If relatives are visiting, I will take them to one of my town’s top tourist attractions, the Oldest operational McDonald’s restaurant in the world. Otherwise, I tend to give Mickey D’s a wide berth.
For a burger fix near home, it’s the Jack-in-the-Box right across the street from there. From the first time I gave myself carbonated post-nasal drip watching their hysterical commercials and the first bite of their excellent burgers, they have been my guilty pleasure of choice, mostly because they’re good and convenient (plus they have a wide and expanding variety of non-burger sandwiches, each better than the last). Years before I arrived in town, JIB went through an E.coli scare, but, unlike other chains in similar predicaments, got religion and, according to Fast Food Nation, are now mavericks in the industry for their “farm-to-fork” quality policies.
My wife prefers In-N-Out. I acknowledge their quality, and there are times when nothing but a Double-Double “Animal Style” will do, but their fries, while made directly from the potato, are rather bland.
Burger King? Took a sharp nose-dive in reliable quality a while back.
Wendy’s? Meh. Not my place of choice, these days. I didn’t notice that it got mentioned, but the Wendy’s patron who reportedly consumed their Chili-con-Finger has been arrested, following the revelations that no one in the Wendy’s supply chain seems to be missing said digit (despite a six-figure reward offered by the company for info), and the fact that she seems to be simultaneously involved in another illegal money scheme.
The Six-Dollar burger (which, once you add fries and a drink, does in fact cost six dollars here) at Carl’s Jr. (Hardee’s elsewhere in the nation) is as good as it claims to be, in my book.
Haven’t ever tried Rally’s, so no opinion there.
Going more upscale, Fatburger is a misnomer, as the meat is lean and very flavorful.
Wait a minute! WHY am I even bothering with all these burger also-rans? My fellow SoCal Dopers, if you can bring yourself to drive a couple of extra miles and wait just a couple of extra minutes at the window for the promise of orgiastic-sex-on-a-bun, get thee hence to your local branch of a chain spreading out of the Inland Empire: Farmer Boys. Out of this world breakfast, as well.
Quizno’s handily beats the other locally-available sandwich chains, Subway and Togo’s. But I miss Au Bon Pain in the Northeast. Arby’s, for the most part, sucks as much now as they did twenty years ago when I first tried them, but for awhile a couple of years back they offered high-quality deli sandwiches on real bread. Excellent!
Delivery Pizza? Pizza Hut over Domino’s. Go out for pizza? Red Brick
Chicken? Always Boston Market, unless the craving is for those specific 11 herbs and spices at KFC. Popeye’s tastes like KFC left out in an oily road puddle for a week, and the other chicken chains around here aren’t even on my radar.
Drive-Thru Mexican? Del Taco over Taco Bell any day of the week.
If I crave fast Italian other than pizza, that is the succulent slurp of watery spaghetti, I suppose there’s always Sbarro, but I miss Papa Gino’s in the greater Boston area.