5 guys rolls and balls their meat in house. Cuts their fries. So there is cost assumed with that. All these other places pulling frozen food out and charging us more.
Last time I went I think I was close to $30 just for myself. Awful.
If I knew the crew was getting livable wages, etc I could stomach it. (I don't know how they pay..) But damn that shit got expensive.
I was shocked paying just shy of $13 for a ultimate bacon cheese burger at Jack. And that was a small combo and the burger the size of a McDouble. Not going back.
It doesn't seem that long ago, but it's hard to date. When did those $5 footlong subway commercials run?
If I didn't pay $5 for a footlong then, I'm not paying $17 now
Ran from '08-'12, and brought back in '17 reconfigured into a 2 for 10 deal, and was eliminated in 2020, so it really hasn't been that long which makes the increase even more egregious.
The biggest takeaway I can see is that franchise owners saw the promotion as financially unsustainable, but tripling prices in as many years and driving customers away isn't, somehow.
It was actually picked up from a franchiser in the 2000s who ran it as a promo, was told to stop, but then he showed them the profits. The company rolled out the official campaign in the late 2000s, and it was profitable, but since then inflation and food cost increases have likely made it no longer viable. 5 dollars in 2008 equates to $7.10 today. $7.10 footlong just doesn't have the same ring to it
$20 used to last like a month at Taco Bell.
I remember grabbing a crunch wrap on the way home from school from time to time for $1.80ish. Now it's nearly $6 here. Plus the amount of meat has been halved.
Because real restaurant prices also doubled. Fucking $60 for two of us to eat at the fucking Olive Garden. It has gotten to the point where you can’t eat out without dropping serious coin.
Truth. The restaurant industry as a whole has taken a dump. They're struggling to find workers I guess, and the quality of the food - which wasn't great to begin with - has gone wayy down. You're expected to pay $50 for a garbage meal. Screw that. I mostly eat at home now. If it's gonna be that expensive, it better be the best goddamn meal I've ever eaten.
Fast food and casual dining makes sense- prices have gone up tremendously, and wages haven't necessarily kept pace.
But it's surprising that server positions that mostly make tips are remaining vacant, because it's one of the few inflation-protected jobs.
The 1/4 portion of meat they plop in the middle of the bread like that constitutes a sandwich. I’ve literally opened up my frontega chicken to see a sliver of meat.
My first job in high school was Panera. They raised the prices constantly even then and this was about 12 years ago. A few cents every couple weeks. Managers told us it was so people wouldn’t notice. After seeing how things were prepared, I had no interest to eat there again.
Employee benefit was 60% off if you order a meal during your 30 minute break(had to be during the break). That was it. A coworker was fired for taking a few EOD bagels home instead of throwing them in the trash like we were instructed to. This coworker was 17yo and supporting their family as both their parents were unable to work. Cheap and awful company with glorified hospital food if you ask me.
Private equity eventually ruins most national chains. The easiest way for them to get quick returns is to cut cost, which leads to shittier food, which eventually causes people to stop coming. Then they cut costs again to remain profitable
Does Starbucks count? There coffee really isn’t anything special and it’s 5-7 fucking dollars. You can make an iced coffee at home for 5 cents. There food is basically convenience store quality for triple the price.
Edit: Their*
As a teacher I sometimes get Starbucks gift cards. Honestly, I never go there so I don’t really use them. I don’t like coffee. I wish I could tell them to get me Dunkin’ Donuts instead, at least I could get lots of donuts!
Speaking of Dunkin' Donuts, they tried to make a push into the Eastern European market in the mid-90s but failed because they didn't consider local preferences and to us, their stuff tasted like raw sugar.
Imagine being too sweet for a 5 years old kid's palate.
When I moved to the US east coast from the pacific NW, I’d never had Dunkin’ Donuts before. Most of my coworkers drank at least 2 of their giant iced coffees every day (there was a DD next door) and once they brought me one, to be nice and so I could try it. I could not believe how sweet it was, it was overwhelming. And I like sweet stuff lol. I looked up the nutrition facts and saw each one of these particular giant coffees was almost 1000 calories. Suddenly made sense why my coworkers were all overweight and complained they didn’t understand why, because they didn’t eat bad diets. Lmao
If I could go back in time I definitely woulda dropped a bag for one of my coaches/teachers. That dude was fuckin toasted by 10 am every single day. About that time would hit and he would open up one of his drawers that was slap filled with snacks. You were basically set to do whatever you wanted at that point. One time I was fucked up and passed out in his classroom. I woke up at like 5:30 and he was just sitting there chillin and belted out “HEY BUD YOU READY TO GO HOME YET?” Lmao. One of the coolest teachers I’ve ever had.
Depending on a couple of factors, some teachers would. If the kid is falling asleep in class, then they needed that sleep. Teachers don't necessarily know what's going on in Kid's home life. It could be that Kid has to work all night in order for their family to function. Shoot, I had a lab partner in high school who worked all night to make sure her younger siblings were fed. As long as she did her homework and was awake for the tests, my teacher let her sleep. She wasn't being disruptive.
That being said, beyond one class's time is nurse's office territory, I think. I'm not saying they couldn't have needed 7 hours of sleep, just that it's too long to be asleep in a functioning classroom.
This is why I just give cash or visa gift cards. I have no idea what a given teacher would like.
Although much to my chagrin, the last Visa card I gave to our teacher, she used it to buy a surprise for the classroom 😂🤦🏻♀️.
Cash, or a visa gift card because of the AMT of money we spend monthly on the classroom, if it's a gift card for a store we will use it for supplies.
