Local/regional fast food chains you wish were nationwide?

[Jim]

Seems like I need to get back to Cook Out.  We stopped once and were overwhelmed by the menu in a busy drive through, but enjoyed what we quickly picked.  The main reasons I haven't been back is their overlap along I-95 with Zaxby's and the fact we tend to travel through NC during the late night/early morning hours.

I know we've discussed the chicken strips wars before, but I remain a fan of both Zaxby's and Raising Cane's, but if they're both available I'll go with a Cane's Box Combo.

[I-39]

1. Portillos
2. In-N-Out
3. Tim Hortons

[Scott5114]

Just as good as Five Guys, but at half the price.

I can't justify going to Five Guys any more, because although it's good, it's not good enough to justify two single-patty burgers and one order of fries, no drinks, being over $20. Especially since the burgers, to my taste at least, are pretty close to what Wendy's sells for a much cheaper price. I get that the price includes unlimited toppings, but I tend to like my burgers without a lot of fixings (usually just ketchup and either mayonnaise and lettuce or mustard), so that doesn't really justify the price for me.

[GCrites]

Some towns will just flat out refuse the $15 burger places. The town where I work is like that. The Five Guys closed after three years. The Tasty Made (Chipotle's foray into burgers) made it less than a year.

[Jim]

Five Guys opened last week here in Amsterdam, New York.  Hard to say how it will do long term, but early business is enough that the authorities were called multiple times because the crowds were violating covid capacity restrictions.  I haven't been yet, waiting to test out of my quarantine for having been out of state.

Now that it's close to my house, I figure it's something we'll do once every several weeks, adding it into the mix of things we get for takeout when we want a night off from cooking at home.  There's been one near work for a while, but it's generally too big of a meal for lunch for me, so I would only go occasionally when I needed a dinner out that way.

[hbelkins]

Some towns will just flat out refuse the $15 burger places. The town where I work is like that. The Five Guys closed after three years. The Tasty Made (Chipotle's foray into burgers) made it less than a year.

Fat Patty's (regional burger place in the Ashland-Huntington-Charleston corridor, and site of my 2013 Tri-State Road Meet) effectively put the Ashland Five Guys out of business, from what I'm told.

[1995hoo]

Five Guys opened last week here in Amsterdam, New York.  Hard to say how it will do long term, but early business is enough that the authorities were called multiple times because the crowds were violating covid capacity restrictions.  I haven't been yet, waiting to test out of my quarantine for having been out of state.

Now that it's close to my house, I figure it's something we'll do once every several weeks, adding it into the mix of things we get for takeout when we want a night off from cooking at home.  There's been one near work for a while, but it's generally too big of a meal for lunch for me, so I would only go occasionally when I needed a dinner out that way.

The thing that's always been entertaining about Five Guys is when you see a family or other group of people who are unfamiliar with the chain placing orders that include a large order of fries for each person.

[GCrites]

^most of those fast casual places have some strange ordering protocol like that which instantly brands people as noobs if they haven't been there before.

[GCrites]

Fat Patty's (regional burger place in the Ashland-Huntington-Charleston corridor, and site of my 2013 Tri-State Road Meet) effectively put the Ashland Five Guys out of business, from what I'm told.
[/quote]

Fat Pattys huh? They were just getting started when I lived around there. They took over some bar that I liked at Marshall whose name escapes me now. I think it was 2005 when it happened. Of course Fat Pattys has the profitability advantage over Five Guys of having a bar.

I know Shaq owns a lot of Five Guys; I wonder if his locations have been affected by the downturn of Five Guys. I don't know if he owned the Ashland one.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

1. Portillos
2. In-N-Out
3. Tim Hortons

I found Portillos' entrees to be nothing special, but damn are the fries good.

[hbelkins]

The thing that's always been entertaining about Five Guys is when you see a family or other group of people who are unfamiliar with the chain placing orders that include a large order of fries for each person.

Yeah. My first experience with Five Guys was in Norwalk, Conn., where I stayed two nights while attending the Springfield, Mass. meet back in 2010. I ordered large fries and when I got back to my room, couldn't believe there was entire potato patch in my to-go bag. When I went back the next night, I got a regular order and actually watched when they filled that little metal pan full of fries and dumped it in my bad.

Also odd: a regular burger has two patties. A "little" burger doesn't mean a smaller patty, like Wendy's, but it means you only get one normal-sized patty.

Fat Pattys huh? They were just getting started when I lived around there. They took over some bar that I liked at Marshall whose name escapes me now. I think it was 2005 when it happened. Of course Fat Pattys has the profitability advantage over Five Guys of having a bar.

The Fat Patty's in Ashland took over the location of CJ Maggie's, which is an eatery I've never patronized despite having been in their cities numerous times. That's a shrinking chain. I think their only locations now are in Buckhannon and Elkins.

[ilpt4u]

1. Portillos
2. In-N-Out
3. Tim Hortons

I found Portillos' entrees to be nothing special, but damn are the fries good.

