Fast Food Restaurant of Choice

[Kirby]

Assume you are on a long drive on a highway and you stop for a rest break.  You are short on time, so you don't have a chance to drive to a town off the highway or look for a local sit down restaurant, diner or even a Cracker Barrel.   So you're going to have to choose one of the standard fast food places at the rests stop to get something to eat.  Which would you choose?  McDonalds, Burger King, Chick Fil-A, Dominos/Little Ceasar, Subway, Nathans?  I'm probably forgetting some, so feel free to choose a different one that you're likely to find along the highway.

[Kzoo]

Chick Fil-A

[shootingstar]

Tim Horton's.... for a chain, I like a jalpeno toasted bagel with abit of "butter" or cream cheese. A dark coffee with milk Their muffins aren't too grossly large nor fatty either. Heck, I could take an apple fritter if I'm in the middle of nowhere.  Or a BLT.

For a  self-loaded long cycle touring trip out in rural areas....I would prefer Tim Horton's because they offer a broader range of meal choices while in need of fuel, to sustain but not feel so lousy that one is eating pure crap.   I have memories where dearie and I would be cycling for several hrs. in rural areas....a donut shop is god-send.

I don't naturally gravitate towards a hamburger.  Nor do I care for deep fried food except for a good donut (no icing, please).

 

[Philander Seabury]

Wendy’s. 

[jdc2000]

Subway

 

[Old No. 7]

Like the adult pull-ups, it Depends. How much time do I have? If I'm in a rush, Chic fil A or a Wendy's drive thru and I'll eat at 70 mph. If I am need of a break and have the time, Cracker Barrel is good. A lot of choices and their coffee is decent enough.

[Tizeye]

PB&J out the trunk of the car.

[maddmaxx]

Which ever one looks like I won't get sick from.  If I'm eating in the car than it has to be simple so it doesn't end up in my lap.  Chic fil A tenders might do.

[Airehead]

Wendy's or Sheetz if given a choice.  Choices that can be eaten in the car.

[Square Wheels]

Salad sweetgreen.  We get it every Thu.  We make our own salads on Mon and Wed.

[petitepedal]

Of late my fast food go to is an impossible whopper   I think I have had 3 since April. Thinking about places I encounter on the road (I tend to eat while driving during the day and do something sit down at night. Subway might be another choice.

Try to avoid  chains..except on road trips.

[Dottles]

Chick-Phallus or Jersey Mikes.

[Prophet Zacharia]

Whatever’s closest, I can make it work.

[Further]

Popeyes

[BR46]

Our choices in this town are Dairy Queen, McDonald's and SubWay.

I prefer Wendy's for a grab and go. 

[shootingstar]

When one goes long-distance cycle touring ..for several consecutive days/wks., you really begin to appreciate the chain outlets in rural areas or on edge of unfamiliar cities/towns.  For sure, I've enjoyed some independent places... though admittedly for some, I don't want to eat deep-fried food for breakfast..

[Mr. Beanz]

Del Taco.  But I'll be hungry again within 30 minutes. FF just don't satisfy me. 

[shootingstar]

Interestingly in Europe, for the routes we did, we hardly encountered any fast food places...I guess their zoning bylaws might be stricter along their pathways. Can't speak for much experience in true suburbia vs. tiny picturesque villages.

[JerrySTL]

Sonic. Subway or McDonald's otherwise. 

[shootingstar]

I noticed in Spain and France, their version of fast food....was ie. lousier croissants.  You could tell by flat pastry and more wooden...if you ate freshly baked croissants by a trained pastry chef in North America before going to Europe. Big difference.  It helps to enjoy a trip overseas,...to experience certain first common foods found for a culture, if you can before travelling.

[Airehead]

1 hour ago, JerrySTL said:

Sonic. Subway or McDonald's otherwise. 

Our sonic is the worst. 

[Bikeguy]

7 hours ago, Kirby said:

So you're going to have to choose one of the standard fast food places at the rests stop to get something to eat.  Which would you choose? 

OK...  if I HAVE to choose...  probably Subway. 

That said... we gave up on fast food places.    I had to look (Quicken has all of our financial data).  These are the dates of the last visits to a fast food restaurant.   McDonalds 3/8/18;  Subway 2/21/19;  KFC 2/29/19;  Pizza Hut 6/12/19;  Burger King 1/27/20;  Wendy’s 5/27/20; 

[ChrisL]

Like @Mr. Beanz Del Taco.  The item I get the most is their breakfast burrito.  I have (well had) a standing Thursday coffee meeting with the team and afterwards would hit a DT on my way back to the office.  

[MickinMD]

It would either be Chick-Fil-A or Arby's if I had a choice.  Of course, I've been on some 50-miles-between-exits Interstates where the only restaurant at each exits was a McD's or a Hardee's - which we don't have locally but I remember there were a lot of them along I-90 in Minnesota at exits where you wondered if more than 100 people lived within 5 miles of it - etc. and they're all fine when you're hungry.

[team scooter]

While on road trips, I have destination tunnel vision. Every minute we're not on the road is another mile/time missed towards our destination. Plus we usually have the dogs with us, so our restaurant choices are whatever fast food restaurants are available when we need gas. We have a system. I'll fuel up the car while Mrs gets the food. And we all go potty (including the dogs) before we get back on the road.

[Airehead]

5 minutes ago, team scooter said:

While on road trips, I have destination tunnel vision. Every minute we're not on the road is another mile/time missed towards our destination. Plus we usually have the dogs with us, so our restaurant choices are whatever fast food restaurants are available when we need gas. We have a system. I'll fuel up the car while Mrs gets the food. And we all go potty (including the dogs) before we get back on the road.

