Fast Food Foofaraw

[Rumpy]

In terms of burger joints I'd rank what's available locally as:

Wendy's
A&W
McD's
BK

Hardly go to BK, as the nearest one closed down years ago, and nobody has either torn down or rented the building. McD's would be out of the way. A&W is the nearest place and the A&W in Canada is a whole different beast and is actually quite good. I'd go to Wendy's more often, but again that one's out of the way.


There are better local joints that make higher quality stuff, but they're also almost twice as expensive.

[Sudy]

Yeah, A&W's Uncle is great (actually maybe too much burger), and the Teen/Mozza are good too. The rest are more classic, thin-patty burgers, but still quite tasty. I wish they had more variety for sides, though I know they follow the small-menu mantra.

The other Canadian classis Is Harvey's, which is famous for letting you pick your toppings. They're flame grilled, but frozen... I think they were fresh once upon a time? Still quite good though. I liked them better from around '95-'10 when their premium burgers had a different texture and most locations served a diner-style breakfast with a slice of tomato. (Which some A&W locations actually do now.)

Hero Certified Burgers has expanded it recent years and they're also really good, but they're more in the premium fast food category. They have tempura zucchini as a side, which I enjoy.

[Daehawk]

Best burger in town is Krystal.

[Sudy]

I don't think I could eat that many fries....

[Isgrimnur]

I'm going to guess that's a meal for two. Or someone that has trained for years to consume that amount.

[Holman]

That's like one hamburger on a loaf of bread.

[Daehawk]

Ya they have that on special a lot for about $8. Other times you get 10 for $6. When I was young they were about 45 cents each. My father in law remembered when they opened in Chattanooga in 1932 and were a nickle each.

If you look at lots of places..McD, Woolworths and such...a burger was cheaper than a coke sometimes.

[Daehawk]

Anyone had a caprese salad? Are they as good as they look?....A local pizza place has one that looks amazing. Never had one.

[Kraken]

Anyone had a caprese salad? Are they as good as they look?....A local pizza place has one that looks amazing. Never had one.

I make them at least once a week when my garden is kicking out tomatoes (July thru September) and tons of basil. A caprese salad + ear of corn + garlic toast is a perfect summer supper...assuming it's made with a perfectly ripe homegrown tomato. I've never had one in a restaurant.

[Rumpy]

I'm sorry to see you don't have a Pizzaville. It appears they haven't gotten north of Parry Sound.

Just noticed this. The thread has been pretty active today. No, I'm not familiar with them. To be honest, we don't really have terribly much in terms of pizza chains.

[Jeff V]

Anyone had a caprese salad? Are they as good as they look?....A local pizza place has one that looks amazing. Never had one.

I make them at least once a week when my garden is kicking out tomatoes (July thru September) and tons of basil. A caprese salad + ear of corn + garlic toast is a perfect summer supper...assuming it's made with a perfectly ripe homegrown tomato. I've never had one in a restaurant.

I also make them regularly over the summer. I also make them on hot sandwich, home made focaccia, pesto, tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella, and pepperoni baked until cheese melts and pepperoni starts to crisp. Breakfast version on the same bread, with mashed avocado instead of pesto and a fried egg on top instead of pepperoni.

[Daehawk]

Seems I need to stop by and get one then sometime.

[Hipolito]

I love caprese salad (or sandwich), it's very refreshing and tasty. But I only recently learned that the proper pronunciation is cah-pray-say, not caprees. But not everyone in Chicago knows this, so if you ask for a cah-pray-say salad, the guy behind the counter might look at you like you're some kinda jagoff.

[Jeff V]

Always pronounced it cah-pre-see. Never got any strange looks, then again, I mostly ever ordered it from the crapeteria at my old job. As soon I decided it was something they made that I liked, they promptly removed it from the menu. They just couldn't stand having me as a customer I guess.

[Daehawk]

Taco Bell has done that to me about 4 times. Theres only 2 items I care for now.

[gilraen]

Taco Bell has done that to me about 4 times. Theres only 2 items I care for now.

Done what?

[Jaymann]

Taco Bell has done that to me about 4 times. Theres only 2 items I care for now.

Done what?

Look at him like he is a jagoff?

[Daehawk]

Taco Bell has done that to me about 4 times. Theres only 2 items I care for now.

Done what?

As soon I decided it was something they made that I liked, they promptly removed it from the menu.

