Today I went to burger king for the first time in years. It was even worse than I remembered it. (had the vegetarian option, don’t know if it’s as bad with the meat burgers) Additionally it’s fucking expensive and not as quick as it used to be. So my question is why do some people go there regulary?
I used to “love” running in to McD when I was in a hurry and ask “what burgers do you have that are ready?” and just take whatever was available. More often than not, it was a cheese/double cheese.
Now I have to wait 5-10 minutes before its ready, and its more expensive.
The trade off of cheap and fast vs quality have disappeared.
People go to fast food places because while it isn’t good, you know what to expect. It’s going to be mediocre food for a relatively quick wait.
You just need to figure out your meal quickly without too much effort or thought? Fast food.
You could always go to a new restaurant but you don’t know if they will take forever to serve you, if the food will be good, etc. But everybody knows what to expect from fast food brands.
Because when its good, its so fucking good. They spend literal millions developing their menu to give you a dropkick to the balls of dopamine. FAT! SALT! MSG! HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! REPEAT!
But that requires the stars to align. You need the buns and salad items to not be stale, the chips and meat for the burger to be hot and fresh, the burger to be assembled by someone giving half a fuck, the postmix machine to be set up correctly and give you the right mix, actually fizzy and ice cold. You rarely get the whole meal “just right” but when it is, that one perfect meal sticks in your brain like a catchy song and will carry you through the next half a dozen so-so feeds while you chase the dragon.
These days I only allow myself one trip to KFC a month and I go in and sit down in the restaurant because if something isnt right I go complain and ask for a remake because I spend 29 days a month counting every calorie and tracking every macro because you are not gonna fuck up my blowout meal.
All the answers will be the same:
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I have limited choices and this is all I got.
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It comfort food. I have fond memories.
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Don’t yuck on people’s yum.
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The King is holding my family hostage unless I order two whoppers a week please send help
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You get tired of eating microwave meals, and anything that leaves dishes I have to clean later is certainly not easier than going to fast food
I consumed fast food regularly when it was cheap. Maybe today someone consumes fast food regularly, because it can still be cheap, but only if you collect points, coupons and such.
On top of that, they’re always around you and you know what they offer, if you get used to it. Sometimes I want a satisfying safe bet instead of an unknown experiment.
The quality depends on locations and staffing, etc. Also vegetarian options at fast food joints are a guaranteed way to have crappy food. The big name fast food places have never had good choices for vegetarian/vegan stuff.
I like tasty gourmet food. But I also like junk.
I genuinely like a big Mac or a domino pizza. Are they as good as a gourmet burger or a wood oven pizza? Not even close. Can I enjoy them regularly? Absolutely.
Same. I’ve had Michelin star meals, meals from world famous chefs, and everything in between. And sometimes the only thing I want is a McDs double cheese burger.
Tastes are funny. Sometimes I want a steak and salad, sometimes I want a shitty greasy burger with a pile of fries.
Same. There’s a strange allure to cheap fast food. Ig it’s a childhood thing for me, forbidden fruit and all, but I really love cooking all kinds of meals myself too.
Fast food is pretty gross if you don’t eat it regularly. I think a lot of it is how addictive it can be. A hit of caffeine, sugar, salt, and fat when you are hungry and tired hits the spot.
People get stuck in these routines, and the companies have apps and reward programs to gamify people into coming back.
Yeah I was just reading through these comments totally confused what was going on, I might get a KFC once a year and that’s it. All the rest of them make me feel slightly ill just from the smell.
I do have a great Indian place locally I use fairly often and a couple others, just can’t imagine buying the chain stuff.
Yeah I remember being in my twenties and absolutely salivating over a $2 Tuesday lunch special near my work, which is not something I could stomach now that I’ve got some years of home cooking in me.
I think this is the only answer that I can understand
Every time I eat a mcD cheeseburger I get a tummy ache. That shit is concrete.
I know this is a bad reason, but I’m lazy and don’t feel like cooking, so it’s convenient.
Honest question, have you tried other places that were not fast food (ie. Chilli’s) or cooking quick meals that didn’t work out for you? If so, what?
I always find it humorous that people treat places like Chili’s or Applebee’s as if they are somehow better than fast food in value for money.
I only do real fast food, or a more serious sit down restaurant of better quality. Not this overpriced garbage in between.
Oh for sure, fuck those places. I rather order from a small mom & pop restaurant than from some corpo chain. I just mentioned Chili’s because OP sounded like convenience was important and ordering from an app and just going to pick up seems universally convinient. I rather cook for myself, but when I feel lazy I treat myself at a restaurant, but then again I’m not the audience this post is targeting
I don’t really bother with the middle of the restaurant industry (and it’s not just me, as chains like Chili’s and Applebee’s have complained about the trends hollowing out the middle). It’s just not enough of an improvement over fast food or fast casual to be worth the higher cost, slower service, etc.
