This is a spin off from @deb922 's breakfast thread, and again, if you don’t eat at these places, feel free to skip the thread rather than judge.
What’s your favorite?
We used to like Hardees solely for their Mushroom & Swiss burger coupled with fries and Mellow Yellow (for me, Dr Pepper for H), though I would always get my burger on a seeded bun instead of the sweet bun they use. Lately though, they’ve really decreased the amount of sauce our local Hardees puts on them, so I’m super disappointed and choosing other places.
We love Arbys too - potato cakes instead of fries for most of us. Jamocha Shakes are awesome.
And Chick Fil A for their tenders and waffle fries. Lemonade is the drink of choice here.
Can’t forget Popeye’s. Their chicken sandwich is awesome and I love their mild fried chicken, so it’s tough to know what to order when we’re stopping there.
H likes Wendy’s, but I don’t. It’s one of FIL’s favorites, so we go there. I usually get one of their salads.
Neither of us care for McD’s. Once in a while we’ll do Taco Bell, but that’s very rare.
During Covid, we’ve many time ordered delivery subs from Little John’s. It’s a mile down the road, gets here surprisingly fast. Often when in town we favor small local restaurants and brewpubs - those outdoor lunches have kept us sane during Covid isolation. On the road we usually do McDonald’s or Wendy’s (where we know what to expect), but I do enjoy the chance to try a Hardees or other chain not available in our town.
Our town doesn’t have alot of chain fast food. If we’re on a big time crunch, we’re usually hitting Chipotle or Chick Fil A. But generally we’re ordering from local spots like IP3, Linda’s, Mama Dip’s, and Four Corners. These are all in the Franklin St/Rosemary St. area at UNC-CH.
That said, since our Wegmans opened, we’ve been eating way less fast food. Little S can still get his burgers/fries, wings, or pizza; H can get his sushi or Asian; and I adore their homey bolognese. And with Meals 2 Go, we can still get it delivered!
One tradition:
In the summer when driving to our cottage tradition is to stop for fast food on the way and husband gets Jersey Mike’s and I get Panda Express.
I like Chick Fila, eat it about twice a year. But my very favorite that I have may once every 3 or 4 years is White Castle. Goodness, I love those sliders.
Also, when malls were still a thing, I would pop into Nordstrom just to eat their cilantro lime chicken salad!
I would not set my foot in that gawdawful ChickFilA. The closest one to us picked such an awful location that lines of cars wanting to get into their tiny lot back all the way onto the very busy street blocking access to freeway onramp. The one in a different town is similarly located, creating similar traffic issues. What people find there is so puzzling to me - I ate at one in Atlanta, and I was not impressed.
Have to laugh. I had a big Mac like a month ago. I haven’t had one in over 10 years… Now I know why… Felt sick afterwards. Lol. Maybe my just turning 60 stomach just can’t do it anymore… Lol.
Five Guys was a once a month treat for us pre-Covid, and we started again when they offered curbside pickup. They stopped last month, so we’re waiting until we feel more comfortable about going inside. H limits carbs to help control his blood sugar, so eating french fries is a big splurge for him.
I love Popeyes chicken and biscuits, but sadly they don’t return the affection. Once or twice a year I get them anyway and willingly pay the price. I’m the same way with Publix fried chicken. I haven’t found any other that’s worth the pain.
My dad was a fan of Wendy’s burgers and frosties. I find them both a bit bland but they still bring back fond memories of just the two of us having lunch there.
Dairy Queen chocolate dipped cones are another sentimental favorite. I haven’t had one in a few years, but will make a point to stop there before we move.
I know there are a lot of jokes about Taco Bell, but every so often I crave their tacos and burritos. They’re probably way too salty to be safe, but that may be why I crave them.
I can’t tell you much about Chick Fil A food but what has earned me a trip through their drive through is their shakes. Really really good.
We went to a wedding pre Covid that was out in the middle of no where. There was a break between the church and reception and we were starving. Taco Bell never tasted so good. We even eat inside!
I would say that is something we rarely do - eat inside a fast food place - even pre Covid - we drive through
I used to go thru the drive thru at McDonald’s to get the children Happy Meals [and a toy] when we were traveling. I haven’t been there in years but stopped the other day for fries because I wanted something salty. All I tasted was grease, so that was disappointing. Normally, when we get fast food it tends to be from the local deli or pizza place. In the before times I used to go to Panera with my daughter after hitting the bookstore. They have a nice fireplace with comfortable chairs and it’s one of the only places you can still get soup and half a sandwich. We like trying different diners too. In the last year we’ve made an effort to spread our take out orders around to help as many local businesses as we can. Breakfast is a little early for me, but I’m quite fond of brunch.
A tropical smoothie cafe just opened in our town and they have a good Thai chicken wrap. Tons of veggies, a little bit of chicken, yummy Thai peanut sauce. I pretend it’s somewhat healthy.
Do love chick fil a. But it’s a very occasional treat.
Same with Panera as none in my town.
Five guys is a very occasional treat after a day of xc skiing
And once a year, we get to a skyline chili. An acquired taste for sure but my entire family are fans.
Our most common fast food is actually a food court in our local Farmer’s Market. It has multiple places, but all small, locally owned places that take your order just as fast food does. There’s a large central dining area. It’s really like a mall food court, except no chains. We tend to go there every week usually for Mexican or Korean but sometimes on a whim for something else. During the pandemic it hasn’t been as often and when we order something it’s for take out. Today we’re going there again because we sent the kids there the last two times and they tell us the whole place has been redone during the last year. I’m curious to see it for myself.
They tell us there’s a new BBQ place - all of their previous BBQ places haven’t been our flavor (PA is sweet!), but it’s BBQ so we’ll have to at least give it a try if it’s open. They also tell us there’s another soft pretzel place that has tons of things with pretzels listed on its menu (sandwiches and more). That sounds delicious too. The previous pretzel place made the absolute best ones when they were fresh and hot.
If neither of those are open, the Mexican place makes an awesome chorizo taco salad with homemade guacamole. That’s my “usual.”
In my original post I forgot to mention Subway. We like them too, but if we’re in northern NY we like Jreck’s better. We’ve eaten at a lot of other sub places including many mentioned here, but honestly, prefer Subway if in a sub mood.
The best french fries for all of our taste buds are Chick Fil A’s waffle fries. Anything else is competing for second.
