# Overrated food and drink (brands) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 12, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515 "2023-10-12T11:40:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/21 "2023-10-13T10:45:24Z")
I wouldn’t quite say they are made “centrally” in my area - they aren’t baked in every location but it’s a matter of one franchisee baking for all five of their stores in a single location. Way back when I worked in a DD ( back when they had counter service and ceramic cups) there still wasn’t any next batch coming out. Even though we “baked” at that location , it was only once a day. They didn’t pay a baker to be there every shift. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/22 "2023-10-13T10:52:00Z")
I wonder how many replies a “Beer’n Donuts” thread would get. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/23 "2023-10-13T11:35:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And if the Coors tasty musty, that means someone left it out in the heat, and ruined it. Nope. Wrong. It tasted like that regardless of where we got it or if it were in cans or tap. And it still has that taste. There is something off about how Coors tastes. Back then the only beer that tasted remarkedly different was Lowenbrau which was made under contract by Miller. Weber was pretty good. Originally a Waukesha beer it was then made by Joseph Pickett of Dubuque. By the mid-70’s everyone else was dumping light beer obominations on the market. Then there was Kingsbury. Greatest cheap beer of all time. In 1978 a case of 24 twelve ounce bottles was $1.68 plus deposit. I know this as I worked in a drug store with a full liquor department. That beer had some bite! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/24 "2023-10-13T15:52:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Oh no. The meat is fresh, the bun is fresh and toaster, then there’s the fresh add-ons, the sliced tomato, the lettuce, etc. It’s the perfect amalgam. When my wife’s son (38) comes to visit THE highlight of his trip is getting an I-N-O burger. He waxes on as if it’s on some higher plane. It’s just another greasy burger AFAIC. I wonder how they would fare in a blind taste test. I think it’s hype. > [@Movies that could not be made in today’s world](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-not-be-made-in-today-s-world/990064/293): > > I wonder how many replies a “Beer’n Donuts” thread would get. No idea, but OMG, I think you have stumbled upon the ultimate franchise idea. Beer-N-Donuts!, that’s got chicken and waffles beat all to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/25 "2023-10-13T15:59:50Z")
It’s Homerrrific! ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/26 "2023-10-13T16:31:23Z")
For me, In-n-Out are the best of the cheap chain burgers. I haven’t eaten at McD’s in decades because their burgers are so bad. The patties don’t even taste like beef. BK or Carl’s are the greasiest I’ve found. Never eaten at Wendy’s. But usually I’m willing to pay an extra buck or two at a non-chain place (there’s dozens around) for something that doesn’t have the vibe of a approaching bout of ptomaine. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/27 "2023-10-13T16:38:49Z")
FOAF went to a drive-thru DD, asked for a donut. “We’re out of donuts.” “WHAT!???” Maybe that’s why theyre changing the name to Dunkin’. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/28 "2023-10-13T16:50:39Z")
Dunkin Donuts used to be a donut chain with pretty good coffee. Now it’s a coffee chain with donuts of whatever quality. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/29 "2023-10-13T16:52:39Z")
When Coors reached Michigan, my impression was of a perfectly ordinary…light beer. Normal Coors is insubstantial tasting and has less alcohol % and fewer calories than, say, a Budweiser. The fact that they also had Coors Light was surprising-- that was truly the ‘La Croix’ of beer. In the early 80s they came out with ‘Coors Gold’, which was actually a halfway decent beer-- it was closer to a ‘real’ beer, with a more robust malty flavor and slightly more alcohol in it, like up to a respectable 5%. When we were up north, where the beer selection was slim pickin’s, Coors Gold was a decent alternative to something like Bud or Miller. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/30 "2023-10-13T17:44:41Z")
In-N-Out is…terrible. 2/3 of the times Ive eaten there it was terrible. I dont think it must be objectively terrible and just thousands of people have no taste buds, I think its genuinely overrated and survives as a weird SoCal cultural thing. People wait in line for it to say they waited in line. Based on the one time I ate there and it was not terrible it just wasn’t noteworthy. It was no better than any local burger stand probably located within a mile of any In N Out location. Go to your local Jim’s Burgers or Burger Barn or Astro Burger…it will probably be the same or better. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/31 "2023-10-13T18:12:53Z")
Perhaps when In N Out started, it was one of very few hamburger chains better than McDonalds, and it’s definitely better than that. But now, there are multiple “premium” fast food hamburger chains. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/32 "2023-10-13T18:16:32Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > People wait in line for it to say they waited in line. And wait, they do. The last time I drove through, it was about a 30 minute trip. They had cones looping the drive thru line around in some crazy configuration. The line inside was just as bad. _ **If** _ if the food was marginally better, the wait lines would negate it - it is just burgers, after all. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/33 "2023-10-13T18:44:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Perhaps when In N Out started, it was one of very few hamburger chains better than McDonalds, and it’s definitely better than that. But now, there are multiple “premium” fast food hamburger chains. Right. “Better than McDonald’s” is a very, very low bar. Wendy’s and BK are considerably better, IMO. In Canada, Harvey’s is better than all of them. They cook your burger over an actual flame grill, then make it to order with the ingredients you want. There is no In N Out here, but we do have some of the premium US burger chains like Five Guys. I’ve never tried them, but I’m sure practically every burger joint of any brand is better than McD’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/34 "2023-10-13T18:47:03Z")