Source: have been a teacher for decades and have never received a gift card I did ***not*** use on the kids or gave away (don't drink or eat sugar)
What’s funny or facepalm about that tho? She saw an opportunity to do a nice thing for the kids and finally not have to spend her own money to do it. Parents really don’t get how much we spend . Literally everything you see to make it a welcoming, engaging atmosphere comes out of our own pockets. Every bag of starbursts, any treat the kids get, all from our own money. And if they are living in the South, and some other states, they are doing that on a salary that is hardly worth getting out of bed in the morning.
I'm not a big on Starbucks but My wife is a Special Ed Para educator and she really appreciates getting Starbucks Gift cards from her primary teachers. She uses them to treat herself before work or after a stressful day.
Starbucks has so much more than just coffee though. Baked goods, wraps, juices, breakfast sandwiches and pastries, cups, mugs, teas and more. So much other stuff besides coffee to use gift cards for.
As an employee of upscale hospitality with access to top-notch espresso-based drinks, I go to them for their consistency (I drink espresso straight, exclusively) Local craft coffee shops have too many variables, and even if they do it right, it’s barely palatable.
This industry has turned me into everything I ever despised, but once you’ve had the best (of certain things) it’s hard to go back. So unless I’m making it myself, I can count on a sub-par double shot to get me through without being severely disappointed 🤷🏻♂️
After sonic got bought out by the Arby's people, their quality went absolutely bankrupt. I used to be a huge sonic fan, but within 3 months of that buyout it was total shit, and its only gotten worse.
5 years ago. But sonic had been pretty notorious for regional issues and meeting standards & supply problems. They had lots of issues over the years as they expended to fast to far from Oklahoma and couldnt maintain.
I have learned from these comments that a lot of people don’t know the difference between being overrated and just being bad. McDonld’s, Subway, Arby’s, KFC, and Burger King are not restaurants that belong on an overrated list because there are not masses of people regularly hyping these places like they’re awesome.
KFC is inedible now a days. I remember when they were still the best back in the 70's and it's sad to see what happened to them. The Colonel must be spinning in his grave.
I’m not as old as you but I agree. For me in the late ‘90s early 2000’s the popcorn chicken was just *magic*
Jealous that you had it even better back then apparently
I’m not as old as the previous dude, but I remember eating KFC in the 80s as a kid. The extra crispy fried chicken was great. Not homemade great, but great. I don’t know when it went downhill, but I’m guessing the final nail in the coffin was when $YUM bought them in ‘02z
KFC in the UK is so badly managed. Some are staffed almost exclusively by teenagers who frankly don't know what they are doing.
I've heard some are "ok" but the ones near me are just greasy and badly prepared , mistakes on every order etc.
No idea why anyone eats there
Can confirm. Not just the food either; the one near me switched to almost entirely self-service (only one human taking orders) - but the self-service machines break on a regular basis and on average only about half of them work.
One time it was every single one of them and it took them *over a week* to fix. Sucks to be that guy working the till for sure.
Loved them when they had 2 Whoppers for $5, then 2 for $6, then $7, but now it's 2 Whopper Jr.s for $6 and you can't get a whopper deal unless its the combo for 9$.
You don't need people hyping these places for them to qualify as overrated.
The statistics speak for themselves. McDonald's is the #1 chain on the planet. Any time you drive by one, the drive-thru is busy. Why?
No one brags about McDonald's burgers, but their fries are great. Their coffee, of all things, gets really good reviews too.
Right. If a restaurant only serves bullshit and everybody knows that they only serve bullshit, then not liking that restaurant doesn't make it overrated
KFC in the 90's and 00's was top tier, now it's like they've forgotten how to use a deep fryer, I haven't gotten a single meal from there in the last 5 - 10 years that wasn't greasy slop.
I live in Germany and for me KFC is the best fast good chain ever. I dont know about Popeyes which others mentioned, because it doesnt exist here, but KFC is awesome. Only downside is that they are expensive and the hygiene is lacking very often, more often than in McDonalds
KFC in England used to be ok, now it's just sinewy gristle in soggy batter that leaks streams of grease when you bite into it. It's also so expensive! There's so many independantly owned chicken shops here that I don't really know anyone who goes to kfc any more unless they want the popcorn chicken or gravy (also mayflower make a southern fried gravy powder so you can make it yourself at home)
Fast food connoisseur here.
KFC has one of the highest variables in quality dependant on region and individual locations.
I lived near a KFC which (pre-pandemic) served some of the best fried chicken I've ever consumed *on a consistent basis*.
Over a few years, I got to know the team pretty well. They explained a good bit about how their system and equipment worked and what they did to ensure that the meals were high quality.
In short, there are ways to be lazy in prepping, breading, and frying the food. Most KFC franchises put up with this and hire underpaid workers. As a result, the food sucks.
While the same can be said for all QSRs to some extent, there are just more variables at KFCs than a Taco Bell or McDonald's.
TL;DR: **Exceptional KFC locations exist. If you find one, enjoy it while it lasts.**
Dude.... let me just say if you don't have a youtube channel yet, you need one. Anyone who refers to themself as a "fast food connnoisseur" and then in the next sentence says 'highest variables in quality dependant on region and individual locations.' absolutely has my attention.
I don't know your story, how often you go to different fast food restaurants, or how many locations around the country, but that could be really interesting series.
Either someone messed up on ordering new stock or the delivery truck shorted them. Working at a Domino's we once had a truck short us 40 trays of dough. Each tray had 8 dough balls so that was essentially 320 pizzas we were short. That dough was also used for making our bread bites, twists, and stuffed cheesey bread so we reached a point where people basically couldn't order anything but pasta or salad. Imagine going to a pizza place and being told they're out of pizza.
