Fast food items you wish they’d bring back?

[Big John]

McDonald's experimented with bratwurst, at least in Wisconsin they did.  It did not le=ast very long.

[MATraveler128]

How about the Donut Chicken Sandwich from KFC. It was basically a slab of fried chicken with two hot glazed donuts replacing the traditional bread. Very messy too.

[Max Rockatansky]

How about the Donut Chicken Sandwich from KFC. It was basically a slab of fried chicken with two hot glazed donuts replacing the traditional bread. Very messy too.

That sounds glorious.  Did it come with extra crispy as the breading on the chicken?

[OCGuy81]

How about the Donut Chicken Sandwich from KFC. It was basically a slab of fried chicken with two hot glazed donuts replacing the traditional bread. Very messy too.

My arteries hardened just reading that!

[MATraveler128]

How about the Donut Chicken Sandwich from KFC. It was basically a slab of fried chicken with two hot glazed donuts replacing the traditional bread. Very messy too.

That sounds glorious.  Did it come with extra crispy as the breading on the chicken?

I think it was the standard chicken.

[Scott5114]

How about the Donut Chicken Sandwich from KFC. It was basically a slab of fried chicken with two hot glazed donuts replacing the traditional bread. Very messy too.

That sounds glorious.  Did it come with extra crispy as the breading on the chicken?

Ha! Like they'd ever actually not be "out" of extra crispy. I think you have a better chance at getting ice cream from McDonald's than getting extra crispy from KFC.

[Max Rockatansky]

How about the Donut Chicken Sandwich from KFC. It was basically a slab of fried chicken with two hot glazed donuts replacing the traditional bread. Very messy too.

That sounds glorious.  Did it come with extra crispy as the breading on the chicken?

Ha! Like they'd ever actually not be "out" of extra crispy. I think you have a better chance at getting ice cream from McDonald's than getting extra crispy from KFC.

KFC has a wild variation by location, you have to find the good ones or just not bother.  Fortunately the KFC on Kings Canyon is Fresno is a good one and always has extra crispy.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The last few times I've been to Taco Bell, they didn't have the chili cheese burrito on the menu. I always liked it. A couple of them at $1.59 each made a good meal.

Most/all Minnesota locations still have them as of now, as well as the Madison, WI locations (but not Milwaukee's) as of 2018. However, the price is reaching the point it's barely worth it, at 2.79-2.89 per.

[Scott5114]

How about the Donut Chicken Sandwich from KFC. It was basically a slab of fried chicken with two hot glazed donuts replacing the traditional bread. Very messy too.

That sounds glorious.  Did it come with extra crispy as the breading on the chicken?

Ha! Like they'd ever actually not be "out" of extra crispy. I think you have a better chance at getting ice cream from McDonald's than getting extra crispy from KFC.

KFC has a wild variation by location, you have to find the good ones or just not bother.  Fortunately the KFC on Kings Canyon is Fresno is a good one and always has extra crispy.

Norman must just be blessed with the bad ones then. (Probably some shithead manager who's overly fixated on food waste and won't let the kitchen cook enough food ahead of time.) At the KFC closest to my house, I once had a transaction take way longer than it should have because I paid with a $20 from the 80s (one of the ones with the cool scrollwork at the top) and the cashier was butthurt that it didn't have a watermark or security strip (the former of which was added in 1996 and the latter of which was added in 1990). Another time they kept bumping cars from the drive-thru window and having someone run them out to the parked cars, and it took them at least three trips to get all of the order to me (I finally gave up and went inside to have it fixed instead of playing telephone with the cooks).

[webny99]

Nacho fries at Taco Bell.
They come and go at random intervals. They're gone right now, but I wish they would just keep them on the menu permanently.

Maybe it's their version of the McRib. Don't add it permanently, but create a feeding frenzy when you roll it out.

I like the nacho fries but this turns me off of ordering them.  Usually I'm ordering for myself and my wife, and sometimes a friend. I want to have my order ready to go by the time I pull up to the speakerbox so that I don't forget anything. If they're playing a stupid "will-they-or-won't-they" game with a menu item, I just assume "won't" so it doesn't get put on the order (I don't want to deal with my wife having the expectation of getting nacho fries and then having to let her down when I get home).

Yeah, it's annoying because it's only really fair to adjust your order on the fly if you're by yourself. When you've got a group, the only other way to do it is just to have a "backup" option... as in, I'll take nacho fries if they have them, otherwise I'll take chips or whatever. But that can get messy too.

The King size is now just called Large. It's the same size. (While I was working there in the late 2000s, they changed small→value, medium→small, large→medium, king→large. They claimed it was to meet customer portion size expectations, but I'm guessing it was really because most people order "medium" so this was a way of nudging people toward a larger, more profitable size.)

Are the larger sizes really more profitable? I've always assumed the smallest size is the most profitable, especially with drinks because the price is usually set higher proportional to what you actually get.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The last few times I've been to Taco Bell, they didn't have the chili cheese burrito on the menu. I always liked it. A couple of them at $1.59 each made a good meal.

That used to be one of my favorites.

[Revive 755]

McDonald's experimented with bratwurst, at least in Wisconsin they did.  It did not le=ast very long.

I recall at least a couple McDonald's having bratwurst in Iowa and Missouri - think it was in the early 2000's.

