil for their fries. This automatically makes them inferior to Five Guys, which uses peanut oil

I love Five Guys. We got one here in town a couple of years ago, and it’s about the only burger place I will go to anymore. They have apparently run my previous favorite burger place, Backyard Burger, out of town.

[DMark]

We are huge fans of In-N-Out, ever since discovering them in LA and, to our great joy, they opened one about 3 miles from us here in Las Vegas! No matter when we go there, it seems to be filled with customers. As one who normally dislikes french fries, In-N-Out are the only fries I eat and like - always fresh and really taste like they are made from potatoes! We have taken domestic and foreign tourists visiting us to In-N-Out and every one has raved so far.

Regarding the #2 listing - Capriotti’s - I have been singing their praises on my website for years! There is one kitty-corner from South Point Casino (way, way south of Mandalay Bay on The Strip). It is a decidedly un-fancy sub sandwich shop chain, but one of their specialties, the Capistrami, is the best sub you will ever have! It is very lean pastrami, grilled to perfect warmth on a grill, covered with provolone cheese that melts slowly, put on fresh bread and then they scoop cole slaw on top of it. At the local law firm where I worked, they would order these for special office occasions and it would be the only time you could guarantee a 100% office turnout for whatever the occasion - simply because of that sandwich.

[wakingdream]

@DSYoungEsq

In-n-Out is located in California and Nevada, and perhaps slopping over into Arizona by now. They are often found in places that are far from being “hip urban areas”.

We’ve got them in the Salt Lake City area now. Though as you say, they’re not anywhere close to downtown, they’re all out in the suburbs.

Cafe Rio is a Utah place as well. It’s in a few other surrounding states now, but it started in Utah, and most of the locations are here too. They serve big burritos (like Chipotle), mexican salads, enchiladas, tacos, that sort of thing. It’s very popular here with consistent crowds and long lines. I like it now and then but have never quite understood why it’s quite so loved.

[Maiira]

I can’t see the word In-N-Out without thinking of A Clockwork Orange.

Also, I have never even heard of most of these places.

[Onomatopoeia]

1. In-N-Out - Heard of them. Would like to try. None in New Jersey though.
2. Capriotti’s - Never heard of them.
3. Chick-fil-A - Yuck, with a capital Y.
4. Raising Cane’s - Never heard of them.
5. Panera Bread - Two near me. Panera Bread is NOT fast food. You order, and wait…and wait…and…
6. Pei Wei - Never heard of them.
7. Giordano’s Pizza. Never heard of them.
8. Cafe Rio - Never heard of them.
9. Idaho Pizza Company - Never heard of them.
10. Penn Station - Never heard of them.

[pulykamell]

@DMark

As one who normally dislikes french fries, In-N-Out are the only fries I eat and like - always fresh and really taste like they are made from potatoes!

You should also give Five Guys fries a shot–that’s another fry that actually tastes like the potato whence it was wrought. An In-N-Out burger with Five Guys fries would be the perfect fast food combo for me.

[Jackknifed_Juggernaut]

They probably don’t have enough locations to qualify, but Shake Shack beats all fast food burgers listed so far.

[Miss_Woodhouse]

I think Cafe Rio is popular because it tastes better than your average Taco joint. They make it right in front of you and it tastes fresh. Of course, you never want to go at noon if you’re in a hurry. The line is going to be out the door.

Yes, Pizza in Idaho. It’s pretty good pizza when I don’t feel like making some from scratch. They don’t over do the sauce and there’s the right amount of cheese. Idaho Pizza Company is helped by the fact that everyone else around here has been around awhile with scummy 1970’s decor. IPC is a new chain and looks new and clean.

[gotpasswords]

@Tristan

Just recently ate at Five Guys. It was pretty tasty, I agree. And the fries were quite good.

But my burger, fries, and a drink came to $10.65.

I could feed 2 for that at In-n-Out.

If you like bland food, go ahead. I’ve never understood the mania for In-N-Out. Sure, it’s a decent burger, and you can tell that all of its components are real food, but something gets lost along the way.

As for Five Guys, try ordering a “small” fries next time. I think their “large” order of fries is five large potatoes.

[silenus]

In-n-Out rocks! But Five Guys fries sounds like The Hat. Never order a large anything at the Hat if you aren’t prepared to share it with the immediate world. I’ve seen a large order of chili cheese fries take down 5 of my debaters. They gave up before they hit the final layer.