Domino’s isn’t as bad as it used to be. So, I guess it qualifies for the thread.
That’s a puzzlement for me. The last one I had (and by last, I mean the last one I’ll ever eat) had patties so thin they could have been made with a pasta roller. I don’t even want to think about what they have to add to cause the meat to adhere in a patty that thin.
That sounds about right. It’s always been super thin–same size patty as the standard hamburger, which there is 1.6 oz. from since when they first opened. The burgers in McDonald’s menu have actually gotten much bigger since they opened (that is not to say the original burger has gotten bigger, but rather now you have options for things like quarter pounders, double quarter pounders, and the such. Hell, I believe you can even ask for a Big Mac made with Quarter Pounder patties.)
To my knowledge and according to them (and labeling laws), they are made with ground beef trimmings – no filler, preservatives, or additives. It’s not that hard to make a patty that size to stick to itself. Grind it and handle it enough, and it does so naturally as the proteins bind to each other (see: myosin.)
That’s the difference between frying something in beef fat and vegetable oil. They made the change to make the fries “healthier”. They then super-sized the ever living shit out of them to make up the difference.
Malcolm Gladwell has an interesting Revisionist History on this topic.
Those 1.6 oz patties have existed for as long as I can remember- certainly back to 1978 or so when I started working in fast-food restaurants. As far as our idea of how big a burger should be changing - it absolutely has. For example, in many places the approximately 1.6 oz burger is listed on the menu as a “kid’s” or “little” burger. If you want to order a McDonald’s meal, it’s either the two cheeseburger meal or a Happy Meal , as if a single cheeseburger is not enough for an adult - the labeling/marketing didn’t really suggest that way back when. But our idea of portion sizes overall has been changing - I remember when a 32 ounce soda was not considered a serving for one person. You couldn’t get a cup of fountain soda that large, only a bottle. Which would typically be shared by at least two people.
Oh and the quarter pounder patty is bigger now - 4.25 oz before cooking.
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Well, that’s certainly true. Mash it enough and it becomes a paste, then cook it 'til it’s leather. I’ll stop now, rather than derail further.
Fiction from the 1920s-1950s would include scenes where characters stopped at the diner for “a couple of hamburgers.” You never see that any more.l
I once worked with a British writer who had an American character eating “sandwiches” from his lunch pail. Tipped him off that when an American makes a sandwich, one sandwich is all it takes.
White Castle seems to do the multiple burgers/sliders thing.
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You do kind of see a vestige of that still. I think McDonald’s still has – or at least up until recently had – a 2 cheeseburger meal as one of its numbered combo meals. Yeah, still there. It’s the second one listed: “Cheeseburger Meal” with two cheeseburgers.
ETA: Oh yeah, and as mentioned, White Castle, Krystal, etc, you’d definitely get multiple burgers.
White Castle is the perfect example of a restaurant chain that has neither improved nor worsened over time. The White Castles my father took me to as a youth were exactly the same quality (and taste) as the ones he ate at when he was young, and they’re the same now as I remember them as a kid.
You have to admire them for their consistency.
re: Multiple Burgers Tangent
In the classic Peter De Vries short story “Different Cultural Levels Eat Here” the upper crust folk visiting the diner each eat one hamburger, the average Joe orders two and the lower class friend of the cook is starved and orders three. The story was published in 1946. For what it’s worth.
As for the original question, there’s a chain of diners called “Silver Diner” here in the Mid-Atlantic US that has considerably improved its menu over the typical greasy spoon that it used to be. Lots of organic and vegan options, tofu, lentil, quinoa. The food is now so good that my kids won’t touch it. So that’s a win.
Sonny’s BBQ has greatly improved over the last 20 years. Used to love their food, but it would give me stomach trouble. Not any more. Be sure to get their broccoli when you go. Then defend it from all comers at your table. It’s fab.
All the Arby’s in this area closed over the past few years. Believe it or not, there are none anymore. I miss them.
This, but not only for this. They have also made a number of other good decisions lately. They’re breakfast burritos are the best fast food burritos out there right now (maybe rivaled by Sonic), and all of a sudden I noticed they have a vegetarian menu that can be substituted for vegan easily. I also read something recently where they have a nutritionist who is reducing sodium content across the menu as well as making other more healthy options available.
I predict they will win the inevitable Franchise wars.
I saw a short report on them the other day. It helps that they’re not only not franchises, but family owned. The current CEO is the great-granddaughter of the founder, taking over from her father after some years working for other eateries.
I hadn’t been to a Jack in the Box in years, and then they opened one very close to me. This was around the time they introduced the Buttery Jack, which was good enough to raise my opinion of the chain as a whole. The extreme sausage sandwich does the same but for breakfast. I never thought I’d love an egg sandwich on a hamburger bun!
Of course, they fact that JITB sends me coupons every month for all this stuff is probably the real reason I keep going back.
Re: Taco Bell:
The Taco Bell in our town hasn’t gotten the memo then. My wife had a craving for ‘crunchy tacos’ the other night. We were unimpressed. However, we stopped at a Taco Time on a road trip a few weeks ago and were pleasantly surprised. They have gotten better, IMHO.
Arbys, they’ve moved more towards a deli style sandwich shop and the sandwiches are higher quality now.
In the opposite direction, I’d say little ceasers. Their pizza was never spectacular, but in the 90s you could get 2 pizzas for $6. That was their whole gimmick, buy 2 pizzas for the price of 1 pizza at other stores. Now they’ve moved towards being the fast food of pizza with their hot and ready options (again, not terrible pizza but I miss the 2 for 1 gimmick).
Used to always go to Arby’s when I went home for Christmas in Virginia. It is now closed. None near where I live in Hackensack, NJ. But there is one on Interstate 81, or maybe it’s 95, on the way to VA so we will stop there from now on.