Really? The Italian Beef and Italian Sausage combo is excellent, and each separately, as well

For a Fast Food burger, Portillos is one of the best I've had, including In n Out, Five Guys, Whataburger

To each his own

[Flint1979]

I'm done with Five Guys. Too expensive for what you actually get. I mean seriously $20 for a burger, fries and no drink? There isn't a burger in the world worth $20 to me.

[Rothman]

I'm done with Five Guys. Too expensive for what you actually get. I mean seriously $20 for a burger, fries and no drink? There isn't a burger in the world worth $20 to me.

Hm.  Not that expensive in my neck of the woods.

[Flint1979]

I'm done with Five Guys. Too expensive for what you actually get. I mean seriously $20 for a burger, fries and no drink? There isn't a burger in the world worth $20 to me.

Hm.  Not that expensive in my neck of the woods.

They are pretty expensive though I might of overexerted a little but they aren't inexpensive that's for sure.

[Jim]

I'm not the defender of Five Guys, in fact, I haven't been to one in a couple months, probably.  But do some Five Guys locations actually charge that much?  At the one here, I can go online right now and order a little hamburger for $5.79, a little fries for $3.29, and a fountain drink for $2.29, which is more than a large enough meal for me.  Not a cheap meal, but similar to what I'd spend on a meal at a Panera, and not much more than even a lower-end chain like McDonald's/BK/Wendy's if I ordered one of their high-end sandwiches and a similar quantity of fries and a drink.

[formulanone]

Yeah, I might have them 3-4 times a year (though not at all in 2020) in various places but never spent more than $10-12, though I usually skip sodas.

If you're regularly having a large fries and the regular double as a single meal, you might want to consider seeing a doctor.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm not the defender of Five Guys, in fact, I haven't been to one in a couple months, probably.  But do some Five Guys locations actually charge that much?  At the one here, I can go online right now and order a little hamburger for $5.79, a little fries for $3.29, and a fountain drink for $2.29, which is more than a large enough meal for me.  Not a cheap meal, but similar to what I'd spend on a meal at a Panera, and not much more than even a lower-end chain like McDonald's/BK/Wendy's if I ordered one of their high-end sandwiches and a similar quantity of fries and a drink.

Then it's not a apples=apples comparison in regards to price points if you're comparing getting Five Guys' cheapest burger to another restaurant's high end burger.

[Rothman]

I'm not the defender of Five Guys, in fact, I haven't been to one in a couple months, probably.  But do some Five Guys locations actually charge that much?  At the one here, I can go online right now and order a little hamburger for $5.79, a little fries for $3.29, and a fountain drink for $2.29, which is more than a large enough meal for me.  Not a cheap meal, but similar to what I'd spend on a meal at a Panera, and not much more than even a lower-end chain like McDonald's/BK/Wendy's if I ordered one of their high-end sandwiches and a similar quantity of fries and a drink.

Then it's not a apples=apples comparison in regards to price points if you're comparing getting Five Guys' cheapest burger to another restaurant's high end burger.

Pfft.  Five Guys' burgers are better than anything you'll get a McDonald's, Wendy's or Burger King, high end or otherwise.

[Jim]

Then it's not a apples=apples comparison in regards to price points if you're comparing getting Five Guys' cheapest burger to another restaurant's high end burger.

In my opinion, the cheapest burger at Five Guys blows away the best thing McD/BK/Wendy's has ever sent out the door.  Obviously others disagree.

[cb98]

Really, really wish Raising Cane's would make its way past the I-64 corridor and come towards the DC area. I was introduced to them when I first visited Louisiana and never have looked back. I've driven from DC to the Charlottesville and Norfolk locations (yes, day trips to get Cane's....) and love it as much as I did the first time I had it.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I really wanted to like Cane's. It's just..average.

[cb98]

I really wanted to like Cane's. It's just..average.

Tbh the sauce is what does it for me...that and the Texas toast they have. It makes it worth the 4+ hour round trip drives for me

For chicken places, Popeyes is alright at best and KFC is not good....at all. So CFA was the only thing around here worth eating (and its good!) When my now-fiancé told me Cane's was better than CFA, I didn't believe it. Then I flew south, tried it for myself, and it was amazing. (Side note: Whataburger really didn't do much for me when I tried it)

[Flint1979]

For a Massachusetts chain I wish Michigan had Kelly's Roast Beef. I ate there multiple times when I was in Boston and it's better than Arby's.

[vdeane]

Then it's not a apples=apples comparison in regards to price points if you're comparing getting Five Guys' cheapest burger to another restaurant's high end burger.

Five Guys isn't in the same league as McDonalds and the like - literally.  Five Guys is higher-end and is considered a "fast casual" chain, whereas the others are just low-end fast food.

If you're regularly having a large fries and the regular double as a single meal, you might want to consider seeing a doctor.

Yeah, I consider even their smallest order of fries to be more than I'd prefer to eat.  It's one of the reasons I don't go there often even if I think everything tastes very good.  Their fries are really meant for groups with multiple people.