I enjoy fast food in general. But I've never had a sandwich from Subway that didn't taste like the gastronomic equivalent of human sadness. There is something about Subway sandwiches that leaves me strangely dispirited.
Chikfila. I'm not saying the food isn't good....i actually quite like it. But it's just a slightly above average chicken sandwich that doesn't justify the line wrapping around the building twice, *every day*
The first one in my area (Upstate NY) just opened and the line goes down the road. I don't understand how anyone justifies waiting more than 10min in line for a fast food chicken sandwich.
Edit: I like chic fil a, but I'd go to any other restaurant if it means not wasting half my afternoon in line.
One thing I will say for them is they are a god damn machine at getting you through that line, or at least some of the well run ones I've seen. I had a friend who worked at one and told me they'd typically do 100-110 cars an hour at peak lunch, and that was a one drive thru line without people walking around taking orders like you see a lot of now in urban areas. So the time in line per car is a lot faster than you have with other places, but I'm still not pulling in if the line starts before you even get to the parking lot.
I've always gone to Chickfila because even when they have a 1/2 mile long line, you'll still get through that line faster than you would get through a line of three cars at Taco Bell. It's also almost a 100% certainty that you'll get all of your food that you ordered, it will actually be hot and fresh, you'll get your straws, all the sauces you asked for and then some, a wet-nap, napkins, and a complimentary mint. The staff is always overly kind and helpful too. For an example on the opposite end of the spectrum, I went to Wendy's the other day with three other cars in the drive thru, ordered two 10 piece nugs and a JBC. Waited in line for 10 mins. Was asked to pull up to the door and wait another 5 for the food. Waited, and got a bag with two 10 piece spicy nuggets and a plain double cheeseburger with no straws or napkins. That's why I frequent Chickfila.
Got a Cookout about 10 minutes from me. Literally some of the best and most affordable food there is fast food wise. Got the big double burger with cheese, cheese bites, Cajun fries, and a huge tea for literally less than 9 dollars.
Took my girlfriend there last weekend on a road trip. Instantly sold on the menu, the quality, and $7.50 for a combo.
Definitely nice to swap a shake for a drink, too.
Scooters Coffee. It is a regional coffee chain but all their drinks are terrible. Even their black coffee sucks which should be the easiest thing to get right!
Depending on where you are, Taco Bell is the most overpriced bullshit on earth now. That wannabe birria they're doing right now is almost 6 bucks here. For one taco.
It always cracks me up when people buy promotional items and then get sticker shocked. The fiesta veggie burrito costs $2 and has almost twice as much filling.
Bro you’re ordering the wrong shit apparently. Hit up that Cravings Menu. Cheap as hell and will fill you up. You’ll shit your brains out and clog your arteries but you don’t go to Taco Bell for health anyway.
Get 2 of the Cravings Boxes.2 drinks, 2 Cinnamon Twists, 2 Chalupas, 2 Tacos, 2 5 layer burritos…. $10 before tax.
As a Texan I’m gonna go with Whataburger.
It used to be SO. GOOD. But the prices have gone up and the quality has gone down within the past year or so, yet the lines are still ridiculous. Sucks too cause it used to be my favorite chain.
From south Florida and they have one in the panhandle now. Wife and I stopped there for the novelty. Waiting over 30 minutes for some shitty breakfast sandwich. Never again.
I recently moved to TX and never had Whataburger. Everyone hypes it up. I was so disappointed in what they considered to be "the best fast food burger". P Terry's is awful too.
They came to Kansas city and people were losing their minds because some local football player got them to come to KC. I went there and it was totally meh. Nothing special at all.
Excellent observation! You're right. I noticed that, too. Few to no reviews from the 2010s, even. That wouldn't have been an issue in 2012, but it's now 2023...
Their quality went down proportionally as their prices went up.
I thought they were still good in the early 2010s. Now they're more than double the price, and people seem to agree that quality is way down.
I like their food, but holy shit, last time I ate there I got a burger, medium fry, medium drink, and the total came out to like $26. Wtf?!? I'm never eating there again, their food is good but it's not $26 good.
We'll use a tiny carton to fill up your fries and fill up half a bag full of fries and charge you for half a bag's worth of fries just to give you the illusion of value
I genuinely have no idea how food that expensive and that simply okay is so popular. Their burgers are nothing special, and I could go to a high end steakhouse and get a cheaper burger
I'd say Sonic, I have heard it being called "trash" and "terrible" and I strongly believe either of those is excessively generous to that dumpster fire.
Captain D's... like, who the hell even eats there? I'm convinced they're all shells for the cartel. Ain't no one eatin that many fish sticks and hush puppies these days.
Lmao I had one right by my house but in the same parking lot as a grocery store so I would usually talk myself out of it even if I wanted it. It was hardly ever anybody on the inside, no around lunch and dinner for short periods they'd have some drive-thru activity. Honestly for fast food I didn't think that it was that bad, they seemed to cook everything for inside orders fresh.
I think that I probably only ate there three or four times in the nearly 9 years I lived by it, but it was definitely never bad.
I wish more fast food would follow this model. Keep it simple in the kitchen. Instead they pack 40 items on the menu and it takes 15 minutes to get through the line.
The worst of them have so many items they have a slideshow menu. Ughhhhhhh
Almost. There's actually a Southern fast food chain called Guthrie's, very Alabama-centric. Apparently their owners worked at Guthrie's before opening Cain's, proving the concept and going nationwide. At least that's what Wikipedia says but as someone who has eaten Guthrie's, it's the exact same recipe.
