So Carls Jr

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I believe that anyone that has worked grocery or in a restaurant will get naturally turned off by something you had to make, smell, or deal with for an extended period of time.

Absolutely, but there are some cases where you find out just how lax quality control is with food and you just can't bring yourself to eat it again.

[StoneRhino]

Yeah, McD's is largely trash unless you just want a small cheeseburger now, no arguments.

McDonald's is the benchmark for fast food burgers. The prices have gotten out of hand on anything above their classic burger. It has probably been over 10 years since I have had a bigmac, but those have always been good. The fries are a strange thing, both repulsive and good at the same time. ;D

CJ is a step up, but still lower-middle quality. I don't know what to make of it since it merged with Hardees a number of years back. I don't know if its DNA is more CJ or Hardees. I liked the former as a kid, not so much the latter (very very salty).
I don't know where you are, but I was in NY back in 2000 and first saw Carl's Jr. as Hardees. It was interesting to see various brands with different names. I didn't notice much of a difference from CJs here in Cali. How long ago was the merger?

Hot US chains:
- In 'n Out (big, flat, sloppy, and fun) Big? No, their burgers are thin and small. Most of them are very clean as they do not put much spread on them. If someone does go there you should ask for a side of thousand island dressing, which will help move it towards sloppy. Also, get the "animal style" fries, which an order of fries with cheese, thousand island dressing, and chopped grilled onion. I personally think they are very over-rated and if they cooked their meat all the way most people would lose interest and their "but its really really fresh!" nonsense. Yes, its fresh because the damn thing is still to be fully cooked!  ;D Their regular fries are flavorless and typically soft. Ask them to be crispy. What they do have going for them is that their prices are not absurd. Their shakes are also good.



- Five Guys (cleanest taste, best ingredients stacked super high) Five Guys is rather good. Being able to pick from an assortment of toppings really separates them from most places. Their hotdogs are really good as well. They are very generous with their fries, which is otherwise unheard of from a burger chain. The prices are higher then average. Some people try to classify them as fast food, which I don't believe that they are. They take some time to make and I have yet to see a location with a drive-thru.

- Shake Shack - I have yet to get a chance to try them. :-\

- Whataburger (dunno, but the south swears by it) Whataburger is to me what InNOut is to people outside of california. I don't really care about InNOut, but I have one around the corner. My Dad was from Texas and we used to go out there on vacation most years. Whataburger was different from what we could get in Cali. If it wasn't for going to Arizona a few times to catch some Cactus League games it would have been a very long time since I had one. Their burgers are on the saltier side. I last had some burger with jalepenos on it, which was good. Then again any burger that they have and a ton of mustard is going to make me happy.

[Firesprocket]

All of the Five Guys around me aren't last liberal at throwing extra fries in the bag anymore.  While I don't feel their quality has decreased the cost of a meal has and I don't go there all that often anymore because of it.  I miss the day when there were only Three Five Guys and the additional cost was driving the distance to get there.  The coat of tla Five Guys meal now meets or exceeds what I would pay at most sit down restaurants :(

[Garrand]

The extra fries at 5 Guys is great... They're already fairly expensive, & my kids love 5 Guys for some reason. So when I go I order only 1 regular fry & we all share it. If I had to start ordering 2 or 3 regular fries, the economics would dictate I never ate there again...

Damon.

[rebs]

Wahlburgers is as expensive as Five Guys, and without the bonus bag fries.  I only eat at either of them once in a blue moon, and Wahlburgers only when I have a hot date and we're in downtown Detroit, so that limits my experience.  But both are tasty.  Better than McD's. 

[I am Belch II]

There isnt a Carls Jr or a Hardees anywhere near me. I don't really know where to get a good fast food burger anymore. All the places in my area seem like the quality dropped.

[Bedwyr]

McDonald's is the benchmark for fast food burgers. The prices have gotten out of hand on anything above their classic burger. It has probably been over 10 years since I have had a bigmac, but those have always been good. The fries are a strange thing, both repulsive and good at the same time. ;D

Eh. If I go it's because the McRib and McNuggets have that weird snappy mouthfeel and taste I just want one more of. The burgers I can leave unless it's a simple cheeseburger and I would like one at 1am.

I don't know where you are, but I was in NY back in 2000 and first saw Carl's Jr. as Hardees. It was interesting to see various brands with different names. I didn't notice much of a difference from CJs here in Cali. How long ago was the merger?

I grew up between CA Carl's Jr. and OK Hardees. I liked the former but the family found the latter so salty we only went a couple of times before abandoning it (even their cinnamon bun and biscuits and gravy breakfast).

- In 'n Out (big, flat, sloppy, and fun) Big? No, their burgers are thin and small. Most of them are very clean as they do not put much spread on them. If someone does go there you should ask for a side of thousand island dressing, which will help move it towards sloppy. Also, get the "animal style" fries, which an order of fries with cheese, thousand island dressing, and chopped grilled onion. I personally think they are very over-rated and if they cooked their meat all the way most people would lose interest and their "but its really really fresh!" nonsense. Yes, its fresh because the damn thing is still to be fully cooked!  ;D Their regular fries are flavorless and typically soft. Ask them to be crispy. What they do have going for them is that their prices are not absurd. Their shakes are also good.

I was misremembering a local chain with them. In 'n out has more of a vertical stack with some nice crispy edging. I love it. The floppy fries are something I kind of roll with as "local quirk".

- Five Guys (cleanest taste, best ingredients stacked super high) Five Guys is rather good. Being able to pick from an assortment of toppings really separates them from most places. Their hotdogs are really good as well. They are very generous with their fries, which is otherwise unheard of from a burger chain. The prices are higher then average. Some people try to classify them as fast food, which I don't believe that they are. They take some time to make and I have yet to see a location with a drive-thru.

