Best resturants to have in service plazas?

[Scott5114]

Five Guys > Wendy's

Even if so, I don't like a lot of toppings on my burger. I'll happily eat a burger mustard and ketchup only, or if I'm feeling fancy mayo and lettuce only. I don't usually add bacon unless I'm extremely hungry, and I don't add onions to fast food burgers because they will invariably add so many of them that I can't taste anything but onion.

Therefore, for me:
The price of Five Guys > what a Five Guys meal is actually worth
The price of Wendy's = what a Wendy's meal is actually worth

[tolbs17]

Five Guys over Wendy's for me! 5 Guys has nice burgers and what not. But they are slightly more expensive

[kevinb1994]

I'm all for Culver's or Five Guys myself. It was just Five Guys for awhile, especially when Smashburger went away.

[dlsterner]

Meanwhile on the Maryland side of the DC area - The last 2 I knew of were in Silver Spring & Parole (Annapolis suburb), and I think I made it to each one once at some point in 2018.  They've both closed at some point since then, and with that there are no longer any Fuddruckers in the entire state of Maryland.

I miss the various Fuddruckers in Maryland as well.  Although, if you have an excuse to travel there, there's a few in Pennsylvania not too far away - York, Lancaster, and Chambersburg.  All three have satisfied my itch.  Also one in Ashland VA which did not impress me much.

Also disappointed that Smashburger had left the area.  The burgers were pretty good, but the Smash Tots were awesome.

(For the record, I don't make those trips just for the food; rather I incorporate it into an existing road trip)

[MaddogMicharski]

Roy Rogers by far

[webny99]

Have you ever actually been to Fuddruckers? It was truly "build your own" ie, a massive well stocked fixings bar that you put whatever you wanted, in any quantity you wanted, on your sandwich by yourself.

Five guys however knows that that is expensive, and the bean counters know that if you want x, y, z on your burger it costs less to just include that behind counter, so they can control the quantity of ingredients used very carefully and get by with less fresh ingredients. Five guys is not "build your own", and its not as good of a value proposition.

I can't remember if I've been to Fuddruckers, maybe once or twice many years ago. The only one I knew of in this area was in Buffalo, and it's permanently closed now.

In any case, I know Five Guys isn't literally build your own, but being more of a fast casual chain, it's closer to build your own than not when compared to the true fast food restaurants. You sure don't see a list of dozens of toppings to select from on Wendy's or McDonald's online ordering platform.

[Rothman]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers? 

[wriddle082]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers? 

Indeed, I had a roast beef sandwich from them a few months ago, and they still can't touch Arby's.

But regional favorites are what I like to see in service plazas.  I like how the Mass Pike service plazas have Papa Gino's pizza, for example.  Otherwise, McD's, Taco Bell, and some form of dessert such as Baskin Robbins or Cinnabon will do just fine.

[Scott5114]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers? 

Indeed, I had a roast beef sandwich from them a few months ago, and they still can't touch Arby's.

But regional favorites are what I like to see in service plazas. [...] and some form of dessert [...]

This implies that every Oklahoma turnpike rest area should have a Braum's.

[jeffandnicole]

Why is anyone comparing Five Guys to fast food restaurants anyway? They are different leagues in terms of their food. Might as well start comparing a White Castle burger to a freshly made burger at a steakhouse.

As far as Fuddruckers goes, I never saw the sense in ordering a cheeseburger there, being that they have two different types of cheese at the condiment bar.

[Rothman]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers? 

Indeed, I had a roast beef sandwich from them a few months ago, and they still can't touch Arby's.

But regional favorites are what I like to see in service plazas.  I like how the Mass Pike service plazas have Papa Gino's pizza, for example.  Otherwise, McD's, Taco Bell, and some form of dessert such as Baskin Robbins or Cinnabon will do just fine.

As someone who grew up in MA, Papa Gino's is terrible.

[epzik8]

Roy Rogers is number one.

[1995hoo]

....

But regional favorites are what I like to see in service plazas. ....

I care less about this issue at service plazas than I do when I stop for the night. If I'm making a long drive (most or all of the day, like from somewhere in Canada home to Virginia or from Virginia to Jacksonville), I want someplace fast and reliable for lunch, and the national fast food chains are fine for that–on the drive south to Florida, for example, we usually stop at the Arby's directly across US-52 from the I-95 off- and on-ramps near Florence, SC. (Last summer, the inside seating was closed, so we had to sit outside on the curb after going through the drive-thru.)

But when I stop for the night and want dinner, I'd rather go somewhere that's not the same thing we have at home. (I'll concede we've gone to the Longhorn Steakhouse at the JAX Airport exit several times and they're a chain, but they don't have any location that's particularly convenient to where we live, so it's not a place we ever eat except on trips.) If, of course, the drive is such that we'll keep driving after dinner–such as coming back from Toronto on two hours' notice in June 2019–then fast food it is (Wendy's in Bedford, PA, in that case).

[Ted$8roadFan]

I remember the Roy Rogers that used to be on the Mass. Pike service area in Charlton prior to the early-00's remodeling which removed it. Burger and fries, yes, but it was more interesting than McDonalds. 

[abefroman329]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers?

Frankly, probably the fact that there aren't very many of them and they're concentrated in an area where I don't live.  Sonic was much less tasty once they built one ten minutes from my house.

[jeffandnicole]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers?

