favorite fast food or casual dining

[jimk]

Seems like I helped steer another thread off topic by interjecting a discussion of Chick-fil-A and fast food. so I started this new thread.

What's your favorite fast food joint or casual restaurant?

I like Five Guys for fast food. I wouldn't have said this a few years ago because I was raised thinking cheap McDonalds burgers were just fine. I remember when you could get a hamburger, fries, and coke at McDonalds for 45 cents, total! 15 cents for each. This was back in the early 1960s. Later, I was a fan of the dollar value menu when I'd take my four kids to McDonalds. I thought it was outrageous to pay $5-10 for a burger when all the fast-gourmet burger places started popping up ten years ago. But like many of you I'm moving towards quality rather than quantity in my old age. I eat at Five Guys about once a month on average. I like that I can get a bunch of fun toppings on their burgers. I think their fries are the best in the business. I usually bring home a bag of free peanuts after each visit. I worked at a McDonalds one summer when I was 18.

I don't do casual dining restaurants very often, maybe once a month and much less since the pandemic. I guess I enjoy a steak and salad at The Outback. When it comes to pizza I much prefer local places over chains like Pizza Hut or Papa Johns.

My wife is a fine cook. I eat at home most of the time. She really upped her culinary game during the pandemic.

Geezer tip: we live near a fancy Flemings Steak House. We've only been there once for the royal treatment, but for happy hour they have an excellent burger & fries at the bar for about $10. They also sell a $3 bottle of Blue Moon with the burger.

 

[deadheadskier]

For the most part I typically try and always go to independent restaurants or small local chains.

Starbucks would be the primary exception while traveling for work. Their blonde roast is pretty decent as is their double smoked bacon breakfast sandwich. I mainly go there as I know I enjoy the coffee and it's consistent.

 

[abc]

I enjoy the coffee and it's consistent.

Consistency is what I'm after in fast food.

When I'm on the go, I don't have the stomach for experimenting anything unknown. I also don't want to wait too much for it either.

So yes, Starbuck is one such. For each fast food chain, I have my "standard" item I'll order. McDonalds is the fish filet. Duncan's Donut is one of their wraps, etc.

It's just food to quell the hunger. Nothing to write home about.

It's only when I'm at my destination and settled down that I look for real food. Good food.

Sorry, no favorites. Whatever I can see when I pull off the exit.

 

[jimk]

One of my daughters worked at a Starbucks for a few months during her college years. She's been completely addicted to caffeine ever since. I was never a coffee drinker. I found out early in life that a cup of regular coffee made me uncomfortably jittery. My choice for caffeine was a weaker source - tea, which I drank almost every work day for 40 years. Now that I'm retired my wife has taught me to enjoy fresh ground drip decafe coffee, so I'll drink that a few days per week. I like the flavor of coffee, just not the caffeine.

The high price of a cup of Starbucks coffee reminds me of the evolution of the price of hamburgers during my life time. Up until the advent of Starbucks and the like, coffee used to be almost free at diners and fast food joints, like a loss-leader to get you to buy more costly food items. You can still get a "senior's" coffee at many McDonalds for less than $1, sometimes it's even free. Similarly, I used to think it was nuts to pay $5-10 for a burger at one of the many fast-gourmet burger joints that have popped up in America, when you could get two whoppers at Burger King for $5 or so. I think many Americans have enough disposable income to chose the tastier $8 burger over the mundane $3 burger.

I've had many discussions with my adult kids over "dining out" on fast food or casual dining restaurants. Their generation seems to dine out or carry out much more than mine. My son argues that it's almost cheaper for him to dine out every night, than buy groceries and make meals at home because he's single and a lot of the grocery store food goes bad before he can eat it all.

 

[Edd]

A local chain that serves poké bowls has me fully hooked and food is prepared about as fast as anywhere. The dishes start at around $12 which sounds fine, but with additions I like and tip it gets to $24 fast. Cost prohibitive as work lunch goes so I get it every two weeks because I work every other Saturday.

Ohana Kitchen - Poké Bowls & Sushi Burritos

Ohana Kitchen in Portsmouth NH, Exeter NH and Newburyport MA offers Hawaiian-inspired poké bowls and sushi burritos made fast, from the freshest ingredients.

www.ohana.kitchen

 

[deadheadskier]

While it can be challenging to cook for a single person or even a couple given the packaging size at grocery stores being more geared towards families, the key is batch cooking and using the freezer. Even with a family of four now, that's what we do.

Produce can be a challenge, especially greens. For that we often just buy a premade salad from the grocery store and then just add whatever protein we feel like having. This is mainly due to young kids refusing to eat greens

 

[abc]

My son argues that it's almost cheaper for him to dine out every night, than buy groceries and make meals at home because he's single and a lot of the grocery store food goes bad before he can eat it all.

That, is definitely one of the big the reason why even my generation is eating out more than my parents. And our kids' generation eat out even more on average!

When I was a student, I had the same dilemma as your son, which probably was true even for my parents when they were in school. But out of school, the difference start to show. My generation are marrying later than my parents. Some choose not to have kids. So the one-two person household continue much longer than our parents generation. I think the next generation is marrying even later and more are choosing not to have kids. So you have a lot more small household that are challenged to cook economically.

Other factors also leans towards not cooking at home. Women working, couples working longer hours... It's a lot of work to grocery shop, then time to cook, and wash up. It's attractive to off load that work stream to others, provided you can afford it. The low wage of restaurant workers made that possible for many.

For those who are picky at what they eat, both for taste and health. It's a bit more tricky to find the food that one can buy ready made vs the time to cook it themselves. So the proliferation of take out options from more and more restaurants will certainly appeal.

 

[crank]

Panera for healthyish...I stay away from the pastries and cookies etc.

Burger King Whopper or Whopper jr. for good old fashioned fast food.

We generally eat out or order delivery once or twice a week. Usually Thai or sushi, sometimes Italian or Mexican. I do most of the cooking and We eat really well for a lot less than ordering in.