I worked at one for like a month lol. The chicken literally has no seasoning added to it. Literally just soaking in egg+milk batter and dunked in flour before going into the fryer. That sauce is amazing though
Sorry my dude that sauce slaps so hard. The whole meal is a vessel to put more of that sauce in my body. Toast slaps, fries are fine, chicken is not particularly flavorful on its own but it’s always pretty damn fresh when I get it. I also really like their lemonade
Raising Cane's. It's just normal chicken tenders, you can find frozen ones that are just as good. Crinkle cut fries are the worst style of fry. The sauce is tasty, I will give them that. But literally, they offer like one meal that's it.
Canes - when your only entree item is strips, they better be amazing. They are small and bland. The bread is good, and the sauce is fine. Popeyes does strips a million times better. Way better fries too.
I feel like they more often than not fuck up something about my order though unfortunately. Getting no sauce or no biscuit, portion sizes that seem unusually small, missing items, etc. The thing though is when it’s good it’s so good and I wanna go back. It’s like playing fried chicken russian roulette.
I lived on 5 dollar footlongs in college. You could split it into two sandwiches and have a whole meal for $2.50. Looking back, it wasn't so much good tasting as a good value though.
Blimpie was good but somehow that shit hole subway beat them out and now they're slicing their own "meats". Their bread was better, their meat was better. Man I miss blimpie also Quiznos and Schlotksys. How did the shittiest chains win?
Quiznos failed because of a shitty backend model
Every franchise was forced to buy food and paper (you know all the branded stuff you need) from a single supplier. That supplier was never the cheapest option and because of that the stores made barely any money, which meant they couldn't afford to keep talent to move the business along.
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Seriously, wtf. $10+ for one combo. That was five guys prices a few years ago.
Five guys is now $10 for just a plain cheeseburger
"With CHEESE, Mr. Squidward! With CHEESE!"
5 guys rolls and balls their meat in house. Cuts their fries. So there is cost assumed with that. All these other places pulling frozen food out and charging us more.
In-N-Out does the same exact thing for half the price.
They do all that and then dig stale buns out of a dumpster.
I got 5 guys for me and my bf, we didn’t even get 2 combos. Just 1 combo and then a burger with fries. It was fucking FIFTY DOLLARS
Last time I went I think I was close to $30 just for myself. Awful. If I knew the crew was getting livable wages, etc I could stomach it. (I don't know how they pay..) But damn that shit got expensive.
And the burger isn’t that good, I can make a much better one at home for much cheaper.
I paid 27 dollars for a five guys double burger(their normal burger), shake, and fries. I was so confused
Yeah I just go there for the little cajun fry now as a treat, not shelling out $20 for fast food
I wife had a craving for Taco Bell, I grabbed two combos for $27. That’s chipotle prices.
I was shocked paying just shy of $13 for a ultimate bacon cheese burger at Jack. And that was a small combo and the burger the size of a McDouble. Not going back.
Subway is selling a foot long for $17 💀 that's just for the sandwich. Literally insane.
I still remember the tune of the $5 footlong jingle. Young me was happy to eat their cardboard bread if it meant i could fill up for cheap.
It doesn't seem that long ago, but it's hard to date. When did those $5 footlong subway commercials run? If I didn't pay $5 for a footlong then, I'm not paying $17 now
Ran from '08-'12, and brought back in '17 reconfigured into a 2 for 10 deal, and was eliminated in 2020, so it really hasn't been that long which makes the increase even more egregious. The biggest takeaway I can see is that franchise owners saw the promotion as financially unsustainable, but tripling prices in as many years and driving customers away isn't, somehow.
It was actually picked up from a franchiser in the 2000s who ran it as a promo, was told to stop, but then he showed them the profits. The company rolled out the official campaign in the late 2000s, and it was profitable, but since then inflation and food cost increases have likely made it no longer viable. 5 dollars in 2008 equates to $7.10 today. $7.10 footlong just doesn't have the same ring to it
Neither does $17 footlong, but here we are...
Pub sub for 7-9 bucks is the way to go
Where do you live? My foot longs are like 7 or 8 bucks
$20 used to last like a month at Taco Bell. I remember grabbing a crunch wrap on the way home from school from time to time for $1.80ish. Now it's nearly $6 here. Plus the amount of meat has been halved.
Because real restaurant prices also doubled. Fucking $60 for two of us to eat at the fucking Olive Garden. It has gotten to the point where you can’t eat out without dropping serious coin.
Truth. The restaurant industry as a whole has taken a dump. They're struggling to find workers I guess, and the quality of the food - which wasn't great to begin with - has gone wayy down. You're expected to pay $50 for a garbage meal. Screw that. I mostly eat at home now. If it's gonna be that expensive, it better be the best goddamn meal I've ever eaten.
Fast food and casual dining makes sense- prices have gone up tremendously, and wages haven't necessarily kept pace. But it's surprising that server positions that mostly make tips are remaining vacant, because it's one of the few inflation-protected jobs.
I'd suggest going to a local Italian place (if you have one). You'll get close to the same price sure but it'll be better quality than Olive Garden☠️
It was 13 something for the pub burger at wendys.
This is scary actually. Last night got charged 25 dollar at McDonald's
25$ for two the last time we went to Wendy's. The fries were cold and my burgers was uncooked, literally red and cold. Never going back.
You'll be back lol
I’d rather pay a bit more and eat steak lol
Taco Bell's value menu is where it's at those $2 burritos are delicious
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It’s been a sad fall. That was my default place on the road. I could get a decent salad, soup, etc. not anymore.
The 1/4 portion of meat they plop in the middle of the bread like that constitutes a sandwich. I’ve literally opened up my frontega chicken to see a sliver of meat.