[Jaymann]

Taco Bell has done that to me about 4 times. Theres only 2 items I care for now.

Done what?

As soon I decided it was something they made that I liked, they promptly removed it from the menu.

How many substantially different ways can you prepare beans, cheese, meat, sauce and tortillas?

[disarm]

Taco Bell has done that to me about 4 times. Theres only 2 items I care for now.

Done what?

As soon I decided it was something they made that I liked, they promptly removed it from the menu.

How many substantially different ways can you prepare beans, cheese, meat, sauce and tortillas?

You clearly don't eat at Taco Bell...

[Daehawk]

Maaaaaagic beans Lt. Dan.

[Sudy]

Yeah, Taco Bell always kills or tinkers with their best items.

[hitbyambulance]

growing up in MN, my favorite fast food item (that wasn't pizza) was the roast beef sandwich at Hardee's

and i felt the best french fries were at Dairy Queen <emoji shrug>

[Sudy]

I don't remember roast beef at Hardee's when I was exposed to it in the 90s. It's so hard to find quality roast beef at the fast food level. We had a dine in/take out restaurant at the small local mall when I was growing up, and they had a fantastic real roast beef kaiser sandwich they made with sliced tomato, horseradish, and au jus. But it was carved off a real roast prime rib. We'd get it takeout all the time, often with a side of fries and gravy. I really miss that place. Someone else took it over and they still sold roast beef, but it wasn't the same.

Best fries... that's a tough one. I like fries in theory, but these days so many of them leave me underwhelmed. McDonald's still does it for me when they're fresh and hot. The new Wendy's fries are also good (their old ones were, too). For a Canadian chain, I really loved the Swiss Chalet fries in the 90s... they're still decent, but not as good. Otherwise I find most chains to be pretty disappointing. Too crispy/coated, not freshly prepared, or over-seasoned.

[Sudy]

Bacon's great, but I think it actually detracts from most burgers. I've figured out where bacon does belong though--tuna salad sandwiches. I don't like crunchy stuff mixed in with the tuna; keep your celery and apple the hell away. But the sandwich does need texture variation. Toast the bread, bake or fry up some bacon, and throw some cruncy romaine rib lettuce on there.

Tuna salad is one thing I never order at a restaurant. It always tastes like institutional cafeteria food and usually has way too much mayo. My recipe of choice has become some combination of:

- mayo or Miracle Whip
- mustard (each variety brings something, from yellow to dijon)
- black pepper
- paprika
- dill weed
- Worcestershire sauce
- crushed chiles or a hot sauce (right now I'm enjoying Valentina)

[Blackhawk]

We've actually got a Hardee's here in town (you've heard me bitch about how small the town is, but we have one spot where a minor - formerly major - highway bumps the edge of town. We've actually got a few fast food places there, along with our micro-Walmart. It's honestly the smallest Walmart I've ever been in.)

Hardee's used to be a roast beef place, and they were pretty good at it. I used to get it from time to time in high school. They've had a bit of an identity crisis over the last 25 or so years though. At one point they bought out some resturaunt (Roy Roger's?), took their recipe, and became a fried chicken place that also had burgers. The chicken was actually better than KFC from what I remember. Then sometime in the late 90s they were bought out by Carl's Jr. They toned down the roast beef and became more of a burger place, and not a terribly good one. There was nothing special about them. Then at some point they decided to go to 'specialty' burgers. Extra thick, fresh meat, 'homemade' style, and expensive. They were actually pretty decent. We couldn't afford them very often, but when we wanted a 'better' burger than other fast food we'd go to Hardee's.

These days they're back to generic burger place, and all of the Hardee's I know of are looking old and run-down.

[Sudy]

This history on Wikipedia is interesting. My sole experience with Hardee's was in North Carolina between 95 and 98, which would have been just before/during the Carl's Jr. merger in April 97. Other than the peach cobbler dessert, my only memory is of what I think were multi-decker burgers with square shaped patties. Everything felt like an excess there. (A delicious excess, but one that had you sick by the end of the meal.) I feel like they also did something with sourdough there, perhaps as a promotion. But I may be crossing that memory with Burger King and Culver's who have done similar.

I don't think roast beef was on the menu at that time, not on my area. Wikipedia says they semi-acquired a chain named Rax Roast Beef in 1994, which would place it in that time frame. Apparently Rax was in 38 states at their peak, but I never remember hearing the name. This was after the Roy Rogers acquisition in 1990. I can't remember if I recall fried chicken on the menu in the mid-90s. Possibly.

