Oh yeah - all the talk of Culver’s makes me wish we had one around here. I make a point of going there at least a couple of times any time I’m visiting family in Illinois.
NAF1138 and Pyper. I like knowing that there are those with good taste even when it comes to fast food. Oh my gawd that garlic sauce!
NAF1138 and anyone else, considering that In N Out is still almost only a California establishment, shouldn’t it be considered a front runner in this pole? I mean, I know people from the other side of the world that when they land at LAX the first place they head for is the In N Out on Sepulveda.
Sorry Stoid, didn’t see ya on the first read through. Zankou! Zankou! Zankou!
I am surprised at the love for Taco Bell. They tried them in Australia but they went broke. I ate there once because it is an iconic chain and I love Mexican food and it was tremendously disappointing. I wonder if we were getting the same stuff you get because it was so bland and lifeless I couldn’t imagine them being successful.
No wonder you hated it. You went in expecting Mexican food.
I LOVE me some Taco Bell.
I didn’t realize that In N Out was so geographically limited; else I wouldn’t have included it.
Roger Ebert relates an old story about west coast sexual technique vs. midwest: In N Out vs. Steak and Shake.
mmm
The first A&W I went to had an extensive hot dog menu. Among other things, you could get a kraut dog that was really heaped with steaming-hot, real savory sauerkraut. I went back several times for dogs and curly fries and root beer floats with real ice cream.
Years later I went to an A&W again. They looked at me funny when I asked for sauerkraut. There was only one hot dog choice, a dull sort of chili dog. It seemed to have become a relentlessly average hamburger pit. Everything I got was mediocre or worse.
That spicy chicken sandwich is the bane of my quick-dinner-shopping existence. They cook it in the same oil as the other chicken products.
::cut to Celtling screaming in pain as she bites into a chicken nugget::
And while I’m talking, KFC has started loading their chicken fingers with pepper too, the bastards. Is there anywhere a parent can get some chicken nuggets for a toddler anymore?!?
So, I wanted to find out what this “Zankou” thing is. Turns out www.zankou.com is a dating site for “Armenian Singles.” ROFL
Why no Zaxby’s back-up? Have people just never tried it, or are ther folks out there who have tried it but don’t prefer it? :dubious: Hard to imagine! ! !
Arby’s for the beef, even though it has changed from actual hunks of cow to some sort of fabricated beast
Hardees for the sausage gravy and biscuit, even though I haven’t had one in 20 years, and shouldn’t eat them any more :mad:
And not listed: Bojangles Fried Chicken, even though I haven’t had that for 20 years either :mad:
Did Arby’s have a different meat product? I always remembered it in it’s current delicious but somewhat questionable form and I’ve been eating at Arby’s for at least 25 years.
this poll would be exponentially more interesting if it was only limited to one choice.
also interesting how wendy’s is the clear favorite out of burger joints (both in this poll and my anecdotal impressions) and yet mcdonald’s blows them out of the water in terms of sales.
It’s the SDMB-effect. The results don’t necessarily follow mainstream expectations.
TruCelt, for you. www.zankouchicken.com
When you’re the only adult in a van full of kids, you go where they want to go for lunch. 
Mmmmmmmmm, Arby’s! Beef and cheddar, curly fries, and a Jamocha shake. Love 'em. But if there’s no Arby’s in sight, I’d go to McDonald’s (double cheeseburger and fries), Wendy’s (ditto), Chipotle (barbacoa) or Quizno’s (chicken carbonara sandwich and chips) very happily indeed.
MIA (and some of my own favorites):
Krystal
Long John Silver’s
Captain D’s
Popeye’s
Bojangles
AS AClockworkMelon intimates, Taco Bell is its own category of food–don’t think of it as Mexican. That said, you’re not missing anything. Taco Bell, along with Domino’s, are the very last fast food establishments I will eat from. I think I’ve been to Taco Bell once in the last 15 years (it was the only place that was open) and it’s been at least 15 years since I’ve had a Domino’s pizza.
Part of In N Out’s business model is slow growth. IIRC (and I might not) they were founded around the same time, and around the same place as McDonald’s, and both McDonald’s and In N Out were equally popular. McDonald’s went for rapid growth and is now a multi billion dollar company and has been for years, but it has crap food. In N Out took 40 years or more to get to be a huge company, but has awesome food.
They don’t franchise, all stores are family owned and all of their food is grown within a days drive of the shop it is being delivered to so that all the ingredients are very very fresh. They own their farms so in order to expand further they need to start more farms.
There is worry that once the current head of the company dies her children are going to try to cash in on the McDonald’s model and then things will all go to crap.
And yes, I think that In N Out should be leading the pack even with its geographical limitations. It is that awesome.
Here is a fun anecdote. I was in San Francisco a few years ago and decided to take one of those guided tours of the city (I am a sucker for super touristy things). It was a small jeep tour, just me, my girlfriend, and a British couple. At the end of the tour the British couple asked for a recommendation for a good place to eat that wasn’t too pricey. The tour guide directed them to the In N Out a couple of blocks away. When I laughed at the idea of a fast food restaurant being his recommendation he pointed out that:
- it was uniquely Californian and something that all tourists in California should experience
- was fast cheap and in a good people watching location (fisherman’s wharf)
- was a damn sight tastier than 90% of the other chain restaurants in the area.
I couldn’t disagree with him and ended up eating at In N Out for dinner that night too.
See that makes things more puzzling. US posters mock Domino’s but in Australia they make good cheap pizza. We would rather disparage Pizza Hut who routinely close down shops as no-one can eat their crap.
This is a primary difference I’ve noticed between the US and Australia. In Australia crap food doesn’t sell. I think Australians must have more time available for dinner or something. Here, there is a certain amount of food sold simply upon availability. I really despise McDonald’s food, but I’m in their drive through at least once a month from sheer necessity.