If I’m hungry and don’t want to cook/clean, I’ll grab fast food.
If I want to sit down at a full service restaurant, it’ll probably be an expensive trendy place with recognition from James Beard or Michelin.
Not the same person but fast food is way faster and cheaper than some place like Chili’s as long as you stick to the more value focused options. I can get a full meal with leftovers for $5-6 bucks usually
It’s also cheaper than a lot of home cooking unless you plan very well, make large batches, and are cool with eating the same leftovers all week.
Sometimes I channel my spirit animal
And I hunger for a pile of garbage.
It’s fast and McDonalds is one of the only places in my city that is open 24/7
I don’t go there regularly anymore after I stopped working as a service technician who had to travel a lot.
Hi, that’s me. I get an hour for lunch during the week, and there are a handful of fast food places minutes from my work. I drive through, and sit in the parking lot eating my lunch and playing games on my phone. It’s my quiet time for the day.
There’s a bit of a game for some of these fast food places. Most people just roll up and order a #1 or whatever was in the commercials. That’s how they get ya!
Sometimes you need to download the app, or check the menu for a budget meal. A slightly smaller burger and less than a pound of fries is an adequate meal for around $5-7.
I used to order a kid’s meal, and it was more than enough food for an adult. My kids enjoyed getting toys at the end of the day, too, but they were all plastic garbage.
for a time during the 1990s they had an ‘all american meal’ which was small burger or cheeseburger, small fries, small drink. was cheap, too. basically a dollar-store happy meal without the toy or box. this was before those went ‘kids size’ and swapped in “healthier” items.
then they jacked the price up so far, it literally cost more than ordering a la carte.
One of my coworkers lost a lot of weight, and when I asked him what he was doing to lose weight he said he was ordering kids meals.
Same, when I ate fast food a lot it was because there were places next to work. Eat in my car and read for the short amount of time I had.
Honest question: Why not cook a bunch of meals once or twice a week and eat that instead? It can be cheaper and it’s way less likely to get you sick in the long run.
This is what I do - make a big pot of chili or soup for the week. But I recognize that this might not work for everyone. At my work there’s a conveniently located fridge and microwave, and I can eat in my office with the door shut for a quiet meal. If any of those things weren’t there it might not be worth it.
I also enjoy cooking, and don’t mind spending time making my meal for the week. If the prep work was a real chore then it’d be much more tempting to buy something premade every day.
I tend to do it by cooking extra portions for dinner each night and taking in that portion/leftovers the next day, that way there is no meaningful extra work.
And if we have time to plan on a weekend i like to do a meal that i can cook a big batch on a sunday that will reheat well, ie: chili (as you said), lasagna, spaghetti bolognese, thai curry, stir fry with rice, etc.
Edit: also wanted to note that yes buying lunch occasionally is super tasty but i feel much worse afterwards that afternoon, and it has also pushed me to step up my cooking skills and think i am quite good for a home cook now.
Honest answer: Because that sounds terrible.
I’m not going to waste my time cooking food that I won’t eat at it’s prime, just so it can take up my fridge space until I inevitably ruin it with a microwave later in the week.
Also, storing and reheating good creates MUCH more potential for contamination and food borne illness.
I can pay for my lunch with the money I make in the first half hour of the day. It’s not breaking the bank.
That’s 4.5hrs of your turn at work every week. 18hrs a month.
I am like you, I do what works best for me and sometimes I value the expense. But let’s not minimize how much it actually is!
And meal prepping is 2 hours of your week every week, plus however long you have to work to pay for the ingredients, which is probably another 2 hours
You do not need to hover around a kitchen cooking for 2hrs to prep for the week. Hell throw a bunch of stuff in a crockpot and let it cook all day. That’s like a 20-30min commitment of actual work.
You are missing the point, it’s not “4.5 hours a week of work” vs “absolutely nothing”, it’s 4.5 hours of work vs however long to have to work to pay for the ingredients, plus the time to make the food. If I spend an hour meal prepping and it takes me an hour and a half to pay for the ingredients, eating out at lunch only costs me 2 additional hours of my time, not 4.5
I also don’t know what meal you are preparing where chopping veggies, searing meat, packaging and cleaning up afterwards only takes 20 minutes. Even making chili, which is the prototypical “throw everything in a pot” recipe takes me north of an hour when all is said and done
1.5hrs of work for 5 days of ingredients isn’t economical?
I understand that the math on this is not as simple as a lot of people make it out to be, but you’re not going to convince me that eating out for lunch every single day is even remotely comparable in cost to half-decent meal prepping.
Well, you see, the combination of mayonnaise and melted cheese creates a chemical chain reaction in my brain that makes me feel good.
