The official ATOT Fast Food discussion thread

[zinfamous]

Price is definitely a factor. I think a single shackburger is 5 and change and a double shackburger is 8 and change.

But the shackburger patties are bigger. I'd need two double doubles to fill me up, and just one double Shackburger.

I'll still go to In n Out when I go to the west coast, I just think we've found something better over here on the east coast.

OK yeah, see: no way it is better than InO. This is supposed to be fast food, at the McDonald's level. Cost is like 80% of the value proposition. An In N Out double double, however you want it, for ~$3.60? Yeah, nothing is better than that.

 

[zinfamous]

Stop posting those photos, NS1. The nearest In N Out is about 1700 miles away.

I hate you, sometimes.

 

[ponyo]

I'm looking forward to trying In-N-Out burger for the first time when I visit San Francisco next month. There's supposed to be a location at Fisherman's Wharf. I seriously doubt it can beat $2.79 Chick-Fil-A sandwich but sometimes only burger will satisfy the craving and not a chicken sandwich.

 

[zinfamous]

I'm looking forward to trying In-N-Out burger for the first time when I visit San Francisco next month. There's supposed to be a location at Fisherman's Wharf. I seriously doubt it can beat $2.79 Chick-Fil-A sandwich but sometimes only burger will satisfy the craving and not a chicken sandwich.

Pro-tip: you very well might be disappointed with your first In N Out. I think it happens to most people. It will never live up to that "specialness" aura that the myth and legend of In N Out has engendered upon the public over the last several decades, especially on those non-west coasters that have only ever heard, but never tried.

It won't be the greatest burger you have ever tried. But it will be the greatest ~$2-4 Fast Food burger that you have ever tried.

Oh, and the fries are horrible. Educate yourself about the "secret menu" before you go:
http://secretmenus.com/in-n-out-burger/secret-menu/

I tend to just go with grilled onions and animal style on the burger...but not all the time. Some like Animal Style on the fries, but that's a bit much, imo.

 

[ponyo]

I always take price into consideration. The In N Out burger will be compared with McD Quarter pounder w/ cheese. Both should be pretty comparable in cost. Unlike most people here, I like the Quarter pounder and that's my goto fast food burger. I don't consider Five Guys and Shake Shack fast food burger. It's too slow and too expensive to be considered fast food.

 

[Linux23]

If I lived next to Kaido I'd be 500 pounds.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Regular sandwich is only like 7 inches. I get the giant which is barely over footlong. That's $13 just for the sub. I can get Publix sub for 1/2 the price. I don't eat at other sandwich shops because of Publix deli.

Pub Subs FTW. Call ahead so they are ready when you get there.

 

[MrSquished]

OK yeah, see: no way it is better than InO. This is supposed to be fast food, at the McDonald's level. Cost is like 80% of the value proposition. An In N Out double double, however you want it, for ~$3.60? Yeah, nothing is better than that.

Where exactly would you place Shake Shack then, a restaurant? It's fast food or fast casual - either way it's fast enough to be in the conversation. You wait 3-4 minutes for your food, that's it. Shake Shack patties are TWO times the size of In n Out's - 4 oz vs 2 oz, you can add that into the price difference conversation.

It's just a better burger at the shack. Their blend of beef cuts just hits the spot with more beefy flavor and a thicker juicier patty. And they use a Martin's roll for the bun, can't beat that either. Both places sauce is good.

Like I said when I went to the west coast for work, I'd have the taxi driver stop at an In n Out first on the way to the hotel. When I was there for pleasure I made sure to eat In n Out regularly, so this is coming from a fan. After the first couple of times I ate at In n Out I looked into bringing a franchise to the east coast, but soon found out they don't franchise and they don't stray far geographically from their distribution chain. It was my favorite burger for years even though I only ate it probably like 20-30 times. Then thankfully the Shack came out to give us New Yorkers something fantastic.

In n Out is great, but Shake Shack is better. It's worth the few extra bucks and couple minutes of time to get the best fast burger around IMO.

