I’d prefer to not eat than to eat a fast food burger. I used to think there were circumstances where it was a good-enough (last resort)option, but that was usually due to air travel and getting famished. Now there are so many more options at most airports that I frequent, and ones that are so much better than a fast food burger…I can’t remember the last time I had it. I know it was IN-n-Out north of San Francisco, but I know I felt sick afterwards. My 19 year old kid has come to the same realization much earlier in life. It might taste good, but it doesn’t feel good. And then you have the “ambiance”…hunched over in the car, making a mess, or eating inside…I’ll pass and take room service, please.
If any fans of the fast food burger are ever stuck in WI make sure to check out Culver’s before you leave.
I’ve only had Five Guys twice. I guess part of this whole equation is whethe price means anything. Five Guys costs more and is (IMO) not as good so it’s a no-brainer for me. Places like Shake Shack, Umami, Father’s Office, even Taylor’s are disqualifed as they are in an upper price group.
Anyhow, I like lettuce and tomato. Again I’ve only had Five Guys twice but the bun, lettuce, and tomato seem fresher at In N Out. I like SteaknShake. I eat them quite often as a must everytime I go to my wife’s hometown where they started. I like the meat, but they lag on the lettuce & tomato. Again they cost even less than Five Guys so I’m givng them my second spot as quality is about equal.
Yeah, ButterBurgers, fried cheese curds, and frozen custard for dessert.
And - surprise, surprise - the place is always packed.
Merrill, I doubt that many choose between fast food and room service, as there is about a $25 difference in price between the two.
What a shitty poll.
This is a shitty poll. The best burgers are not something you get at a drive thru joint. But if you are driving thru and you live on the left coast, or close, In & Out is hard to beat for quality of product (no freezers, no microwaves, all orders made to order), value, pleasant work staff (they are paid well, mostly college students), cleanliness of restaurant.
Would I be excited to try if I lived on the other coast? No. Would I go if I happened to be in the vicinity? Yes. Not worth all of the hype but is a fantastic burger for < $3 and I think their fries are the best - not double fried, actually can taste the potato. Shakes aren’t bad as well.
I am tickled pink that they are in my back yard. YMMV
Assuming we’re going with fast food only, I vote for shake shack (and that’s for the burger only). I am disappointed by the shake shack fries as they just seem like frozen oreida to me. I don’t care for the five guys or in-n-out fries either. For me, McDonald’s wins on the fries. There is just something magical about the salty greasiness of them! Nothing like your fingers sparkling after some fries!
Can you really call it fast food when you stand in line for 30-45 minutes?
I agree on the Shake Shack (the fries are definitely frozen, I think…if not…they’re very pedestrian). But, I watched the Five Guys guys make my burger this week: they take a never-frozen , red burger out of package and cooked to order on the flat top; took a bun out of a plastic bag and grabbed lettuce and tomatoe slices from their bins…not sure how you think a burger could be “fresher”…at least to our eyes? Do they cut the lettuce /tomato to order? Bake the bread hourly…or to order? Curious what you mean.
I think Smashburger is better than Five Guys. Five Guys and Fatburger are expensive compared to a double double. I still like Big Macs and Western Bacon from Carl’s. Would love to try Shake Shack one day. I eat too much fast food.
Well, that adds a different dimension to the discussion. When I think of fast food, I think of something that is not a destination, but rather a last resort or ultimate convenience under the circumstances at hand. I love a great hamburger, but that was not the discussion. My point is that I would prefer to eat at the airport or wait until I get to my hotel and order something that is not going to give me a stomach ache. It might be interesting to hear WHY people get fast food burgers. Is it to spend little $$$? Or because of time constraints it appears to be the only option, due to location and hours open? I have to admit I am a bit amazed when I see that people can’t wait for their trip to the West Coast to get a taste of In-n-Out.
Doesn’t make it wrong, but it is not the way I order my life. I recall when I was just out of college and working 2 jobs, the proximity of Burger King and the relative lack of expense associated with it made it a great option. And at that point in time, it did not produce the physical effects that those foods now produce. I also recall way too many trips to McDonald’s and Burger King with my young daughter. Sometimes the draw was the fries, sometimes the mini-beanie babies, sometimes she just liked doing the drive through. I recall at one period her asking for “a hamburger without any meat.”
I remember one time as a kid I went to McDonald’s with my Dad and he got a couple of cheeseburgers. He was nearly finished eating the 2nd before realizing it had no meat…
Speaking of McDonald’s stories and my Dad, another time we were leaving and a homeless guy outside tried to sell him a quarter pounder with cheese that had a few bites taken out of it. When my Dad said “it has bites taken out of it” the homeless guy grew indignant and exclaimed “not really, only two.”
![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
Because they are delicious?
Not everyone gets tummy aches from them.
And that’s great for those who don’t. Now they don’t even taste great to me, just by association alone. And my kid feels the same way at a much younger age.
My mother was a terrible cook, with 8 kids and a hard-working husband to feed. This was in a very unsophisticated town outside of Worcester, MA. I remember my oldest sister taking me to what might have been the first McDonald’s - it was in Worcester and it was maybe 1962-1964? I believe hamburgers were like 5 or 10 cents - cheeseburgers a bit more. French fries were out of this world - my world. And I coveted going there - the taste, the adventure.
I think Scott Gruner asked earlier how anyone could vote for Mickey D’s - and someone already answered for me - the fries.
A double quarter pounder with cheese, extra large fries and coke may just be the perfect hangover cure.
That said, I have been to the local Shake Shack here in Philly - pretty good burger, and I did like the Shack Sauce, but has been already pointed out several times, fries are very average.
I worked in a McDonald’s for about 6 weeks when I was 14 and have NEVER been in one since.
Our hotel in Verona for VinItaly is above the one just outside the main gate to the old city and it takes me a couple of days (and many Aperol Spritz and horse steaks) to get over the revulsion just the smell gives me.
Like I said, I’m no expert on Five Guys. I’ve only been once each to two of their outposts. I did not mean that the meat was not fresh. Of FG, InOut, and SteaknShake, I like the meat flavor best at S&S. I was talking about the bun, tomato, and lettuce. I’ve been to InOut 50 times, S&S a dozen times so can be more authoritative about those. I didn’t realize they baked the buns fresh hourly at Five Guys. I think I like a firm bun, thicker than some fast-food joints have. Some of it is the starting point and some is what transpires in the ten minutes prior to eating. Both the FG and the S&S bun seem to get mushier than an InOut bun. Maybe thickness, toppings, or even wrapping have something to do with it, I don’t know. I like crisp cool iceberg lettuce on a burger. It provides a better contrast to the patty. InOut’s just hits my spot. I recall the fiveguys lettuce as some combo of less, not as cool, not as firm. Honestly I can’t say that the tomato is subpar at fiveguys. I had mine this last last winter so it wasn’t really season. I can say that the InOut tomato is consistently decent, better & thicker than SnS, and at times I wish I had skipped tomato on other burgers. I’ll try Five Guys again this summer. One thing that I can reiterate, which slants me to the other two, is that Five Guys costs a chunk more. I don’t recall the exact price, but it seemed like my cheeseburger at FiveGuys ran $7. Of course a couple of bucks is no biggie, but it’s certainly a tie-breaker.
M burger here in Chicago is damn good.
Frank, is this a local chain? Not familiar.