Frankly, probably the fact that there aren't very many of them and they're concentrated in an area where I don't live.  Sonic was much less tasty once they built one ten minutes from my house.

Bingo. Service area Roy Rogers never thrilled me anyway. Always felt the food was generic for the service area. Take down the Roy Rogers signs and slap another sign up, take away the fixin's bar and have the employees put the toppings on themselves, and the rest of the food is exactly the same as nearly every other restaurant that could occupy the same spot.

[Flint1979]

I now remember what Roy Rogers was like and to me it's no different than a Hardee's or Carl's Jr. I was thinking it was Kenny Rogers Roasters which I did like for awhile when they were open. In fact I went to wikipedia to look Roy Rogers and Kenny Rogers Roasters up and Kenny Rogers Roasters has a picture of the former location in Saginaw I thought heck that building looks familiar.

[MATraveler128]

Roy Rogers is number one.

I’ve only been to Roy Rogers once in one of the New Jersey Turnpike service plazas and I remember liking it. There used to also be one in Sturbridge, Massachusetts off I-84 where the Pilot is.

Not a restaurant, but as someone who has spent frequent time in Pennsylvania, I wish Wawa was more common, especially up my way in New England. I find myself stopping at Wawa every time I go down there for their coffee and prepared foods.

[catch22]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers? 

Indeed, I had a roast beef sandwich from them a few months ago, and they still can't touch Arby's.

But regional favorites are what I like to see in service plazas. [...] and some form of dessert [...]

This implies that every Oklahoma turnpike rest area should have a Braum's.

As a frequent visitor to the in-laws in Oklahoma City from Michigan, I'm perfectly OK with that.

[HighwayStar]

Have you ever actually been to Fuddruckers? It was truly "build your own" ie, a massive well stocked fixings bar that you put whatever you wanted, in any quantity you wanted, on your sandwich by yourself.

Five guys however knows that that is expensive, and the bean counters know that if you want x, y, z on your burger it costs less to just include that behind counter, so they can control the quantity of ingredients used very carefully and get by with less fresh ingredients. Five guys is not "build your own", and its not as good of a value proposition.

I can't remember if I've been to Fuddruckers, maybe once or twice many years ago. The only one I knew of in this area was in Buffalo, and it's permanently closed now.

In any case, I know Five Guys isn't literally build your own, but being more of a fast casual chain, it's closer to build your own than not when compared to the true fast food restaurants. You sure don't see a list of dozens of toppings to select from on Wendy's or McDonald's online ordering platform.

Its really not fast casual, its fast food being sold at fast casual prices. Especially next to a Fuddruckers, which actually is fast casual, it has the look, feel, and taste of a fast food burger joint.
The long list of ingredients is a minor point, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's etc. all sell a line of burgers with different combinations. Whataburger closely approximates Five Guys in topping choices but at a considerably lower price point.

Then there is the price issue. The last time I went to Five Guys and Fuddruckers within a few weeks of each other in the same general area I paid $16 at Five Guys for a double burger with fixings, a large drink, and a standard size fries. I paid $17 at Fuddruckers for a 1lb burger with bottomless fries and bottomless drink. I am willing to bet Five Guys was about 2/3 of a lb of meat, no refill on the fries, and lower quality for a buck difference.

[US 89]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers? 

Indeed, I had a roast beef sandwich from them a few months ago, and they still can’t touch Arby’s.

But regional favorites are what I like to see in service plazas. [...] and some form of dessert [...]

This implies that every Oklahoma turnpike rest area should have a Braum's.

As a frequent visitor to the in-laws in Oklahoma City from Michigan, I'm perfectly OK with that.

If turnpikes had Braum's, I would absolutely make an effort to use them and deal with OTA getting more of my money. I'm still annoyed I didn't get to make a Braum's stop when I drove through Oklahoma last year. Used to go all the time when my grandparents lived in Bartlesville.

[HighwayStar]

Why is anyone comparing Five Guys to fast food restaurants anyway? They are different leagues in terms of their food. Might as well start comparing a White Castle burger to a freshly made burger at a steakhouse.

As far as Fuddruckers goes, I never saw the sense in ordering a cheeseburger there, being that they have two different types of cheese at the condiment bar.

Yep, you don't have to pay extra that way.

[HighwayStar]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers?

It is an interesting concept for one thing. They serve burgers, roast beef, and chicken. Its like a cross between a Wendy's, Arby's, and a KFC. In my experience the quality was always good, although like any place someone can say theirs was not and neither of us is necessarily lying.
The first time I encountered Roy Rogers I had been on the road for upwards of 2000 miles and seen enough signs for McDonald's et al. to make you dizzy. Roy Rogers? Like the cowboy and the song about the cowboy? Count me in!

[dlsterner]

Roy Rogers by far

What the freak is so good about Roy Rogers?

It's a matter of taste.  Some people like Roy Rogers better and some people like Arby's better - and that's OK.

Personally, having dined at both chains many times, I will say that the Roy's roast beef sandwich looks like real beef sliced from a real hunk of meat, where Arby's roast beef looks to me like some kind of "loaf" that's been reconstituted.

I will also say that I consider stand-alone Roy Rogers >> service plaza Roy Rogers.

I will eat at both (especially since Arby's came to their senses and started providing Coke products), but prefer Roys.  And Arby's is more prevalent outside the MD/DC/VA area.

[Rothman]

That's it.  I am going to give Roy another chance and then come back here and say you're all out of your minds.