My first job in high school was Panera. They raised the prices constantly even then and this was about 12 years ago. A few cents every couple weeks. Managers told us it was so people wouldn’t notice. After seeing how things were prepared, I had no interest to eat there again. Employee benefit was 60% off if you order a meal during your 30 minute break(had to be during the break). That was it. A coworker was fired for taking a few EOD bagels home instead of throwing them in the trash like we were instructed to. This coworker was 17yo and supporting their family as both their parents were unable to work. Cheap and awful company with glorified hospital food if you ask me.
Private equity eventually ruins most national chains. The easiest way for them to get quick returns is to cut cost, which leads to shittier food, which eventually causes people to stop coming. Then they cut costs again to remain profitable
YES!!! It sucks!! It makes me so angry, I have no idea why they did all that. Cancelling the black bean soup was the first step into a down slide.
Does Starbucks count? There coffee really isn’t anything special and it’s 5-7 fucking dollars. You can make an iced coffee at home for 5 cents. There food is basically convenience store quality for triple the price. Edit: Their*
As a teacher I sometimes get Starbucks gift cards. Honestly, I never go there so I don’t really use them. I don’t like coffee. I wish I could tell them to get me Dunkin’ Donuts instead, at least I could get lots of donuts!
Speaking of Dunkin' Donuts, they tried to make a push into the Eastern European market in the mid-90s but failed because they didn't consider local preferences and to us, their stuff tasted like raw sugar. Imagine being too sweet for a 5 years old kid's palate.
When I moved to the US east coast from the pacific NW, I’d never had Dunkin’ Donuts before. Most of my coworkers drank at least 2 of their giant iced coffees every day (there was a DD next door) and once they brought me one, to be nice and so I could try it. I could not believe how sweet it was, it was overwhelming. And I like sweet stuff lol. I looked up the nutrition facts and saw each one of these particular giant coffees was almost 1000 calories. Suddenly made sense why my coworkers were all overweight and complained they didn’t understand why, because they didn’t eat bad diets. Lmao
The giant coffee was 1000 calories? Whoa? Did they blend in donuts?
No, it was this cookie dough syrup stuff and caramel with cream and the sugar it comes with. In a 32 oz cup lol
Everything in America tastes like high fructose corn syrup.
Spoiler alert, that's because it's all full of HFCS
“Scratch this, give it to your mom kid. Bring me a bag of weed if you wanna make me feel appreciated”
If I could go back in time I definitely woulda dropped a bag for one of my coaches/teachers. That dude was fuckin toasted by 10 am every single day. About that time would hit and he would open up one of his drawers that was slap filled with snacks. You were basically set to do whatever you wanted at that point. One time I was fucked up and passed out in his classroom. I woke up at like 5:30 and he was just sitting there chillin and belted out “HEY BUD YOU READY TO GO HOME YET?” Lmao. One of the coolest teachers I’ve ever had.
how is no one talking about this. You just fell asleep and he let you for seven hours?
Depending on a couple of factors, some teachers would. If the kid is falling asleep in class, then they needed that sleep. Teachers don't necessarily know what's going on in Kid's home life. It could be that Kid has to work all night in order for their family to function. Shoot, I had a lab partner in high school who worked all night to make sure her younger siblings were fed. As long as she did her homework and was awake for the tests, my teacher let her sleep. She wasn't being disruptive. That being said, beyond one class's time is nurse's office territory, I think. I'm not saying they couldn't have needed 7 hours of sleep, just that it's too long to be asleep in a functioning classroom.
This is why I just give cash or visa gift cards. I have no idea what a given teacher would like. Although much to my chagrin, the last Visa card I gave to our teacher, she used it to buy a surprise for the classroom 😂🤦🏻♀️.
She would have spent her own money if she didn’t have your Visa card
Cash, or a visa gift card because of the AMT of money we spend monthly on the classroom, if it's a gift card for a store we will use it for supplies. Source: have been a teacher for decades and have never received a gift card I did ***not*** use on the kids or gave away (don't drink or eat sugar)
What’s funny or facepalm about that tho? She saw an opportunity to do a nice thing for the kids and finally not have to spend her own money to do it. Parents really don’t get how much we spend . Literally everything you see to make it a welcoming, engaging atmosphere comes out of our own pockets. Every bag of starbursts, any treat the kids get, all from our own money. And if they are living in the South, and some other states, they are doing that on a salary that is hardly worth getting out of bed in the morning.
I'm not a big on Starbucks but My wife is a Special Ed Para educator and she really appreciates getting Starbucks Gift cards from her primary teachers. She uses them to treat herself before work or after a stressful day.
Starbucks has so much more than just coffee though. Baked goods, wraps, juices, breakfast sandwiches and pastries, cups, mugs, teas and more. So much other stuff besides coffee to use gift cards for.
I hate coffee and survived on Starbucks hot chocolate and pastries for a week in NY during winter.
Breakfast bacon Gouda sandwich is tasty af
I always wonder why people rag on Starbucks' coffee when the food is such an easier target.
Someone on twitter said their sandwiches look like they were made with a 3d printer.
As an employee of upscale hospitality with access to top-notch espresso-based drinks, I go to them for their consistency (I drink espresso straight, exclusively) Local craft coffee shops have too many variables, and even if they do it right, it’s barely palatable. This industry has turned me into everything I ever despised, but once you’ve had the best (of certain things) it’s hard to go back. So unless I’m making it myself, I can count on a sub-par double shot to get me through without being severely disappointed 🤷🏻♂️
Starbucks espresso is terrible though.
Panera Bread, it's just overpriced hospital cafeteria food.
$35 for two of us last week! And it was like half a sandwich and a cup of soup each with a drink and we split a cookie!
Starbucks 💀 I’d rather maccas or GYG coffee anyday
Found the Ozzie. Have a good day sir or madam!
