White Castle begs to differ.
Big Boy isn’t fast food, it’s more of a chain diner or some other thing with some stupid name people dont’ actually use in real life (like fast casual). You get seated at a table/booth, served by a waitress, then they go to the kitchen and place the order. You pay after everything.
Also, it’s not Bob’s Big Boy to whoever called it such, that’s just the local franchisee on the west coast. Every region had their own, but most consolidated into just plain old Big Boy after the michigan franchisee Elias Bros. bought them out.
And yeah, it’s much bigger than a Big Mac.
Frisch’s Big Boy in my area. There were also Shoney’s Big Boys and maybe others. Burger Chef had their version, the Big Shef, three years before the Big Mac. People in my area (central Indiana) had mostly forgotten that the Big Shef was a Big Boy copy, as they saw the Big Mac as a Big Shef copy.
I’m not sure if it’s Ram’s Horn (local chain) or Denny’s or some place like that, but I recall them having a sandwich called “The Imitator,” which is just a Big Boy/Mac.
I was working at McDonald’s when we switched from the foam clamshell package to the ring. This would have been 1989 or so, and the rings aren’t original. It was the best thing the company could think of doing instead of foam clamshell packages. Not sure why paperboard containers weren’t available.
Making those rings really sucked, too. And wrapping ringed Big Macs in that crappy paper wasn’t easy. I remember that a #1 Extra Value Meal (the Big Mac meal) came to $2.72 including tax, though.
The technical industry term for that style of restaurant is a “casual dining restaurant” (often shortened by those in the business to “CDR”). CDRs are characterized by table service by a waiter, and generally by a moderate price point (as opposed to higher-end “fine dining” or “white tablecloth” places).
CDRs that don’t offer (or don’t strongly feature) alcoholic beverages (like Big Boy, Denny’s, etc.) might also be referred to as diners, or family restaurants.
“Fast casual” restaurants are a step above traditional fast food, but don’t usually have table service (i.e., you order at a counter). Chipotle, Panera, etc. are fast casual.
And, you’re right, normal people pretty much never use any of those terms. 
In my experience, very few people indeed limit their eating to just their meals.
So, I just described my years of experience eating at my local Big Boys (frisch) and you had to lecture me about what is and isn’t fast food and my actual experience?
Sorry, if you can get it in a drive through with no wait, I consider that fast food. Same for Steak 'n Shake. If you aren’t eating in, there’s really no difference in the experience.
Anybody been to Dairy-Rite in Staunton VA? Their Superburger is practically identical to the Big Mac, and they’ve had it since 1952, long before the Big Mac was created.
Does Denny’s serve alcoholic beverages? For me, the one thing that separates Denny’s from Big Boy is alcoholic beverages and quality. Okay, that’s two things, but I can count on a beer at Big Boy (né Elias Bros., from the old “Big Boy is regional” days).
Fun fact: The inventor of the Big Mac is from my home town.
I like Big Macs. They aren’t big by any means but they have a certain flavor that I just crave once in a while.
No, Denny’s doesn’t serve liquor. And, it’s been so long since I’ve been at a Big Boy that I didn’t even recall that you could get a beer there.
Some Denny’s do.
Some do, the first time I encountered a Denny’s with a bar I was confused because I always thought of Denny’s as the place you go to after the bars close.
I worked at a McDonalds 1976-1977. I can attest that Big Macs then were made of two 1/10 lb. patties. These were the same patties used for regular hamburgers and cheeseburgers.
The same cheese and pickles were used in the BM as in a cheeseburger.
The 3 stage bun and the Mac sauce were the only differences.
They did a much better job of actually toasting them back then. Seems to be a lost art, or corporate decision to save electricity.
The toasting process is automated now with a big feed toaster. You drop the buns in the top and they slide out the bottom toasted. No “art” to it.
McDonald’s food always seemed a lot bigger when I was smaller.
I wonder which one Springsteen is singing about? I assumed it was in NJ but Route 60 ain’t. “Early north Jersey industrial skyline” and a scrap metal hill would be.
I met Wanda when she was employed
Behind the counter at Route 60 Bob’s Big Boy
Fried chicken on the front seat, she’s sitting in my lap
We’re wiping our fingers on a Texaco road map
I remember Wanda up on scrap metal hill
With them big brown eyes that make your heart stand still
Yes, Burger King came in mid to late 70s and became our go-to place since it was closer to our house. We Catholic school kids got a half day every Wednesday and went to eat there. I haven’t had a Whopper since because I think the nostalgia would do me in!
May be so, but they don’t seem very toasted to me.
No way near as toasted they were in the 70’s. Especially the crowns. I can’t remember the last time I had a crown that was really warm to the touch, and I usually order Big Macs without pickles, so they should be “fresh”.
In the late-'70s/early-'80s there was a Carl’s Jr. a couple of miles from our house. ISTR there being a Burger King next door to it, but I can’t be sure now. Carl’s Jr. quickly became my favourite burger (specifically, the Super Star w/Cheese) because you can actually taste the char. Burger King… Not so much. Whoppers were amazing when I was eight or ten. Now, they taste rather bland. Unfortunately, there are Burger Kings all over the place up here in northwestern Washington; but there’s only one Carl’s Jr. between my home near the Canadian border and Seattle. Let’s see… four miles to the freeway, carry the one… Yeah, about 70 miles from my house. 