But nothing on the current menu looks familiar, I presume because most of it is post-Carl's stuff, even though it says the chains diverged again a couple years ago (at least in terms of marketing).

[Blackhawk]

I feel like they also did something with sourdough there, perhaps as a promotion. But I may be crossing that memory with Burger King and Culver's who have done similar.

They used to have one I liked called the 'Frisco Melt' or 'Frisco Burger' that was sourdough.

Also, I now realize how much I used to rely on fast food 20 years ago. Blech.

[Daehawk]

Ive seen Hardees change style and menu about 5 times. To me their best burgers and menu was in the 90s when they had the Star burgers. Which of course they dumped for that Thickburger nonsense. They seem to like throwing things against the wall and seeing what sticks then slapping it on their menu. Their old old roast beef was good. I had one when they brought them back years ago and wasn't impressed. They still have them at my local one. Not had one in many years. About 6 or 7 years ago they had a California cheeseburger or something which was two beef patties fried onions and thousand island dressing. It was great and thats all I got that year. Then they changed the name of it then they dropped it of course.

Theres a couple good items...the chicken tenders and sauce are good, the chilidogs, and the little thickburger. They have brought back Star burgers it appears but Ive not tried one. The best thing Hardees has seems to be breakfast. The gravy and biscuit is great but the sausage biscuit is still king. But they've doubled it's price and I swear its smaller.

[Sudy]

Star Burger does sound familiar, that might be what I remember.

You guys are lucky to have all these biscuit things. Biscuits just aren't common in Canada, not in fast food at least. In the U.S. they're ubiquitous. Tim Horton's has a biscuit breakfast sandwich, but it's only average. Mrs. Nym always laments being unable to get Dairy Queen chicken strips with country gravy here. Country grave is another thing we don't do. The only chain where you'll find it is Denny's.

[Blackhawk]

When Carl's Jr. bought them out and the star logo started appearing on the Hardee's signs, I was really, really hoping that they'd just switch over to the Carl's Jr. menu. No such luck.

[Rumpy]

Star Burger does sound familiar, that might be what I remember.

You guys are lucky to have all these biscuit things. Biscuits just aren't common in Canada, not in fast food at least. In the U.S. they're ubiquitous. Tim Horton's has a biscuit breakfast sandwich, but it's only average.

Have you tried their Maple Waffle Breakfast sandwich? So good. I actually had it the first time at a U.S Timmies before they were even available in Canada.

Another related observation: BK in Canada is really in a sorry state. It's ironic given that the parent company also owns Tim Hortons. You would think that with all the success Tims has, that they'd be able to reinvest the money in BK. But I've long felt BK in Canada had slipped further down the list of fast-food places to being third-rate, to the point that they're no longer a real threat to McD's anymore. Their locations are so sporadic and no longer convenient like they used to be.

[Daehawk]

10 years ago in another town kinda far away I got a pork chop biscuit at Bojangles. We didn't have that place here so thought we'd try it. That was a pretty good biscuit. A few years ago they built one in our town but the pork chop was not on the menu. Turns out it was a limited time thing. Gah. Dont like their other food.

[hitbyambulance]

i will say i appreciate Tim Hortons having the faux meat patties on their breakfast sandwiches. whenever i go back to Vancouver i'm going for that.


EDIT: looks like it's only available in BC and Ontario now:
https://fortune.com/2019/09/19/beyond-m ... m-hortons/

[Sudy]

Seems like almost every chain has been experimenting with meat substitutes over the past could of years. Philosophically I'm so in favour of this. Practically, my brain can't get around paying more for an inferior tasting product. If it were cheaper, on the other hand.... But I realize logistics won't make that possible for a very long time to come, if ever.

I can't remember if I tried Tim's waffle breakfast sandwich. I feel like I did, but my nearest location is in a gas station and doesn't have the full menu so I often miss out on some of the new and promotional items. I started out really liking the biscuit sandwiches when they were introduced years ago, but I quickly tired of them. It didn't help that the egg was often lukewarm and the cheese unmelted, but that was probably a YMMV situation. The croissant sandwiches are good if greasy messes. On the whole I kind of detest post-2000 Tim Horton's. I still go there every month or two, but there's not a lot on the menu I look forward to.

