Fast Food Burgers

 

Fast food burgers are the most popular food in the U.S. I thought I would make my inaugural post about fast food burger chains.  There are so many to choose from.  This post covers a total of eight popular chains, some regional and some international.  Naturally, I could have visited a different restaurant on every day of the month and still not covered them all.   I did not visit some popular places for reasons I will not discuss here.  But, in order to keep the list manageable, I limited the scope to include a couple of the usual suspects as well as some regional and up and coming chains that, if they are not already in your town, will likely reach you eventually as the chains continue to envelope the rest of the U.S..  

During July 2021, I visited the following (in chronological order of my visits)

1. Whataburger
2. In-N-Out Burger
3. Culver's
4. Shake Shack
5. Burger King
6. Smashburger
7. Five Guys
8. Wendy's

Naturally, we all have our favorites and our patronage is often driven by convenience as opposed to quality or price.  Some of these places I chose due to their growth, reputation, and anecdotal stories from others (Whataburger, In-and-Out, Culvers, Smashburger and Shake Shack). Burger King and Wendy's were included because over the years, these chains have been my fast-food "go-to" places.  When I was a child, my grandparents would take me to Burger King after church for a Whopper and a chocolate shake.  I always favored the char-broiled taste of their burgers over the alternatives.  Though it has been a while since I have had a regular Whopper (I have recently eaten several Impossible Whoppers, but non-meat burgers will be the topic of a future post), I decided that I needed to include Burger King because I always felt they had the best tasting burger among the fast-food chains.  Wendy's was included for comparison because I felt they too had a pretty tasty burger for the money, although I must admit that until recently, it had been a long time since I had eaten one of Dave's burgers.  

Here is how I ranked them:

#1. In-N-Out Burger

The top spot goes to In-N-Out Burger.  They offer very good food quality, operational efficiency and good value for the money. This Double Double combo meal cost only $8.75 with tax.  Although the drive-thru line was long, once I ordered and paid, my order was prepared accurately and with dispatch.  The burger included two meaty patties, two slices of cheese, traditional toppings and sauce to make the entire sandwich very tasty without being greasy.  The burger was encased in a bag that made the sandwich very easy to eat while containing any potential mess from condiments or sauce dripping into my lap.   The hamburger patties themselves did not have any special taste usually associated with grilling or added butter and the ample bun was lightly toasted.  Condiments on the sandwich included lettuce, tomato, onion and a special sauce that all made the burger very flavorful.  The sauce appeared to be some combination of mayo, ketchup, yellow mustard and pickle relish. A quick internet search confirmed my taste buds were mostly right and suggested the sauce also includes white vinegar, salt and pepper - all good ingredients to add savory flavor to an otherwise plain hamburger. 

Overall, this was a great experience.  I have eaten the Double Double on a couple of other occasions when traveling "out west."  The first time was while I was standing on a beach in Monterey California watching the sun set.  This visit was during the lunch rush in Arizona near a retail strip center - certainly not as memorable but very good nonetheless.  

#2. Culver's 

Double Butter Burger Combo.  The first thing I noticed when I opened the box containing the burger was the bun.  The top bun looked different from all the rest - someone clearly employed more advanced baking techniques in the production of these buns to give it a multi-layered, almost brioche-like appearance and texture.   The "Butter Burger" name apparently comes from applying butter from the Alcam Creamery dairy in Wisconsin to the crown (top) of each bun.  The chain claims everything is made-to-order and their meats are fresh and never frozen. The made-to-order part is a little hard to believe because my order was delivered so quickly.  I think what they mean to say is that the burger is "assembled-to-order" suggesting everything is fully prep'd, cooked and ready to go. Despite the marketing rhetoric, the result an excellent burger that is a cut above most of the rest.  

After taking a bite, the combination of lightly toasted buttered bun, sliced pickles, onion, tomato and two slices of American cheese culminated in another very tasty burger.  No special sauce was apparent, however, that might have masked the taste of a really good burger and fresh bun.  A dip and squeeze packet of Heinz Ketchup was a nice touch to go with the fries - much preferred to the typical packets used by most restaurants which require the messy exercise of tearing open multiple packets just to get enough ketchup for even the smallest order of fries.  

The combo meal cost $10.21 with tax including a small drink which was very reasonable given the overall quality of this experience. 

#3. Wendy's

 

Dave's Double Cheese Combo Meal - OK, I know.  You're saying, "Wendy's?  Really?"  Yeah really!  Like I said in the opening, I wanted to compare Wendy's in the interest of completeness.  I honestly did not have very high expectations for Wendy's in a head-to-head comparison with the newer burger chains.  When businesses like In-N-Out Burger, Shake Shack, Five Guys, Smashburger, et. al., have achieved such phenomenal growth and rave reviews, they did that by differentiating themselves from the incumbents a-la, Burger King, Carl's Jr., McDonalds, White Castle, Rally's, Wendy's, Jack-in-the Box, and the like.  To differentiate, you need a better value proposition.  Translating the B-school speak, this boils down to lower cost, faster delivery, higher quality or simply doing what the incumbents are already doing, but doing it better.  In my estimation, once a chain reaches a certain size, it's all about making money for the franchisees and shareholders and what once made them different, now makes them all the same.  They end up using unskilled labor to slap together the cheapest possible ingredients in hopes that marketing, advertising and convenience will allow the chain to grow the top line while adding to the bottom line.   I get it.  Once the business reaches a maturity level, there are few ways to grow aside from putting one on every corner and eventually, that will get you in trouble.  

