So today we were driving to a party, and my son had to go to the bathroom. We saw an Arby's and ran in to use the facility, and ended up ordering a sandwich. ( The party hosts often have limited amounts of food at their parties, and usually no food out for the first few hours of their gatherings- but that is a whole different post.) Anyway, ordered a beef and cheddar, slathered on some horsey, and arby's sauce, and took a bite. Wow was it good. Messy, but sooooo good. The onion bun was soft, and fresh, the beef was lean and unfatty, and the cheese sauce tasty. It made me wonder what other fast food do you buy rarely but think is so good? Is it good because you eat it rarely? Would it be ruined if you ate it more often? I will go to bed dreaming of the Arby's sandwich, but my waistline is happy they are not closer!!!
NOW I know what In 'N Out is all about...recently visited my son in San Diego and we went there...dude, he ordered a '4 by 4' with 'Animal Fries'....hil-AR-ious...I just had a regular burger and didn't even understand the whole "secret menu" thing...but they ARE very good burgers!!! Glad I don't live in Cali (sort of...also went to visit other son in San Fran...Cali was so beautiful!!!)
For the same reason, McD's chicken mcnuggets will always have a soft spot in my heart: I'd eat them with my (then) husband after coming back from some back-country hiking & camping trip. We'd be cold, tired and sore, and eat those warm, soft, pressed chicken pieces dipped in sugary syrup, silently, and happily.
Taco Bueno is very good also. Not sure where the chain is, but had them traveling for work to Oklahoma City. The sour cream chicken chilada is great! Lots of fresh salsas and peppers to add to taste. My coworkers and I all chose to eat there despite being able to spend much more on our company meal allowance.
Whopper Jr. with cheese. I only 'allow' myself to have one of those when traveling and there is nothing more, um, sensible around (meaning I was too lazy to make sammiches).
And well-made fries.... ah, fries. Crunchy and hot and salty on the outside, and fluffy and potato-y on the inside. What's not to love.
Arbys Beef and Cheddar, same way...slathered with Horsey Sauce
Just had this the other day, first time in over 5 years...Wienerschnitzel Chili Dog...took one bite and it was so good! Have to say we hit it up again a few days later...not as big a deal but I still liked it.
Jack In The Box breakfast sandwiches...almost all of them
The funny thing was until that day a couple weeks ago I still had it in my head that I didn't like McD's fries as much as some others. I never liked the shoestring style that much, and for other food I was always partial to Wendy's. (I essentially don't eat there anymore, thankfully, but that was always the go to place for fast food.) I liked Wendy's fries a lot, but I think they got noticeably worse when they took out the trans fat. And when I had that dose of fries from McD's, I finally believed they were the best of the typical big fast food chains.
Hi... This is too easy: the McRib. As i similarly stated in another infamous thread, the first bite of the McRib tastes like a Proustian kiss with that demure third cousin you only run into once-a-decade; the last bite (if you ever get that far) tastes like french-kissing the business-end of an alien's blow-hole. The first swath of sauce looks like a Jackson Pollock fever-dream reverie; the last swath of sauce resembles Lucifer's congealed man-butter... Still, I order up that McRib like clockwork, every 5-to-7 years :-)
I agree ginael. Their jalapeno poppers are the best. I had never had them, but I was on a date a while back and the girl insisted on capping off the night with 'em. Odd request, I thought, but I acquiesced. She warned they are super hot at first, but we dove in anyway. Her lips got byrned. My fingers got a little wet, but the sauce tasted good and the heat was fine with me.
YES !!! It's funny, cause I just had ARBY'S poppers the other night, and they were real good, too... had'nt had them there in a year or so.... (I don't care for most of their other stuff, too processed tasting for me)
(no jack in the box near me in Jersey), so Arby's popper's are the next best thing.) I do love Jack's, as well!
i finally tried a chick-fil-a in tampa, having none in california. it was actually pretty good. we ordered an array of items having heard about this place for so long, and i liked the fried chicken sandwich best. the chik-fil-a sauce is very tasty. the strips were ok, not too interesting, and the grilled chicken was not food.
i don't know whether it's unique to the tampa location, but the staff were friendly and the restaurant was SPOTLESS! a staff member sprayed and wiped down the table after every customer left it. wow.
though in and out is best, chik-fil-a is definitely second, and first for chicken.
Just about every Chick Fil A I've ever been in - and growing up in the South, that's quite a few - has been very clean and the staff have been very friendly and well-trained. I've only had one really bad customer service experience there, and an email to the website resulted in a phone call from the local manager and a bunch of coupons.
You appear to be in the Bay area, so I thought you might like to know that there are Chick-fil-As in Fairfield and Roseville (Elk Grove, too)....... should you really get a craving.
Popeye's crawfish etoufee, that first bite is so good The second, this stuff isn't bad, but by about the sixth or seventh, I found it so disgusting I threw it away. On another note, after a day of fishing anything tastes good. I'm not talking about sit on your ass fishing, drinking a beer and watching a cork. This is saltwater wade or drift fishing where you are casting and winding all day, no time to eat or you might miss the fish of a lifetime. Nothing worse than sitting on your butt when a friend is reeling in a trophy. I usually settle for an Antone's po-boy, a local favorite that I wouldn't eat unless I'm starving. Just pick one up the day before, and eat it while you're going to a new location.
