Ah, the fast food hamburger

[ysengrin]

I'm confident that most of us have eaten a fast food hamburger/cheeseburger. There are several different fast food chains across the world that make and sell them.

The question (and meme) now is, what "makes" of hamburger/cheeseburger have you eaten? I think the definition of "Fast Food" should be obvious (no gourmet $40 burgers need apply), a "chain" should be more than two or three locations (at some point in time), and the basic hamburger shall be defined as a bun and at least one meat patty (Arby's sliced beef doesn't count).

EDIT: As two commentators have pointed out, fast food involves ordering at a counter as opposed to having a server come to you. If I'd been more awake when I first posted this last night I'd have picked up on this :)

I'm keeping the "sit down" places for general interest, but not considering them fast food.

These are the ones I could think of quickly (feel free to add to the list, especially those regional chains):

A & W's -- yes
Blake's Lotaburger -- no
Burger Chef -- no
Burger King -- yes (some of my earliest memories of "eating out" were at a BK)
Burgerville -- no
Carl's Jr -- yes
Checkers (AKA Rally's) -- no
Dairy Queen -- yes
Dick's Drive-In -- no
Fatburger -- no
FuddRuckers -- yes
Griff's Hamburgers -- yes
Hardee's -- yes
Harvey's -- no
In-n-Out -- yes
Jack In The Box -- yes
Johnny Rockets -- yes
Krystal's -- no
Lick's -- no
McDonalds -- yes
Nation's Giant Hamburgers -- no
Sonic Drive-In -- yes
Steak 'n' Shake -- yes
Wendy's -- yes
Whataburger -- yes
White Castle -- no (I plan on correcting this in the near future)
Yankee Doodle Dandy's -- no

---

And, the not-fast-food places we all came up with ...

Fran's -- no
Red Robin -- yes
Kip's Big Boy -- yes
Denny's -- yes

Comments

[alohawolf.livejournal.com]

When I think of cheeseburger, I think of In-N-Out, shows where I grew up I suppose.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

It was Burger King and Whataburger when we lived in Dallas (1960's), then Dairy Queen after we moved until a McDonald's finally opened twenty miles from us in the 1980's

[xsg.livejournal.com]

You totally missed an opportunity to say that you've eaten Dick's...

Or maybe that you haven't...

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

*gryn* added

[flashfire.livejournal.com]

I had a Fatburger back in May. Pretty forgettable.

I guess you wouldn't be able to count Nation's as a fast food place.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

I'd somehow never heard of either -- but they're added to the list now :)

Nations fits price & size wise, and they can't be any slower than Denny's or Kip's.

[flashfire.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you can get Nations locally. Their cheeseburgers are decent, though they use Miracle Whip normally.

The Fatburger I went to was down in the Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga area. They're mainly SoCal, though I think there are one or two in the Bay Area. Not worth a special trip to one, IMO.

[akseawolf.livejournal.com]

What, no White Castle or Krystal?

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

I've only been close to White Castle a few times, and haven't made it in to eat a burger (I don't count those White Castle frozen burgers at the supermarket)

[torrle.livejournal.com]

Same for me. I've never had White Castle. We could brave it together or somethin'. ;)

And until a few months ago, never had Nation's either. They have take-home pies for cheep.

[flashfire.livejournal.com]

When I was in New Orleans earlier this year I saw a Krystal on Bourbon Street, just off Canal. It was actually a nice, quick little diversion in place of all the corner hot dog stands and pizza places. ;-)

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I've only been to three of those, myself, including one (White Castle) I can't go to again because they don't operate over here, and one (Burger King) I will never go to again in my life even if they're the last eatery on the planet. :)

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

BK seems to be the least consistent of the national chains (the one in Denton, TX near NTSU was vile every time I've been to it).

For several years, Jack-in-the-box was cutting flavoring their patties with something I was violently allergic to. I couldn't take more than a couple of bites without projectile vomiting. They stopped using whatever it was after a few years, but I'm now conditioned to avoid them like the plague.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that's pretty bad.

I've only ever been to BK twice myself, admittedly. The first time I went, I felt so sick afterwards that I thought I'd vomit (I didn't actually, but I felt like it); the second time, years later and in a different town, I thought I'd give them another chance, but the exact same thing happened again, so... no, no BK for me anymore. :P

Some from Canadia

[torrle.livejournal.com]

Lick's
Harvey's
Fran's (more sit-down than fast food)

Also, if you're counting other US chains that are a little more sit-downy, don't forget buttfuc.. FuddRuckers.