But here's why Wendy's got the #3 spot.  The line at the drive through was long - eight cars ahead of me just to get up to the ordering kiosk.  The line moved quickly.  I am generally not one to wait in lines, especially when the line is not moving.  This was not a problem.  This Wendy's was jammin', firing on all cylinders or whatever you want to call it.  Once I placed my order, I proceeded to the payment window, drove to the next window, was handed my drink and a bag and the process was complete.  Boom!  They got the order right including napkins and a straw (I know this should not be a surprise but more often than not, when I go through any drive-thru, upon inspecting my order, something is almost always missing).  My only criticism - they never asked if I wanted ketchup, nor did they provide any.  But here's the thing - Wendy's fries looked and tasted like fresh-cut fries.  I doubt they cut their own fries in-house like Five Guys and other higher-end restaurants, but these fries were well seasoned and tasted great.    

Dave's Double Cheese burger was also great.  It tasted about as fresh as any of the burgers I had eaten during this comparison and while juicy (as advertised), it was not greasy.  They also claim their meat is never frozen.  The burger was complete with the standard Wendy's square patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mayo, and onion on a lightly toasted bun.  

Bravo Wendy's, you surprised me.  This Double Cheese combo meal was delicious, fast, correct and reasonably-priced at $8.68 with tax.  

#4. Tie - Whataburger 

Whataburger Combo Meal.  This chain is new to me but I have friends who live in the southwest who swear by this place.  Overall, the restaurant is a clean and fairly straightforward concept with a few cool nuances.  The sandwich was good although there was nothing really special about the burger itself.  One way Whataburger differentiates themselves is through their sauces - which apparently is their thing.  The menu in the restaurant listed eleven different sauces and dressings intended to go with any menu items you choose.  You can also add jalapeno peppers, green chilis, mushrooms, grilled peppers avocado, onions or the obligatory bacon or cheese to your burger - serious individual taste customization for a quick service burger chain.  

I did not opt for any of the special toppings or sauces other than the spicy ketchup to go with the fries. But, after researching a little more, I wish I had.  Frankly, adding avocado, green chilis and some jalapeno ranch to this burger might have earned them my top spot (now I know how to order for next time and so do you!).  Here is the list of sauces which apparently, you can order in the form of a Whataburger Ultimate Variety Sauce and Condiment squirt bottle variety pack through Amazon for $42.20: Fancy Ketchup, Spicy Ketchup, Original Mustard, Honey Mustard, BBQ Sauce and Jalapeno Ranch.  

The tab for this combo meal was only $8.20.  Making this a double cheeseburger would have made the meal $10.14, exceeding the tab at In-N-Out and closer to Culver's.  

#4. Tie - Smashburger 

Single Smash Combo. I hate that the #4 spot ended in a tie, but that is how my scoring methodology shook out.  Smashburger took high marks for taste and freshness.  They were the only chain that shamelessly tried to get you to download their ordering app by sealing your to-go bag with a sticker that you had to peel off to reach your food - frankly, although I did not download the app, I like the approach because they trying to make the chain easier to do business with by eliminating friction in the ordering process.  Point to Smashburger for technology innovation.  

The sandwich was loaded with a fresh leaf of lettuce, three tomato slices, red onion, pickles and cheese.  These are all things I like on my burger along with yellow mustard, ketchup and mayo.  There was plenty of bun although the actual bun did not look as good as in the menu photos.  According to their web site, they also use "Smash Sauce" but I could not find an official description of what is in it.  Rumors on the internet suggest the Smash Sauce ingredient ratios are a closely guarded secret but that it contains mayo, mustard, relish, and lemon juice.  

Overall, the burger was quite tasty indeed.  I found the fries to be relatively pedestrian - thin cut and under seasoned. 

#5 Shake Shack

Double Shack Burger I think the name of this relatively new burger chain is great except that I never saw Shaq the whole time I was there...:-) Seriously, I love the concept, shakes, good burgers using freshly ground beef that is never frozen, no hormones or antibiotics, etc., potato rolls as buns and you can even get gluten-free buns or a lettuce wrap instead of the potato bun.  One of the best things I like about Shake Shack is that you can get beer - good beer too!  What's better than beer with your burger?  I mean, seriously.  Or if you want to really load up, they make their own frozen custard for those shakes.  Or, if you're really adventurous, maybe they would make you a genuine beer float...

Overall, the burger was very good but the experience was not the best.  They messed up my order which required a second trip waiting in line the straighten it out.  The dining room was a mess with several tables that had not been cleared, food crumbs and paper on the floor, etc.  Add to the experience the fact that the total tab was the most expensive of the lot - removing the quite excellent Papago Orange Blossom beer from my tab and substituting a regular fountain drink, the tab was $15.52 with tax.  `

Conclusion - I must say I was a little surprised by the results.  Generally, I think you get what you pay for.  However, with respect to fast food burgers, the overall best experiences came from the chains with prices on the lower-end.  Shake Shack is closer to what I might call a "sit-down burger house" but quick service is supposed to be part of their value proposition which explains why they were included here.  I like burger places that server beer because burgers and beer go together like beer and pizza.  Frankly, I would love to see more places take a from the Shake Shack and Smashburger play books and add beer to their menus.  Overall, you can get a good, relatively quick bit at any of these places, especially when they are firing on all cylinders.  I feel that the two chains that did not make the cut have some work to do.  Maybe they were having a bad day or maybe they have operational issues that are going to require time to work out.  Your experience may vary. Either way, when I am in a hurry and looking for a decent quick service burger experience, I will focus on the top end of my list.   

Next - Rather than trying to re-create the In-N-Out Burger, I thought I would create a really awesome fast food burger that could rival the best of the burgers presented here.  Check my Fast Food Burgers - Mike Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is segment for details.