 

[zinfamous]

Where exactly would you place Shake Shack then, a restaurant? It's fast food or fast casual - either way it's fast enough to be in the conversation. You wait 3-4 minutes for your food, that's it. Shake Shack patties are TWO times the size of In n Out's - 4 oz vs 2 oz, you can add that into the price difference conversation.

It's just a better burger at the shack. Their blend of beef cuts just hits the spot with more beefy flavor and a thicker juicier patty. And they use a Martin's roll for the bun, can't beat that either. Both places sauce is good.

Like I said when I went to the west coast for work, I'd have the taxi driver stop at an In n Out first on the way to the hotel. When I was there for pleasure I made sure to eat In n Out regularly, so this is coming from a fan. After the first couple of times I ate at In n Out I looked into bringing a franchise to the east coast, but soon found out they don't franchise and they don't stray far geographically from their distribution chain. It was my favorite burger for years even though I only ate it probably like 20-30 times. Then thankfully the Shack came out to give us New Yorkers something fantastic.

In n Out is great, but Shake Shack is better. It's worth the few extra bucks and couple minutes of time to get the best fast burger around IMO.

I don't know, because I've never been to one, but that price generally puts it in a different category, imo. If ponyo is correct in classing it with Five Guys, then yeah--I'd say fast casual. Five Guys, Whataburger, etc are not the same class as In-N-O.

straight up burger to burger, I think Five Guys is better than In-N-O, so I imagine that Shake Shack is as well, but the value really isn't the same.

...but you know what I would probably prefer to In N Out in that class? Blake's Lotaburger, but afaik, they are only in New Mexico.
Those burgers with the hatch chillies are amazing.

 

[Ns1]

Where exactly would you place Shake Shack then, a restaurant? It's fast food or fast casual - either way it's fast enough to be in the conversation. You wait 3-4 minutes for your food, that's it. Shake Shack patties are TWO times the size of In n Out's - 4 oz vs 2 oz, you can add that into the price difference conversation.

If you want more meat just ask for more meat. the double double is advertised, but a 3x2 is the perfect ratio of meat to cheese IMO. A 4x4 is just too much of too much. I suppose you could have a 4x2.

SS competes against Five Guys, Fatburger, etc., whereas InO competes against JitB, Wendy's, Carls Jr.

I'll just leave this here.

 

[louis redfoot]

burgers somewhat fell out for me after mcd's started doing all day breakfast. 2 for $4 mcmuffins anytime here

 

[MrSquished]

I don't know, because I've never been to one, but that price generally puts it in a different category, imo. If ponyo is correct in classing it with Five Guys, then yeah--I'd say fast casual. Five Guys, Whataburger, etc are not the same class as In-N-O.

straight up burger to burger, I think Five Guys is better than In-N-O, so I imagine that Shake Shack is as well, but the value really isn't the same.

...but you know what I would probably prefer to In N Out in that class? Blake's Lotaburger, but afaik, they are only in New Mexico.
Those burgers with the hatch chillies are amazing.

Well value is partly determined by quality and the price to quality ratio. So it's an open book. We could debate it ad infinitum. Even after Shake Shack I will definitely be hitting up an In n Out anytime I end up on the west coast.

I'd definitely recommend that if you are near a shake shack to go to it immediately. Get the double Shackburger. That's the gold standard right there.

I'd eat a Blake's Lotaburger any day of the week to see how it tastes.

 

[ponyo]

Five Guys and Shake Shack prices are sit down restaurant prices. I can get great burger with fries at my local bar/restaurant for $11-12. But it's slower service than Five Guys. Service speed and prices matter.

Today, I ate Chick-Fil-A for lunch and noticed my local store raised the price of Chick-Fil-A sandwich, waffle fries, and drink to $5.89 from $5.79. That's still cheaper than Wendy's, McDonald's, etc. The Chick-Fil-A sandwich price is now $3.09. That's still the best bargain sandwich in fast food IMO. Two Chick-FIl-A sandwiches for $6.18 will fill just about anybody.