Just got a couple in Knoxville, TN Gotta check them out. Also, have a Red Robin opening real soon at Turkey Creek. I have had their food in Michigan and it is pretty good. You don't order the fries, because they just bring you a basket when you set down at your table. Kind of like a basket of rolls. Kinda different.
The first one that came to my mind is a Western Bacon Cheeseburger at Karl's Jr. The day before Christmas eve I was out shopping and stopped at Karl's and got one, with just a glass of water. (Felt like a bit of a cheapskate, but really didn't want a meal deal or a sugary drink, just my burger!) Sat down and ate it very slowly, chewing every bite, and yes, it was SO good. And I can't believe that someone has not already mentioned the macaroni and cheese bites at Jack in the Box. OMG they are just so good, like so many other things mentioned, they must be just about pure fat, but delicious fat!
For some reason i've been craving ice cream all this week, and specifically soft serve....despite the fact that we are having a record breaking cold snap here right now !!! So I finally gave in today and had a Blizzard from Dairy Queen, something i've not had in a couple of years at least. OMG soooo good....definitely hit the spot.
I will also add A&W's onion rings to this list. Something I rarely have, and I love them.
Rarely do I eat sweets and these days when I want ice cream I tend to get frozen yogurt if I'm watching the waistline. However, I still dream about the (former?) mint blizzard from Dairy Queen with oreos I had when I was little. Oddly, I've never been an oreo fan nor a mint ice cream fan. To this day, I still don't know how they made those two flavors so delicious together.
I hardly ever get to go to Schlotzsky's for a sandwich, but went close to Christmas and I got the small deluxe original. That was the best thing I had tasted in a long time, from the first bite to the last. I still think about it. I guess if it was closer to my house I might grow tired of it, but I doubt it!
Popeye's - the king of fast food. I rarely eat there for the artery-clogging reason, but their food is off the hook. The spicy chicken is REALLY spicy, the batter is crisp, and the meat is juicy.
And my favorite side -- dirty rice. Another blast of spice. And those biscuits...
I drive by a Popeye's every single night, see that sign for the crawfish festival....it's getting tougher every night not to turn in.
Today I was out running a ton of errands and drove by BK. I went into the ATM, and did my banking, then pulled a U-turn back for a BK Whopper! Oh, the grilled flavor in the cheeseburger was heavenly. Wow, was it ever good. The fries were okay, but no "heroin" added here, lol!
It just made this Boston chow, wish it were warmer so I can grill again! Yum. One of my stops was my favorite farmstand where I filled up on all of my fresh veggies and fruits. Back to reality.....hmmm.
McGriddle for one
Second a fast food chain no longer. It was in MI, Murphys in northern MI, primarily fish like a long John Silvers but also had chicken and some burgers. They had a Fish sandwich wish the best seasoning, A totally amazing BBQ coleslaw with fresh grilled onions. It was AWESOME. I ate them once a week. They were the best ever.
I just picked up McDonald's seasonal Filet O Fish special of two sandwiches for $3.33. It's been a while since I had one, and I'd say that although the bun is the same size, the filet's size has been reduced by about 1/3. It now comes with 1/2 slice of cheese, at least at the franchise I visited. I know this because one end of the cheese slice was barely thrown onto the sandwich, with the rest just hanging out into the box. These things are a really bad value even at this price. I suspect the special is designed to acclimate customers to the new smaller size, so that when it goes back to regular price people will object less to the shrunken sandwich.
They still taste like a guilty pleasure, but I can't live with the guilt of a waste of money on this scale. I think I just had my last one :(
Emm, I don't think we live in the same 'hood (no FOF seasonal special here in the secular Northwest), but your FOF sounds identical to the one I received about a week ago. I eat these about once every two years when I give into a craving, and the one I got sounds just like yours: half a piece of cheese flung half hanging of the bottom bun, barely hitting the fish, a dab of tartar and the top bun hanging off the other side. Looked like a Picasso, tasted like crap. Never again, and I paid $3.69 just for the sandwich!
Yep, my 'hood is Midwestern German Catholic territory and even us Lutherans love us some fish during Lent: it's our civic responsibility! But wow, how depressing! I thought it still tasted good in that traditionally icky kind of way, probably because they didn't skimp on the tartar sauce. I'm glad I didn't pay $3.69, though. Luckily we have a nice alternative in the 2 for $4 fish sandwiches from Arby's.
Two days ago I had my first KFC grilled chicken filet and I was just blown away by the taste so much so that I bought ten $2 orders= ($21 with tax) to take home and eat with my salad to last me the rest of the week.
IT WAS THAT GOOD!
It tasted better than the $15 fancy gourmet chicken entrée I had at my trendy local bistro.