Well explained. There's also something about their meat that just tastes like meat the same way that sometimes buffalo meat just somehow tastes cleaner than your average ground bovine.

- Whataburger (dunno, but the south swears by it) Whataburger is to me what InNOut is to people outside of california. I don't really care about InNOut, but I have one around the corner. My Dad was from Texas and we used to go out there on vacation most years. Whataburger was different from what we could get in Cali. If it wasn't for going to Arizona a few times to catch some Cactus League games it would have been a very long time since I had one. Their burgers are on the saltier side. I last had some burger with jalepenos on it, which was good. Then again any burger that they have and a ton of mustard is going to make me happy.

Yeah, I agree. Good in its own quirky-ness.

[Lord Cameron]

You do NOT SLAM A&W!

OK, joking aside, with regards to A&W, I don;t know what their US MENU is like, but on the Canadian Side, they have hands down, the BEST breakfast menu. I can go to A&W and Have Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Toast and Hashbrowns with coffee for under $10. Also, the restaurant is not to blame for buns, as that is contracted locally with bakeries.

How do I know? 34 years I work at ... *ahem* ... Burger King, and often, the bun delivery would give us McDonalds BIG MAC buns by accident. We'd use them for the hamburgers/cheeseburgers but we would need to toss away the middle bun portion.

Wifey is not a burger FAN, but is a FAN of FIVE GUYS.

Canadian A&W is a separate corporation than the US one, and yes, it is better

A&W Food Services of Canada, Inc. is a Canadian fast food restaurant chain.[4] The chain was originally part of the U.S.-based A&W Restaurants chain, but was sold to Unilever in 1972, and then bought by its management in 1995.[5] It no longer has any corporate connection to A&W operations outside of Canada

[Lord Cameron]

Wifey is not a burger FAN, but is a FAN of FIVE GUYS.

Have you tried Harveys?

[Kidd]

So has anyone had an Impossible Burger?

[NeonKnight]

Have you tried Harveys?

None close by.

Closest was at the Home Depot at Strawberry Hill (Surrey), but they closed that and made it a Subways.

[Lord Cameron]

We have one now in Poco near Home Depot.  :thumbsup:

Our Alberta & Ontario friends should be familiar with Harvey's.  8)

[Luciora]

I've had several, the first was at an solo burger place which I still frequent, but still felt and tasted like a usual veggie patty.  The second was at a Carl's Jr, and that felt and tasted like a well done burger.  I was impressed.  I would order it again.

So has anyone had an Impossible Burger?

[Orin J.]

So has anyone had an Impossible Burger?

yea i had one at carl's jr., tasted like a stale bun soaked in some barbrque grease to me. it ain't great, but for fast food options it's fine. i think it's one of those things that's gonna be REALLY dependent on how the cook prepares it though because i ate them with some of my family and our descriptions varied wildly.

[NeonKnight]

So I just had an A&W Beyond Meat burger and I gotta say as a certified meataterien...it tasted pretty darn good!!! As someone who suffers from gout...I know something I can now eat. Only downside...the price :(

[Kidd]

A bad cook can ruin real meat as well. I'm no food purist; if it can approximate the taste, I could do with a veggie burger half the time. Especially if it eventually turns out better for the wallet, and the environment.

Another thing it could work for, is accommodating dietary limitations. Now this is not really faux meat, but in Singapore there's a company trying to commercialise lab-grown shrimp meat (we're living the sci-fi, gents) and I'm eager to see it take off large scale; perhaps being grown in a clean environment would make it viable for people like me with shellfish allergies.

[NeonKnight]

Yeah with the Beyond meat, i could tell it wasn't real meat because i knew and so I was looking for differences. But if i was served blind...I'd never guess.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I've tried the Beyond Burger area Costco and thought it nailed not just the taste but also the texture of a real hamburger.

[Wombat]

A few Carl's Jr's have opened up in Shanghai but I'd still kill for an In-n-Out burger here, perhaps a Popeye's chicken, or a Cici's Pizza.

[Sharpnel]

A Wombat sighting! [rant] CiCi's is not pizza. It's cardboard covered with ketchup and pizza-like ingredients. CiCi's is to pizza what Taco Bell is to Mexican food.

[garhkal]

A Wombat sighting! [rant] CiCi's is not pizza. It's cardboard covered with ketchup and pizza-like ingredients. CiCi's is to pizza what Taco Bell is to Mexican food.

Yea.. I ate once, at a Cici's buffet.  Never again. 

[Wombat]

I am aware that Cici's (barely) qualifies as food, and yet when you find yourself living in Shanghai; you begin to lust after strange and unusual things.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Like air that you can't see?

[Wombat]

Like air that you can't see?

It can be funky but it's still better than Beijing.

[Kit deSummersville]

It can be funky but it's still better than Beijing.

So is most every place that isn't on the surface of Venus.

[Colt Ward]

[CrossfirePilot]

Walking through Costco this week, I see that they have $100 worth of smashburger for $75.  Bargained well and DONE!

[Sharpnel]

Walking through Costco this week, I see that they have $100 worth of smashburger for $75.  Bargained well and DONE!

Indeed

[rebs]

I am aware that Cici's (barely) qualifies as food, and yet when you find yourself living in Shanghai; you begin to lust after strange and unusual things.

No Pizza Hut behind the great firewall?

[Firesprocket]

5 second google reveals that they have pizza hunt in Shanghai.  It can't be worse than what they serve stateside right?

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=pizza+hut+in+shanghai