In-N-Out cheeseburger and fries. Preferably eaten on a road trip to Southern California, somehow it’s not the same if I have one here in Vegas. Recently, on a trip to San Diego, we stopped by In-N-Out and it was the best meal I’ve had in a long, long time.
Here’s one from out of left field: Jack in the Box Teriaki Chicken Bowl. A bit pricy considering how simple it is, but one of the few fast food items that seems at least marginally healthy. Their little egg rolls are pretty good as well.
When I was an ESL teacher in China, I ate a lot of Pizza Hut, but that’s only 'cuz it’s mad fancy over there. My favorite treat was McDonald’s, because it was the only place in town you could get a drink that was really, really cold. For this reason, I would say that my favorite fast-food treat is the most ubiquitous of them - the Big Mac.
But skip the fries. If you’re too hungry for one hamburger, just order a second one.
Edit: I also ate a lot of pizza hut because they delivered, and they were the only delivery service that had English-speaking dispatchers. Otherwise I’d have to puzzle through a Chinese menu and push my imagination to the limit to figure out what a Five Treasure Chicken Sandwich might be.
Local-- the Pork barbecue sandwich, from the Bar-B-Cutie. $4.91 gets me a sandwich (*good * sandwich), a baked potato/bbq beans/fries (choice), and a soda/sweet tea.
After that, Five Guys cheeseburger, Chik-Fil-A nuggets with waffle fries and cole slaw, KFC chicken tenders, and Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Combo and Frosties.
National chains: Jack in the Box’s Sourdough Jack or Wendy’s Baja salad
Local chains: Fat Mo’s cheeseburgers with lettuce, pickle, mayo and tomato or Stroud’s BBQ chopped pork plate (outside meat, please) with slaw, mac and cheese, cornbread and unsweet tea.
Tough one. Going international, a Thuringer Rostbratwurst with mustard on a ridiculously undersized bun, like this, may just be the most perfect sausage I’ve ever eaten. I first had one in a town square in Erfurt, and ever since that has become the bratwurst by which I judge all bratwursts. (And, yes, I understand different regions have different bratwurst traditions, in terms of ingredients and preparation method, but that is by far my favorite.)
In the US? I think I’d have to go with a plain ol’ In-N-Out cheeseburger.
This gets my vote. I order it without the egg so that I’m not distracted from the onions and that lovely artery-clogging sauce.
If McD served these all day long I might never eat anything else.
Arby’s mozzerella sticks. A full week’s supply of both fat and sodium, and I have to go through their drive-thru first, then around the corner to McDonald’s for a coke; but sometimes I still can’t resist.
For smaller regional chains - Zaxby’s chicken strips. This is seriously the best of the best fast food - but unfortunately not available in my area. Just had some last week during a Christmas trip down South. Yummmmmmmmm.