However, McDonald’s still has its essential properties of consistency, value and cleanliness going for it. If I’m on the road and need to stop somewhere to eat, I know exactly how a Big Mac will taste, it won’t cost much and the restaurant (including the bathroom) will be clean. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/35 "2023-10-13T18:49:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Perhaps when In N Out started, it was one of very few hamburger chains better than McDonalds, and it’s definitely better than that. But now, there are multiple “premium” fast food hamburger chains. Yeah, 15, 20 years ago, if you wanted a fast food burger, it was basically McD, BK, Wendy’s, or Jack in the Box. In’N’Out blew them all out of the water. Nowadays, there’s Super Duper, Shake Shack, and a bunch of other options that are more-or-less equivalent, so In’N’Out isn’t as impressive. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/36 "2023-10-13T18:57:11Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Then there was Kingsbury Ah, Kingsbury! The one beer to have when you’re having more than 6! Much of my mis-spent youth was mis-spent drinking Kingsbury as it was brewed just a few miles up the road. I did graduate to Special Export once I turned 18 (for special occasions only, though). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/37 "2023-10-13T19:02:38Z")
Agreed that McD’s definitely places a high value on consistency, and they do manage to achieve it to a pretty good extent. The thing that ruins the consistency experience is the way that the teenage burger flipper throws and squirts ingredients together when assembling the burger, which is often a sad-looking thing – and has never in the history of McDonald’s ever looked anything like it does in the ads. Big difference from the made-to-order places where you have to wait longer, but it’s not run like a fast-paced assembly line. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/38 "2023-10-13T19:16:08Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Oddly enough, the best chain doughnuts I’ve found are from QT, of all places. Not to be pedantic about abbreviations, but what the heck is QT? Ah, Coors. Even as underage drinkers, my friends and I turned our noses up at Coors. Mind you, we were drinking Miller and we thought Michelob was the height of sophistication (although too pricey for us), so that gives you an idea of how fine our palates were. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/39 "2023-10-13T19:52:18Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > Not to be pedantic about abbreviations, but what the heck is QT? QuickTrip - it’s a gas station / convenience store chain. I love KK hot glazed. Those things are amazing and I can eat a ton of them if they let me… I’ll also join in saying In-N-Out is highly overrated. Had one a few years back in Oakland and I was like… that’s it? I’ll take Whataburger or Milos or Five Guys over it anyday. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515/40 "2023-10-13T19:56:28Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > And it still has that taste. There is something off about how Coors tastes. Then you are the only one- > **[Consumer Reports: Coors tastes better than Budweiser](https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/12/consumer-reports-coors-tastes-better-than-budweiser/index.htm)** > > The last week of the NFL playoffs is fast approaching, and our ranking of several big-name lagers has arrived just in time. So which beer got top scores? Coors bested Budweiser, as well as eight other brews. Our experts conducted... _Our experts conducted blind taste tests of top-selling regular and light beers, including offerings from Budweiser, Coors, Corona, and Miller, as well as beer from Trader Joe’s and Walgreens. None of the tested lagers were good enough to make our top Excellent category, but Coors came the closest, and at $6.45 a six-pack, it was deemed a CR Best Buy._ _Taste off: Coors had a clean, good balanced taste with citrus notes, while Budweiser had slight off notes (tin and sulfur) and lighter, yeasty notes. Budweiser was also a bit astringent tasting._ So, CR, in a blind taste test said “clean, good balanced taste with citrus notes”. what beers do you drink? I mean Coors wont hold up to some craft beers, but it is better than most common beers. > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I wonder how they would fare in a blind taste test. I think it’s hype. > **[In-N-Out vs. Five Guys vs. Shake Shack: The First Bi-Coastal Side-By-Side...](https://www.seriouseats.com/in-n-out-vs-five-guys-vs-shake-shack)** > > In-N-Out, Five Guys, and Shake Shack all have devout followings, but who really makes the best burger? We decided to take it upon ourselves to find the answer and declare an official King of the High Quality Fast Food Burger. Now here they take three premium fast food burgers. No McDs, BK, etc, the best of the best of the best SIR! Shake shack won by a nose. > **[Shake Shack Vs. In-N-Out Taste Test | So who won? | By Tasty | Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/buzzfeedtasty/videos/340934288141906/)** > > So who won? Here In&Out won. But yeah, those three are all good (I dont like Five guys as they REFUSE to have 1000 island dressing) . So blind taste tests put In&out about even with the Big Three, and way above McD, BK, Wendys etc etc. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > However, McDonald’s still has its essential properties of consistency, value and cleanliness going for it. Our local McDs has been closed three times by the health dept, just since I have lived here. (9 years or so). First in was the kiddy ball pit, then roaches, then rats. Okay, I give them the ball pit since those are so bad everyone got rid of them. But the others? Right off I5. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/overrated-food-and-drink-brands/991515.md?page=3)