As for Burger King, yeah. We actually got a new one right next door late last year... I can see it from my window. Outside of the Whopper though which is still good if freshly prepared, I honestly find the rest of the menu disgusting. The fries are horrible. Some people like their rings, but I have to douse them in the ring sauce to swallow them. The menu is just so stale. I don't think adding a bunch of healthy items is necessarily the way to go, but the need some serious variety. Rumpy, you may have been talking more in terms of location and quality. But they just seem to fail across the board.

I miss Wendy's breafast of the 90s. I don't think we have Wendy's breakfast at all here anymore. I know they introduced new menu items in the U.S. recently.

[Kraken]

Seems like almost every chain has been experimenting with meat substitutes over the past could of years. Philosophically I'm so in favour of this. Practically, my brain can't get around paying more for an inferior tasting product. If it were cheaper, on the other hand.... But I realize logistics won't make that possible for a very long time to come, if ever.

Or if it were lower calorie, or clearly healthier. It's neither of those things. I only ever tried an Impossible burger once, and I liked it well enough. I might switch if the price were the same as beef or lower. Maybe instead of trying to make substitutes cheaper, we should price beef to reflect its environmental costs. Even as highly processed as they are, the fake meats are substantially more carbon-friendly than beef.

The only fast food I ever eat anymore is either Five Guys or Tennessee BBQ. Five Guys because I can't grill my own burgers during the winter, because real restaurants don't package their takeout burgers right (you gotta let the steam escape, guys), because Wife adores their grilled cheese sandwich, and because the only other burger joints within striking distance -- meaning driving them home before they get cold -- are McD and BK. And Tennessee because they make very good smoked wings.

[Sudy]

For me, the appeal of meat subsitutes are, in order:

- Reduction in suffering/cruelty
- Reduced environmental impact
- Health

I know there's not going to be a worthwhile reduction in animal suffering for a long time, but you have to start somewhere. Mind you, I'm a total hypocrite. I've never seriously considered reducing my meat consumption. But I believe the abolition of all suffering is a worthwhile goal, no matter how ridiculously impossible it seems at this stage of our development. So, yay for baby steps even if the first ones are misguided or even backward.

[Kraken]

I believe the abolition of all suffering is a worthwhile goal

So you're a Buddhist. Good 6,000th post, btw.

You inspired me to try another bogus burger when I can start going to restaurants again. Honestly, when the "meat" fades into a bun with the usual toppings and condiments, I can only tell that it's not really meat if I'm looking for tells. If you served me an Impossible without telling me, I might not even notice.

[Sudy]

I feel a kinship with some of the aspects of Buddhism I'm familiar with (which aren't many), but I initially came at the concept from a radical Christian perspective. If humans are truly to be stewards of the Earth, shouldn't we go all the way? As for what lit the spark, I believe it was an article by or about David Pearce, but I'm little more than a philosophical window shopper.

I've always liked the "two boats and and a helicopter" joke, not as much because it shames religious fundamentalism and nearsightedness (though yes, there's that), but because it highlights how often we refuse the tools within our grasp, and by extension have the tendency to reject advances in science and technology because it's "not natural". And while caution in the application of new technologies is certainly warranted, the "natural" order of things is often far less desirable than it seems. And I think that holds true both from Christian and humanist perspectives. Not to say I think environmental and other forms of conservation aren't very important, as saving dying species might be at the pinnacle of this philosophy. Nor would I replace all life with robots for the sake of reducing suffering. But I think the solution must be bold and revolutionary.

Of course, we really do need to start with humanity, and are doing such a poor job of even providing for the basic needs of so many. But that doesn't mean that those with skills and interests in other areas shouldn't further their work in the meantime. Though I realize this is a dilettante's idealism.


Well, damn it, I guess I'd better put my food where my mouth is and actually try some of these burgers myself. Will be something fun to discuss here at least.

6,000 posts! As long as I'm keeping up my pace of one per day.

[Rumpy]

Rumpy, you may have been talking more in terms of location and quality. But they just seem to fail across the board.

No, actually, I was speaking more in general. They're a far cry from what they used to be in the 80s, 90's and 2000's. Now they're just so so... bland. And as I said, they just seem to not be much of a threat to McD's anymore. Whenever fast food is mentioned in our household, they're never part of the equation. They'd be more of a last resort if we're travelling out of town.