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?
Sometimes I channel my spirit animal
And I hunger for a pile of garbage.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Well, you see, the combination of mayonnaise and melted cheese creates a chemical chain reaction in my brain that makes me feel good.
I visit some fast food chains but I avoid Burger King at all costs. Some of the worst burgers I have ever seen and eaten in my entire life have come from that dump.
Prices are getting out of hand, though. Fast Food is quickly reaching price parity with actual quality restaurants which is insane.
Before the pandemic I was on the road sometimes and it surprised me how many towns / tiny cities would have 1 grocery store and then a couple fast food chains as the only (obvious) to-go food options.
Many seem to have one particular mini-mart or gas station that has surprisingly good food, but you tend to need some local knowledge to find that.
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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Some people like the taste and don’t mind paying for the convenience - full stop.
Also the vegetarian option at most fast food places is generally more expensive and worse tasting
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 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
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.
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 a Culver’s cold custard just hits different.
Especially hits your wallet that shit makes burger king look like it’s still the 70s.
in the 1970s, bk didn’t suck nearly as much as they do now. but yea, culver’s is the good stuff–although they have dipped a bit lately. i think they’re expanding too fast in their quest for more dollars.
I think most people only have shit fast food near them as a convenience food. I traveled through the south a lot last year and realized that most of the country must just be massive suburbs separated by strip malls and fast food buildings. Even brand new developments are all banks and Culver’s or some crap.
It’s a stark contrast to urbanized areas. We get so much more in options for convenience food that I don’t even consider fast food as existing.
I feel slightly less dirty afterwards than at McDonald’s…
When I used to it was because it was cheap, and I didn’t have time, energy, or money for cooking very often. When you work 12 hours of physical labor and then commute, there’s not much time or energy for anything other than fast food and bed.
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.
You have a point about it being expensive. It used to be really affordable, which made it a convenient option for a quick lunch or something, especially if you didn’t have any lunch prepared on a workday.
As far as the taste, I think this varies from location to location around the country. I don’t think the food is gourmet or anything, but it’s not inedible and the taste of junk food really does set off all the feel-good chemicals in my brain.
I find that Burger King’s biggest flaw is that there’s zero consistency across their franchise locations. This in in stark contrast to McDonald’s franchises that are really well standardized. I can go to one BK location and the food will be shit, and the next will taste pretty good. Even the same location can vary depending on the day of the week and whose shift it is. It sucks, because I am in the minority group of people that think people are sleeping on BK’s french fries - they are leagues better than the competition when made correctly, but I get such inconsistent results whenever I go that I honestly can’t recommend that anybody try them over an alternative with a more consistent quality. When they are made right, they are golden, crispy, fluffy, and somewhat salty. But sometimes they are undercooked so they aren’t golden brown and crispy on the outside, or they are overcooked so they aren’t fluffy on the inside, or they don’t have any seasoning so they taste bland.
Anyway, I used to go there regularly, but I’m cutting down on calorie-loaded foods and so I will only get to go to get fast food once in a while, and I sure as hell don’t waste it on a trip to BK unless I really have a craving for it or someone else I’m hanging out with wants to go there specifically. The cost just doesn’t justify the quality you get, even when it does turn out really good.