I've stayed away from KFC most of my life because of health concerns over their original recipe's fried chicken which by the way doesn't have the same gorgeous flavor it had when I first tried it back in 1968.
Today's original recipe no longer has that subtle hint of clove and nutmeg that I remember back then as a 9 year old first opening that bucket. It had such an impact on me I still remember it to this day.
KFC's grilled chicken filet has impacted me the same way that I had to post a comment which is rare especially for fast food.
I live in Florida, working outside in the summer basically destroys your appetite. I had a huge job I started at sunrise about 6 am , didn't eat anything all day, plenty of fluids of course, and finished up at sundown about 9 pm. Driving home I still didn't feel hungry although I had a headache and pangs. I knew my body needed food, I just didn't feel hungry.
I pull into a BK and walk in (I feel so rushed at the drive thru speaker) and order ONE regular cheeseburger. Someone mentioned this before, but that first bite with melted cheese mixing with the mustard and the ketchup and the smoky hint of the beef caused a sudden violent earth shaking instant return of my appetite.
So now I'm standing at the counter devouring my single cheeseburger that I bought two seconds ago like cookie monster nom nomming and asking the girl if I could have five more PLEASE!!! So yeah, I definitely know the "Wow, this is so good!" feeling, and scared the crap out of some teenagers that work at BK as a bonus.
I don't eat fast food much any more, but every now and then, I get a BK Whopper - extra tomato, extra pickle. Of all the big American chains, it's the best. I agree with AngelSanctuary that Harvey's makes a fine FF burger, and you really do get it "your way" - they dress it right in front of you. (Hey Angel - ever try Johnny's in Scarborough?)
I love White Castle, but I rarely get to the states these days, so they're just a distant memory.
And one last Toronto-centric chain - "Jimmy the Greek", found in food courts everywhere. It's cheap Greek food, but their pork souvlaki dinner, with rice, potatoes, and salad, slathered with their incredible garlic sauce is also a treat.
There is a Chik-fil-a opening in the south suburbs this summer! http://articles.chicagotribune.com/20...
White Castle is pretty rare for us and there's a new one that just went up a year ago right down the street! I always think to myself "I need to get there for some sliders" then it kind of never ends up happening.
Arby 's Beef and Cheddar are heaven - no sauce, extra cheese.
McDonald's FOF (extra sauce) or Big Mac (not lettuce, extra everything else) go on the list too.
Omg, it was a Whataburger green chile cheeseburger. The chiles were fresh, I can tell - and it was one of those things you remember. I got two, and then they stopped serving them. I will be more aware of the seasonal thing with Whataburger from now on. I like them, btw, for a fast food place near the house. Good Burgers and helpful employees.
The beloved Jack in the Box tacos...stuff some fries in those bad boys with some extra hot sauce..
shawarma in a laffa or a pita
pork souvlaki in a pita (with tzatziki, tomatoes, onions and a few french fries)
Halifax-style donair (made with the pre-frozen, processed gyro meat) and sweet sauce
falafel in a pita
churrasco chicken from a Portuguese take-out place
veal sandwiches (similar to veal parm on a bun) from California Sandwiches
While none of these fast foods are multinational corporation-type, chain restaurant fast foods, all of them are fast foods that make me think "Wow, this is so good." I don't eat any of these fast foods more than once a month.
An Arby's roast beef sandwich, the ONLY thing I've ever ordered from Arby's and I've been going there since I was a kid, in the 1960s. I get Horsey sauce and Arby's sauce with it. And I do vary with the size, but no cheese sauce, no onions, or whatever the hell they have now.
Except for the Jamocha shake, I absolutely love that weirdass taste, and always will.
I think Arby's got its bad junkfood name because people don't just order the original sandwich, which even though it's not the same as it was originally, it still ignites a primal hunger in me that almost nothing else satisfies.
I rarely eat them, but I love Krystal burgers, Auntie Anne's pretzels, and chili cheese dogs from anywhere, even though I'm usually more of a mustard-and-kraut hot dog purist. Sometimes I'll crave chili dogs enough to make them at home with Sabrett hot dogs, canned chili "sauce," onions, and occasional spicy mustard and kraut as well, but this is an even rarer indulgence for me.
Ha, no haven't tried it. I spect it's no lie, if by smoking for 13 hrs they mean putting liquid smoke flavor in the pressed beef :). Still, for a chain fast food place I do tend to like Arbys. The beef is what it is, but sort of compelling sometimes. Their little roast beef sandwich is also pretty darn good with their mild Arby's bbq sauce and peppers and onions. I tend to eat from the dirt cheap side of the menu. I think that the little condiment bar they have with onions and several kinds of pickled peppers helps a lot.
by Jen Wheeler | Need a spring vegetable guide to what's in season? Consider this your spring produce cheat sheet—complete...
by Rachel Johnson | Whether the kids are still distance learning or returning to a classroom, with school back in session...
by Kelly Magyarics | You’ve sprung for a gorgeous piece of enameled cast iron cookware; protect your investment by cleaning...
by Debbie Wolfe | Home chefs love wood cutting boards because they are durable and reliable. Wood boards are attractive...