I agree there's minimum standard that needs to be met regardless of cheap price. I will not eat any $1 value meal burger from McDonald's, Wendy', Burger King, etc. I don't care how cheap it is. The food is just nasty. Even $1 is too much to pay for that. Likewise, $8 is just too much to pay for single fast food burger. And the service is slow with no drive through. The way I look at it, if I'm going to pay Five Guys and Shake Shack prices, I rather make and cook the burgers at home.

 

[zinfamous]

If you want more meat just ask for more meat. the double double is advertised, but a 3x2 is the perfect ratio of meat to cheese IMO. A 4x4 is just too much of too much. I suppose you could have a 4x2.

SS competes against Five Guys, Fatburger, etc., whereas InO competes against JitB, Wendy's, Carls Jr.

I'll just leave this here.

"burger lounge"...$3.49 for fries????????

wtfisthisidon'teven?

 

[Ns1]

It's a sit down fast casual for reference.

 

[Ns1]

Certainly not the best, but is there any better pizza for $2?

 

[renz20003]

If you want more meat just ask for more meat. the double double is advertised, but a 3x2 is the perfect ratio of meat to cheese IMO. A 4x4 is just too much of too much. I suppose you could have a 4x2.

SS competes against Five Guys, Fatburger, etc., whereas InO competes against JitB, Wendy's, Carls Jr.

I'll just leave this here.

 

[RossMAN]

Wendy's to install self-ordering kiosks at 1000 locations

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...lf-ordering-kiosks-at-1000-locations.2500338/

 

[ponyo]

Wendy's to install self-ordering kiosks at 1000 locations

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...lf-ordering-kiosks-at-1000-locations.2500338/

If that can make Wendy's cost competitive, I'm all for it. But I doubt hedge fund owned Wendy's will pass on the savings to the customers. Wendy's regular menu items are too expensive.

 

[RossMAN]

If that can make Wendy's cost competitive, I'm all for it. But I doubt hedge fund owned Wendy's will pass on the savings to the customers. Wendy's regular menu items are too expensive.

If (when?) Wendy's ends the 4 for $4 promo,they're dead to me.

Edit: OK we might eat there a few times in the summer because of this
https://slickdeals.net/f/9347271-we...-for-all-year-long-with-any-purchase-b-m-only

 

[RossMAN]

http://z1035.com/pics-they-invented-a-pizza-box-that-you-can-eat/

 

[zinfamous]

http://z1035.com/pics-they-invented-a-pizza-box-that-you-can-eat/

that's just...never going to work.

"We kinda still have to figure out how to deliver it without a cardboard box. We are trying to eliminate the box." lol

 

[Kaido]

If I lived next to Kaido I'd be 500 pounds.

Nah man, I'd make sure you hit your macros every day, you'd be shredded to the bone

 

[Kaido]

Review: The Burger King "New" Crispy Chicken Sandwich

https://www.bk.com/menu-item/crispy-chicken-sandwich

This looked really good as I was a huge fan of the McDonalds crispy chicken sandwich growing up (which they have now completely ruined, it's awful). The advertising pictures made this look great, and with the updated BK nuggets (which are really good and really cheap, 10 for $1.49 at the moment), I had high hopes. Reality? Meh. The coating is nothing like the picture at all. In fact, I thought they had given me a fish sandwich. It was definitely chicken, but it looked like their fried fish sandwich. No awesome crusting like in the picture below. Flavor wasn't bad, too salty though. I will give this a 3/5 because (1) the lack of advertised crust was a huge let-down, and (2) because of that lack of crust, it didn't have that crunch like the old McDonalds crispy chicken sandwhich had, nor even a similar flavor. It was just okay. Macros are surprisingly decent, however:

* 670 calories
* 23g protein
* 54g carbs
* 41g fat

Note: mine looked nothing like the picture below.

It actually looked more like the Chick'n Crispy from a few years ago:

 

[MrSquished]

I'm gonna be near a Firehouse subs place for the next hour. Should I try it?