[hotdogPi]

Are the larger sizes really more profitable? I've always assumed the smallest size is the most profitable, especially with drinks because the price is usually set higher proportional to what you actually get.

Yes. Soda only costs a few cents. Even for foods that do cost money, the food is significantly cheaper than what you're paying for it, and labor costs are the same regardless of what size you get.

[WillWeaverRVA]

The last few times I've been to Taco Bell, they didn't have the chili cheese burrito on the menu. I always liked it. A couple of them at $1.59 each made a good meal.

That used to be one of my favorites.

As an extension of this, apparently you can still find the chili cheese burrito at a bunch of Taco Bell locations. I found a website that shows locations that still carry it, and it turns out it's correct (I verified a few locations on Taco Bell's website). In fact, it's actually cheaper now than it was when it was a regular menu item ($1.49 instead of $1.59).

[english si]

The final decision to ditch Breakfast Bagels and Wraps, leaving only McMuffins, didn't go down well when McDonalds announced it earlier this week in the UK (though the items hadn't been sold for nearly 2 years anyway, due to reduced pandemic menu).

It's not as if, wrap-wise, they don't have rest-of-the-day wraps. The McMuffins were criticised for being dry - which, compared to wraps, they are.

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Decent fries at KFC - they weren't amazing, but at least they weren't pseudo-healthy nonsense that don't taste how fast food fries should.

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Sodas that don't have sweeteners at many of fast food restaurants in the UK. Charge me more (all that extra being pure profit) due to the sugar 'tax' (as McDonalds does), or give me a smaller serving (as I've seen with places that do bottles in the meal deals rather than fountains), rather than offering me the choice of a drink I can't drink or a smaller bottle of water - I don't want either of them!

[tchafe1978]

McDonald's experimented with bratwurst, at least in Wisconsin they did.  It did not le=ast very long.

I remember that from a few years back. I think they were a one time promotion during football season, might have even been linked to the Packers in some way. I never tried them, but knowing McDonald's, they would have been flash cooked on their "grill", and not slow grilled over charcoal like bratwurst should be.

[hbelkins]

The last few times I've been to Taco Bell, they didn't have the chili cheese burrito on the menu. I always liked it. A couple of them at $1.59 each made a good meal.

That used to be one of my favorites.

As an extension of this, apparently you can still find the chili cheese burrito at a bunch of Taco Bell locations. I found a website that shows locations that still carry it, and it turns out it's correct (I verified a few locations on Taco Bell's website). In fact, it's actually cheaper now than it was when it was a regular menu item ($1.49 instead of $1.59).

I also used to get the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito (hold the sour cream) when it was $1.59. A couple of those would fill me up. Now, they're considerably more expensive.

I can't remember Wendy's ever having fried chicken, but I did like what Hardee's offered years ago.

[abefroman329]

I can't remember Wendy's ever having fried chicken

I could've sworn it was a nationwide thing - they had a tie-in with Purdue and everything.

, but I did like what Hardee's offered years ago.

My parents still wax poetic about a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich Hardee's sold in the 70s.

[triplemultiplex]

McDonald's experimented with bratwurst, at least in Wisconsin they did.  It did not le=ast very long.

I remember that from a few years back. I think they were a one time promotion during football season, might have even been linked to the Packers in some way. I never tried them, but knowing McDonald's, they would have been flash cooked on their "grill", and not slow grilled over charcoal like bratwurst should be.

Your assessment was the same as mine.  They're not grilling them or at least boiling them in beer so even if they were J-ville's (which I believe was the case), they still wouldn't be doing them right.  In fact, I assumed they'd be precooked from the factory, which to me, a pre-cooked brat is not a brat at all but a brat-flavored hot dog.

[formulanone]

My parents still wax poetic about a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich Hardee's sold in the 70s.

I recall Culver's having this on their menu a few years back, though I think it was when I was in Iowa.

[webny99]

Are the larger sizes really more profitable? I've always assumed the smallest size is the most profitable, especially with drinks because the price is usually set higher proportional to what you actually get.

Yes. Soda only costs a few cents. Even for foods that do cost money, the food is significantly cheaper than what you're paying for it, and labor costs are the same regardless of what size you get.

I guess if bigger sizes are better for the fast food company and the customer, I'm not sure why they even bother with smaller sizes. If the customer is paying more for what they get, and it's costing the restaurant more to produce less, it seems like nobody wins.

[abefroman329]

I'm not sure why they even bother with smaller sizes

Granted, I'm a pinko commie, but I prefer to only buy as much pop as I'm going to actually drink.  Which, close to 100% of the time, is a McDonalds small size pop.

[roadman65]

Taco Salad at Taco Bell. Another reason to "Run"  from the border.

[MoiraPrime]

Slightly off topic... it's weird that KFC Famous Bowls have stayed on the menu as long as they did. It really seems like something that would be taken off the menu. Heck, it even features popcorn chicken, which has been taken off the menu once before at KFC.

[abefroman329]

Slightly off topic... it's weird that KFC Famous Bowls have stayed on the menu as long as they did. It really seems like something that would be taken off the menu. Heck, it even features popcorn chicken, which has been taken off the menu once before at KFC.

Especially after getting roasted by Patton Oswalt, what, fifteen years ago?