I figure part of the definition of fast food is that you order at a counter instead of sitting at a table and being waited on.

Re: Some from Canadia

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

Agreed on the definition :) List updated.

Re: Some from Canadia

[torrle.livejournal.com]

And y'know, I think there's another chain to be added yet, but I'm failed on the name until googling it up.

Portillos Hot Dog Inc in the Chicago area (there's one 2 miles west of the old MFF hotel on Golf Rd). Not sure if they extend beyond that, but they're a chain, have burgers, and are over-the-counter ordering. Too much of a stretch?

Ruby Tuesdays came to mind, but they're totally sit-down.

Re: Some from Canadia

[linnaeus.livejournal.com]

They're better known for their hot dogs and Italian beef, but yeah, they do serve burgers which aren't bad. They're mostly in the Chicago area, but they have a couple of locations in Buena Park and Moreno Valley in California, for some reason.

[linnaeus.livejournal.com]

Blake's Lotaburger
Maid Rite Does a "loose meat" hamburger count?

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

List updated; I'm gonna draw the line with the loose meat hamburger, though, however historically they may have been called hamburgers.

[linnaeus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a fine line. :) Are we considering defunct burger places as well? Ever eaten at a Burger Chef? My first memories of eating a fast food burger are of one. Apparently a few hung on under the Burger Chef name until the mid nineties until being converted into Hardees. I could go for a Big Shef right now. :)

Somewhat more obscurely, Chicago used to be rife with Yankee Doodle Dandys, with their specialty Dandy Burger, basically a whopper with thousand island dressing. Man, this stuff is clearly taking up too much of my brain.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

Defunct is fine -- I think Griff's is gone :)

[chazz93.livejournal.com]

I think I have to take issue with your definition of "fast food". In my experience any place where you put your order in at a counter or speaker, get your food at the counter and have to carry it to a table is fast food. If you are seated at a table, presented with a menu, give your order to a sever then you are at a sit down restaurant, not fast food.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

Agreed, and the original entry has been updated.

[linnaeus.livejournal.com]

I'll note that Fuddrucker's technically meets your definition, but they're slow enough in calling you back to get your food that I won't argue the point. :)

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

Hmmm ... that may be different at different Fuddruckers; I remember food being brought to the table by a waitress the one time I ate at one, though I'm hazy about the ordering part.

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

... and a quick check shows that most of 'em don't do this (if any do/did, might be my memory). Moved.

[kit-ping.livejournal.com]

Burgerville, now only in northern Oregon/Southern Washington, does good burgers, fantastic seasonal sweet onion rings, and fresh berry shakes. Yummy. :)

[ysengrin.livejournal.com]

Added (and sounds good)

[sk-1.livejournal.com]

Five Guys - Oh HELL Yes!

Best chain burgers I've ever tasted :-9

[sk-1.livejournal.com]

And I've also had sit-down burgers at Chili's and the Orlando Ale House before. They weren't too bad.

[wildfox34.livejournal.com]

A&W, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Hardee's, In-N-Out, Jack In The Box, Krystal's, McDonalds, Steak 'N Shake, Wendy's, and White Castle are the places off your fast food list that I've had burgers at. Wendy's are my favorite out of all of them!

FuddRuckers isn't fast food... atleast I don't think they are? Never been in one, but they don't appear to be a fast food place. And I think Steak-N-Shake technically isn't a fast food place either. I know you can buy and carry out, but it's primarly a dine-in.

[torrle.livejournal.com]

Oh, since it's somewhat relevant.. there's a fast food oddity at this location in Toronto. At the time I was last there (and I presume that it's still like this), it's a TacoBell, KFC and Pizza Hut all under one roof. But there's more!

Check the link and take a look at the satellite image. The area in the middle is the kitchen and the counters for ordering are to the south. And to the east? That's a dinning room, where you wait to be seated, are given menus, and are waited on.

...for fast food. On plates, not trays.

[akseawolf.livejournal.com]

I can't believe nobody mentioned Wienerschnitzel. Chili cheezeburgers with chili cheeze dogs and chili cheeze fries. Heart attack on a tray.

I'd say that Taxi's fits the definition too.

[3catsjackson.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Taxi's -- local, but fairly forgettable, and only barely skirting under the $40 mark.

Also not so local, but much much better, is Tommy's. I have no idea how they manage to combine such low-grade ingredients into something so cravable. Gestalt on a bun...