This is why I love a stop at at Sheetz. Clean bathrooms, fuel, decent sandwiches, and usually a grass area for the dogs. In and out in less than 15 minutes. 

[KrAzY]

Whataburger is a must, Culvers in a hard solid second, McDonalds in third, Wendys in fourth

[Kirby]

29 minutes ago, Airehead said:

This is why I love a stop at at Sheetz. Clean bathrooms, fuel, decent sandwiches, and usually a grass area for the dogs. In and out in less than 15 minutes. 

I've never heard of Sheetz before.  Just looked up where they're located.  I'll keep an eye out next time I'm in one of their states.

[Philander Seabury]

2 minutes ago, Kirby said:

I've never heard of Sheetz before.  Just looked up where they're located.  I'll keep an eye out next time I'm in one of their states.

Do you have Wawas up there? 

[Airehead]

4 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

Do you have Wawas up there? 

No but when we go to Maryland we look for wawas. I like their egg salad. 

[Kirby]

6 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

Do you have Wawas up there? 

Not near me either.  Although my friends in southern NJ swear by them.

[Philander Seabury]

Just now, Kirby said:

Not near me either.  Although my friends in southern NJ swear by them.

My wife says their hoagies went downhill.   I liked them because you could load them up with peppers and such for no extra charge.

[2Far]

I eat a lot of chicken fingers. Mostly Zaxby’s, KFC, Church’s. I’d certainly do a Del Taco if available, Chic-fil-a is OK. I’ve done the arby’s sammy, but toss the bun. Wendy’s for chili (for about $0.35 they’ll put cheese in it) & a frosty. Sonic’s good for the burger, tots snd a diet limeade. 

[Wilbur]

On the rare occasion I eat fast food, Chick Fil A.  Maybe a regional burger joint a couple times a year. 

[BR46]

1 hour ago, team scooter said:

While on road trips, I have destination tunnel vision. Every minute we're not on the road is another mile/time missed towards our destination. Plus we usually have the dogs with us, so our restaurant choices are whatever fast food restaurants are available when we need gas. We have a system. I'll fuel up the car while Mrs gets the food. And we all go potty (including the dogs) before we get back on the road.

That's pretty much what we do 

[Bikeguy]

2 hours ago, team scooter said:

While on road trips, I have destination tunnel vision. Every minute we're not on the road is another mile/time missed towards our destination.

I gave up on that during the FIRST road trip with WoBG, our grandson, and our dog on a drive to Colorado. 

We got up early ( maybe 4 AM) the Land Rover was loaded the evening before, and WoBG, our grandson and the dog were in the back sleeping on sleeping bags and I drove.   I drove LOTS of miles on the job so hours driving didn't bother me.   Somewhere in western Iowa... WoBG wakes up...   "We need to stop somewhere."    I explained we are on I-80 and the next exit is miles from here.  "We need to stop somewhere."   I explained we don't have a scheduled stop for at least 2 hours.   "It's not a scheduled stop."  Then we will need gas and we can eat, etc...    A few minutes later... my grandson...  "Grandma is blowing chucks!"     

Yeah... we stopped at the next exit and I got the opportunity to cleaning up the mess.    Then converted the back to seating again.    That changed the schedule a lot.   I learned to ask more questions too.  

[sheep_herder]

17 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

I gave up on that during the FIRST road trip with WoBG, our grandson, and our dog on a drive to Colorado. 

We got up early ( maybe 4 AM) the Land Rover was loaded the evening before, and WoBG, our grandson and the dog were in the back sleeping on sleeping bags and I drove.   I drove LOTS of miles on the job so hours driving didn't bother me.   Somewhere in western Iowa... WoBG wakes up...   "We need to stop somewhere."    I explained we are on I-80 and the next exit is miles from here.  "We need to stop somewhere."   I explained we don't have a scheduled stop for at least 2 hours.   "It's not a scheduled stop."  Then we will need gas and we can eat, etc...    A few minutes later... my grandson...  "Grandma is blowing chucks!"     

Yeah... we stopped at the next exit and I got the opportunity to cleaning up the mess.    Then converted the back to seating again.    That changed the schedule a lot.   I learned to ask more questions too.  

My wife has a tendency to get car sick. When she says stop I stop. Also since we are old we each require more frequent stops. Life goes on.

[Bikeguy]

12 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

My wife has a tendency to get car sick. When she says stop I stop. Also since we are old we each require more frequent stops. Life goes on.

I learned that lesson....  

After it was 'over'...   that was when I realized sleeping in the back, probably cause motion sickness.    

Yeah... I stop when WoBG wants to stop.   

[Further]

On rt 19 in West Virginia, right by the New River, is a Biscuit World restaurant. When I stopped there for breakfast there were some older southern women doing the cooking. They made the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten 

But they were elderly and I don’t know how much has changed 

We ate at a different Biscuit World and it was not so good 

[shootingstar]

6 hours ago, MickinMD said:

It would either be Chick-Fil-A or Arby's if I had a choice.  Of course, I've been on some 50-miles-between-exits Interstates where the only restaurant at each exits was a McD's or a Hardee's - which we don't have locally but I remember there were a lot of them along I-90 in Minnesota at exits where you wondered if more than 100 people lived within 5 miles of it - etc. and they're all fine when you're hungry.

 Arby's was 1 fast food place I would have been willing to try.

[shootingstar]

I actually didn't "appreciate" fast food chain restaurants, until I did long-distance, multi-day/wk. bike trips.  Or when I worked out in the suburbs way out on the edge of city. Otherwise it was a simple food truck travelling amongst construction sites. And the food truck was pretty basic, unlike inner city food trucks that try to have a creative menu.

[BR46]

It seems like every truck stop that we pull into when on the road has a Subway, Wendy's or McDonald's