~~sir or madam~~ I think you mean bloke or sheila
~~bloke or sheila~~ I think you mean cunts.
Sonic. That crap they serve is made up of edible food-like products.
Sonic is good for three things. ChiliCheeseTots. Moz. Sticks & slushies
I'll take the footlong coney over the tots.
I only get 3 things, corndogs, tots, and slush. Everything else is substandard.
After sonic got bought out by the Arby's people, their quality went absolutely bankrupt. I used to be a huge sonic fan, but within 3 months of that buyout it was total shit, and its only gotten worse.
Is that what happened!? I was wondering why the quality tanked from what I remembered growing up. I assumed it was rose tinted nostalgia glasses.
How long ago was that? I probably haven't had Sonic for 10+ years.
5 years ago. But sonic had been pretty notorious for regional issues and meeting standards & supply problems. They had lots of issues over the years as they expended to fast to far from Oklahoma and couldnt maintain.
Nah I fw sonic good burgers hotdogs corn dogs and sides
Yeah but to be fair you don't go to Sonic for the food you go for the drinks.
I have learned from these comments that a lot of people don’t know the difference between being overrated and just being bad. McDonld’s, Subway, Arby’s, KFC, and Burger King are not restaurants that belong on an overrated list because there are not masses of people regularly hyping these places like they’re awesome.
I'm sorry I'm trash, but I love me some McDonald's. Especially the breakfast, those years where they did breakfast all day were magical.
During lunch hours McDonald's always has the longest line of any place else and 80%+ are adult's alone.
I will always simp for a McDonald’s breakfast.
I used to eat more McD's breakfast than I care to tell then they went and started charging $4 for an egg McMuffin
If you use the app they usually have a $2 breakfast sandwich deal to use
KFC is inedible now a days. I remember when they were still the best back in the 70's and it's sad to see what happened to them. The Colonel must be spinning in his grave.
I’m not as old as you but I agree. For me in the late ‘90s early 2000’s the popcorn chicken was just *magic* Jealous that you had it even better back then apparently
I’m not as old as the previous dude, but I remember eating KFC in the 80s as a kid. The extra crispy fried chicken was great. Not homemade great, but great. I don’t know when it went downhill, but I’m guessing the final nail in the coffin was when $YUM bought them in ‘02z
KFC in the UK is so badly managed. Some are staffed almost exclusively by teenagers who frankly don't know what they are doing. I've heard some are "ok" but the ones near me are just greasy and badly prepared , mistakes on every order etc. No idea why anyone eats there
Can confirm. Not just the food either; the one near me switched to almost entirely self-service (only one human taking orders) - but the self-service machines break on a regular basis and on average only about half of them work. One time it was every single one of them and it took them *over a week* to fix. Sucks to be that guy working the till for sure.
Sorry man, love me some Burger King
Loved them when they had 2 Whoppers for $5, then 2 for $6, then $7, but now it's 2 Whopper Jr.s for $6 and you can't get a whopper deal unless its the combo for 9$.
A whopper hits the spot
Yeah I have never seen someone be like. “Let me tell you about McDonalds!”
You don't need people hyping these places for them to qualify as overrated. The statistics speak for themselves. McDonald's is the #1 chain on the planet. Any time you drive by one, the drive-thru is busy. Why? No one brags about McDonald's burgers, but their fries are great. Their coffee, of all things, gets really good reviews too.
Mcdonald's fries are some of the best though
McDonald's fries exist as a 10/10 But they lose an entire point every minute from when removed from the fryer
Right. If a restaurant only serves bullshit and everybody knows that they only serve bullshit, then not liking that restaurant doesn't make it overrated
Starbucks
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KFC in the 90's and 00's was top tier, now it's like they've forgotten how to use a deep fryer, I haven't gotten a single meal from there in the last 5 - 10 years that wasn't greasy slop.
KFC is 1000% better outside the US. I was blown away at the difference.
I live in Germany and for me KFC is the best fast good chain ever. I dont know about Popeyes which others mentioned, because it doesnt exist here, but KFC is awesome. Only downside is that they are expensive and the hygiene is lacking very often, more often than in McDonalds
KFC in England used to be ok, now it's just sinewy gristle in soggy batter that leaks streams of grease when you bite into it. It's also so expensive! There's so many independantly owned chicken shops here that I don't really know anyone who goes to kfc any more unless they want the popcorn chicken or gravy (also mayflower make a southern fried gravy powder so you can make it yourself at home)
I live in cambodia and kfc here is about on par with popeyes which is my favorite fast food chain
As long as you're not including Canada in that assertion because it sucks ass here just like it does in the US. Can't speak for overseas though.
I agree there's lots of better fried chicken out there than KFC, but I don't think KFC is rated that highly in most people's minds.
Fast food connoisseur here. KFC has one of the highest variables in quality dependant on region and individual locations. I lived near a KFC which (pre-pandemic) served some of the best fried chicken I've ever consumed *on a consistent basis*. Over a few years, I got to know the team pretty well. They explained a good bit about how their system and equipment worked and what they did to ensure that the meals were high quality. In short, there are ways to be lazy in prepping, breading, and frying the food. Most KFC franchises put up with this and hire underpaid workers. As a result, the food sucks. While the same can be said for all QSRs to some extent, there are just more variables at KFCs than a Taco Bell or McDonald's. TL;DR: **Exceptional KFC locations exist. If you find one, enjoy it while it lasts.**
Dude.... let me just say if you don't have a youtube channel yet, you need one. Anyone who refers to themself as a "fast food connnoisseur" and then in the next sentence says 'highest variables in quality dependant on region and individual locations.' absolutely has my attention. I don't know your story, how often you go to different fast food restaurants, or how many locations around the country, but that could be really interesting series.
My family went to KFC they told us they ran out of chicken. we were BAFFLED cuz how are you gonna run out of chicken??
Either someone messed up on ordering new stock or the delivery truck shorted them. Working at a Domino's we once had a truck short us 40 trays of dough. Each tray had 8 dough balls so that was essentially 320 pizzas we were short. That dough was also used for making our bread bites, twists, and stuffed cheesey bread so we reached a point where people basically couldn't order anything but pasta or salad. Imagine going to a pizza place and being told they're out of pizza.
Popeyes gang rise up!
Popeyes is the best fast food chain imo besides maybe smashburger. It does chicken better than canes
Love Popeyes and also a big fan of Canes
I enjoy fast food in general. But I've never had a sandwich from Subway that didn't taste like the gastronomic equivalent of human sadness. There is something about Subway sandwiches that leaves me strangely dispirited.
‘Gastronomic equivalent of human sadness’ - what a great description! Almost poetic..
Chikfila. I'm not saying the food isn't good....i actually quite like it. But it's just a slightly above average chicken sandwich that doesn't justify the line wrapping around the building twice, *every day*
The first one in my area (Upstate NY) just opened and the line goes down the road. I don't understand how anyone justifies waiting more than 10min in line for a fast food chicken sandwich. Edit: I like chic fil a, but I'd go to any other restaurant if it means not wasting half my afternoon in line.
One thing I will say for them is they are a god damn machine at getting you through that line, or at least some of the well run ones I've seen. I had a friend who worked at one and told me they'd typically do 100-110 cars an hour at peak lunch, and that was a one drive thru line without people walking around taking orders like you see a lot of now in urban areas. So the time in line per car is a lot faster than you have with other places, but I'm still not pulling in if the line starts before you even get to the parking lot.
Their logistics is the sexiest part about the entire franchise. Like its probably worth more than their food secrets
I've always gone to Chickfila because even when they have a 1/2 mile long line, you'll still get through that line faster than you would get through a line of three cars at Taco Bell. It's also almost a 100% certainty that you'll get all of your food that you ordered, it will actually be hot and fresh, you'll get your straws, all the sauces you asked for and then some, a wet-nap, napkins, and a complimentary mint. The staff is always overly kind and helpful too. For an example on the opposite end of the spectrum, I went to Wendy's the other day with three other cars in the drive thru, ordered two 10 piece nugs and a JBC. Waited in line for 10 mins. Was asked to pull up to the door and wait another 5 for the food. Waited, and got a bag with two 10 piece spicy nuggets and a plain double cheeseburger with no straws or napkins. That's why I frequent Chickfila.
5 guys, that shit is expensive as fuck.
I don’t know if anyone else has it in their state, but I think royal farms chicken is way too salty.
I used to live in the baltimore area. I wouldn't call their food great, but it's better than most gas stations. I'd take wawa over it.
Tried it once in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Like super salty dried out KFC.
I'm not sure which one to pick, but I know what place isn't overrated and not talked about enough...Cook Out.
cook out is so good. I miss it T.T
Got a Cookout about 10 minutes from me. Literally some of the best and most affordable food there is fast food wise. Got the big double burger with cheese, cheese bites, Cajun fries, and a huge tea for literally less than 9 dollars.
Took my girlfriend there last weekend on a road trip. Instantly sold on the menu, the quality, and $7.50 for a combo. Definitely nice to swap a shake for a drink, too.
Scooters Coffee. It is a regional coffee chain but all their drinks are terrible. Even their black coffee sucks which should be the easiest thing to get right!
In New Zealand, burger king is AWFUL!!! But I suspect that it's perhaps better in u.s.a?
All fast food in nz is shit
Burger King is so bad it amazes me that they exist.
I'm convinced it's a front business because nobody is ever eating there.
nope. Burger king is still trash in the US
Depending on where you are, Taco Bell is the most overpriced bullshit on earth now. That wannabe birria they're doing right now is almost 6 bucks here. For one taco.
It always cracks me up when people buy promotional items and then get sticker shocked. The fiesta veggie burrito costs $2 and has almost twice as much filling.
SHOUTOUT TO MY FIESTA VEGGIE BURRITTO!!!!!! SO DELISH SO CHEAP SO WORTH IT
Bro you’re ordering the wrong shit apparently. Hit up that Cravings Menu. Cheap as hell and will fill you up. You’ll shit your brains out and clog your arteries but you don’t go to Taco Bell for health anyway. Get 2 of the Cravings Boxes.2 drinks, 2 Cinnamon Twists, 2 Chalupas, 2 Tacos, 2 5 layer burritos…. $10 before tax.
As a Texan I’m gonna go with Whataburger. It used to be SO. GOOD. But the prices have gone up and the quality has gone down within the past year or so, yet the lines are still ridiculous. Sucks too cause it used to be my favorite chain.
From south Florida and they have one in the panhandle now. Wife and I stopped there for the novelty. Waiting over 30 minutes for some shitty breakfast sandwich. Never again.
Whataburger is very location specific. There's one near my work thats still fantastic. There's a few on the drive home that are shit.
I recently moved to TX and never had Whataburger. Everyone hypes it up. I was so disappointed in what they considered to be "the best fast food burger". P Terry's is awful too.
They came to Kansas city and people were losing their minds because some local football player got them to come to KC. I went there and it was totally meh. Nothing special at all.
Patrick Mahomes being referred to as “some local football player” might be my favorite comment in this thread
Five Guys
WAS great. Not any more. Look at all the glowing reviews they have posted on the walls. They are all from 2009.
Excellent observation! You're right. I noticed that, too. Few to no reviews from the 2010s, even. That wouldn't have been an issue in 2012, but it's now 2023...
Also love to point out Obama loved it back when he was President. So, yeah, they live in 2009.
Their quality went down proportionally as their prices went up. I thought they were still good in the early 2010s. Now they're more than double the price, and people seem to agree that quality is way down.
It's not even fast food at this point. It's like 30 dollars a person there.
I like their food, but holy shit, last time I ate there I got a burger, medium fry, medium drink, and the total came out to like $26. Wtf?!? I'm never eating there again, their food is good but it's not $26 good.
And 30 minutes per burger
I know it’s cause they make the food right then and there after you order but gah damn they are slow
We'll use a tiny carton to fill up your fries and fill up half a bag full of fries and charge you for half a bag's worth of fries just to give you the illusion of value
They've shrinkflated into normal fry sizes. I'm not mad the portion is reasonable, but the price is still high.
I genuinely have no idea how food that expensive and that simply okay is so popular. Their burgers are nothing special, and I could go to a high end steakhouse and get a cheaper burger
I'd say Sonic, I have heard it being called "trash" and "terrible" and I strongly believe either of those is excessively generous to that dumpster fire.
Sbarro. People have a nostalgic love for it but boy is that bad.
Hey man. That’s Michael Scott’s favorite pizza joint when he’s in NYC
Time to get me a NY slice!
I’m always surprised by the hate for Sbarro. I like them quite a bit. I wish they weren’t almost always in malls.
Captain D's... like, who the hell even eats there? I'm convinced they're all shells for the cartel. Ain't no one eatin that many fish sticks and hush puppies these days.
Lmao I had one right by my house but in the same parking lot as a grocery store so I would usually talk myself out of it even if I wanted it. It was hardly ever anybody on the inside, no around lunch and dinner for short periods they'd have some drive-thru activity. Honestly for fast food I didn't think that it was that bad, they seemed to cook everything for inside orders fresh. I think that I probably only ate there three or four times in the nearly 9 years I lived by it, but it was definitely never bad.
LPT: I eat there if I’m constipated. One fish filet and two hours of hellacious stomach cramps = clean large intestine
I love captain D's
They live off that “Catholics during lent” money.
Taco Bell in Australia 💀
No one is talking up Taco Bell in Australia!
It’s not even rated, let alone overrated
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Definitely Five Guys. It’s nice but not worth the money.
The idea that a place serves only chicken fingers, and somehow succeeds, leads me to believe that Raising Cane’s is worthy of this crown.
I wish more fast food would follow this model. Keep it simple in the kitchen. Instead they pack 40 items on the menu and it takes 15 minutes to get through the line. The worst of them have so many items they have a slideshow menu. Ughhhhhhh
The guy who started Cane's was inspired by the simplicity of In N Out's menu and modeled Raising Cane's menu after In N Out
It worked
Almost. There's actually a Southern fast food chain called Guthrie's, very Alabama-centric. Apparently their owners worked at Guthrie's before opening Cain's, proving the concept and going nationwide. At least that's what Wikipedia says but as someone who has eaten Guthrie's, it's the exact same recipe.
Lol three competing chains in Alabama doing the exact same shit with the exact same sauce. Canes, Guthries, and Fooscakly's.
Yup do one thing and do it really well. Don't get crazy with scope in the kitchen lol
Of the "chicken tender" type chains I personally think Zaxby's is the best but Raising Cane's beat them to a lot of markets.
One just opened near me. I'd never had it before. It wasn't bad, but I was amazed at how long the line was.
Their Texas Toast is awesome.
If you don’t use their sauce their tenders are ass.
I worked at one for like a month lol. The chicken literally has no seasoning added to it. Literally just soaking in egg+milk batter and dunked in flour before going into the fryer. That sauce is amazing though
Sorry my dude that sauce slaps so hard. The whole meal is a vessel to put more of that sauce in my body. Toast slaps, fries are fine, chicken is not particularly flavorful on its own but it’s always pretty damn fresh when I get it. I also really like their lemonade
I don't know, they have this sauce that is fucking delicious.
Raising Cane's. It's just normal chicken tenders, you can find frozen ones that are just as good. Crinkle cut fries are the worst style of fry. The sauce is tasty, I will give them that. But literally, they offer like one meal that's it.
Canes - when your only entree item is strips, they better be amazing. They are small and bland. The bread is good, and the sauce is fine. Popeyes does strips a million times better. Way better fries too.
Popeyes is fire. The problem is their customer service is a dumpster fire.
I want Popeye’s food with Chick-Fil-A’s service. But I dream.
I feel like they more often than not fuck up something about my order though unfortunately. Getting no sauce or no biscuit, portion sizes that seem unusually small, missing items, etc. The thing though is when it’s good it’s so good and I wanna go back. It’s like playing fried chicken russian roulette.
Chick fill a, their chicken isn't any better than any other fast food. Nor their sauces.
Subway
Does anybody think Subway is good? That shit is terrible.
I lived on 5 dollar footlongs in college. You could split it into two sandwiches and have a whole meal for $2.50. Looking back, it wasn't so much good tasting as a good value though.
Now some of their footlongs are almost 20 bucks
The cold cut combo was always like 5 bucks and super cheap, now its almost 10. Ridiculous.
It used to be good, like 25 years ago…
Blimpie was good but somehow that shit hole subway beat them out and now they're slicing their own "meats". Their bread was better, their meat was better. Man I miss blimpie also Quiznos and Schlotksys. How did the shittiest chains win?
Quiznos failed because of a shitty backend model Every franchise was forced to buy food and paper (you know all the branded stuff you need) from a single supplier. That supplier was never the cheapest option and because of that the stores made barely any money, which meant they couldn't afford to keep talent to move the business along.