102 replies to this topic

[Dave the Cook]

Honestly, I'm surprised that Freddy's doesn't get more play in the "best burger" discussion . . .

It's less surprising if you dig into their "Locations" map a bit. On the surface, it looks like they've got much of the south and west covered. But clicking through reveals that they don't have any actual stores east of the Mississippi, just ones that are "Coming Soon!" None yet in New Mexico, Wyoming or (as Scoop points out) Nevada. There's but one store in California (Victorville).

[Chris Hennes]

True: even though In'n'Out is very regional, they do have almost 300 locations, it looks like Freddy's is under 100.

[Chris Hennes]

I finally got to an In-n-Out today (in Ft. Worth). I got two double-doubles, one Animal Style and one with mustard, pickles and onions. The toppings on the Animal Style were good: fresh, with a nice flavor, even from the tomato. The beef had good flavor, but doesn't deserve all the praise it gets, in my opinion. It also suffered in the texture category. Maybe it's just the new locations in Texas, but if this chain wasn't so famous I wouldn't have even bothered posting about it. It was good: it was NOT great. And the fries had a half life of about thirty seconds.

[FrogPrincesse]

I finally got to an In-n-Out today (in Ft. Worth). I got two double-doubles, one Animal Style and one with mustard, pickles and onions. The toppings on the Animal Style were good: fresh, with a nice flavor, even from the tomato. The beef had good flavor, but doesn't deserve all the praise it gets, in my opinion. It also suffered in the texture category. Maybe it's just the new locations in Texas, but if this chain wasn't so famous I wouldn't have even bothered posting about it. It was good: it was NOT great. And the fries had a half life of about thirty seconds.

Personally, I never understood what the big deal was with In-n-Out. There is one down the street from where I live, and I don't think it's anything special. Sure, it's better than McDonalds, but there are better options. And I really don't care for their fries either.

Locally we have Burger Lounge which I really like. The grass-fed beef that they use has a great flavor, and they use good quality freshly-baked buns.

[Kouign Aman]

I live with a crazed in n out burger fan, but I me dont get the attraction. Its an acceptable burger with dreadful fries. The option for grilled onions is a plus. Still no one ranking Wendy's in the mix?

[BadRabbit]

I live with a crazed in n out burger fan, but I me dont get the attraction. Its an acceptable burger with dreadful fries. The option for grilled onions is a plus. Still no one ranking Wendy's in the mix?

Of the Big 3, Wendy's is clearly the best IMO. I don't think it holds up well against some of the smaller chains though.

[rocketshipdog]

According to the 2011 Zagat Poll Wendy's is the best drive through chain. I would agree with this. There has been a lot of talk about how Wendy's seems to have cut the salt content of their burgers and I personally prefer the texture of their meat to McDonalds. I think the Wendy's Hot and Juicy is a solid competitor to In and Out and Five Guys although I know this is blasphemy in some circles. I also like Wendy's french fries because they retain some resemblance to the potato they are cut from.

Edited by rocketshipdog, 02 May 2012 - 02:35 PM.

[Pierogi]

Let's be clear. NO ONE goes to In 'N' Out for the fries. No one.

They are marginally (marginally....) better if you order them well done, but they are still meh. They only single-cook them, and even though they are fresh, not frozen potatoes, cut in-store throughout the day, they suck.

I can't speak to the quality in other areas as the franchise has expanded Eastward. But in the LA basin, the 'burgers rock.

[ScottyBoy]

Well somehow I like the fries...

[Charcuterer]

With Chris' review of Freddy's I am happy to see that Nashville is going to be getting a store soon. I've not tried it so I'm eagerly waiting.

I am a fan of 5 Guys (with sauteed onions and mushrooms, mayo and lettuce.) and I even like the fries. Wendy's has always been my "go to" fast food but something has changed recently. I think that they may have changed their seasoning mix because every time I eat there I get, ahem, gastric distress. Three visits in the last year and three, er... episodes. Since three stops being coincidental I guess I have to swear off Wendy's.

[pyrguy]

Just tried Freddy's in Chandler,az.

Probably the best fast good burger ever.

Suffering through a concrete, just for research you understand. :D

[4NICK8ER]

Genos, a newly re-incarnated chain from the 70's with two locations in the Philly area
(king of prussia and Bensalem) and one in Maryland somwhere are making a very good "fast food" style burger, made fresh to order. served hot with a nice sear and the cheese melts very nice into into the meat. fries, while may be frozen are quite good. pricier than fast food, a combo double burger with fries and drink is just about 10 bucks.

tasty !!

www.ginosgiant.com

[jsmeeker]

I finally got to an In-n-Out today (in Ft. Worth). I got two double-doubles, one Animal Style and one with mustard, pickles and onions. The toppings on the Animal Style were good: fresh, with a nice flavor, even from the tomato. The beef had good flavor, but doesn't deserve all the praise it gets, in my opinion. It also suffered in the texture category. Maybe it's just the new locations in Texas, but if this chain wasn't so famous I wouldn't have even bothered posting about it. It was good: it was NOT great. And the fries had a half life of about thirty seconds.

I've found the quality of the In-n-Out burgers in Dallas to be just like they are in California.


it's STILL better than McDonalds, Burger King, Jack In the Box, Wendy's etc. etc. while being just about as fast and just about the same price. Sure, there are better burgers. Like Smashburger, Five Guys, etc. But you are jumping up a level in pricing for them.


PS: You are right about the fries. Even in their "prime", they still suck.

[Chris Hennes]

it's STILL better than McDonalds, Burger King, Jack In the Box, Wendy's etc. etc. while being just about as fast and just about the same price.

I will grant you better, but at least at the Ft. Worth location the other day they certainly weren't "just about as fast": the wait was comparable to Freddy's, Smashburger, or Five Guys—McDonalds delivers way faster. It sounds like I've got to actually try Wendy's one of these days... something about "Dave's Hot and Juicy" is less than appealing, I gotta say.

[jsmeeker]

To me, In-n-Out has all the GOOD qualities of chain fast food joint like McDonalds (quick, reasonable price, consistent) without the bad qualities (crappy food).

[ScoopKW]

To me, In-n-Out has all the GOOD qualities of chain fast food joint like McDonalds (quick, reasonable price, consistent) without the bad qualities (crappy food).

In-N-Out is OK. Agreed, better than the big chains. But it still has some problems. One, the cheese. It's really nasty. Almost like plastic. Two, don't order a large fries because they're only good for about 2 minutes after they come out of the fryer. If you're going to eat their fries, eat those first. Before they wilt like old parsley.

Are there any fast-food joints that make proper pomme frite? Poaching in one fryer and then frying in another?

[Chris Hennes]

Still no one ranking Wendy's in the mix?

OK, I finally made it to Wendy's yesterday for lunch, and I agree with the others in this topic: of the Big 3, Wendy's clearly has the superior burger. It's not much of a contest, really. Honestly, I'm not at all sure it's not better than In'n'Out (maybe I am just overreacting to the massive and undeserved I'n'O hype, though). I think my current list goes something like this:

• Freddy's
• Smashburger
• Five Guys
• There is no number four, there is a gap here.
• Braum's
• Wendy's
• In'n'Out
• Whataburger
• McDonalds
• Burger King
• Sonic
• Carl's Jr.

Am I leaving anyone out? What are your lists?

Edited by Chris Hennes, 23 May 2012 - 04:45 PM.
Whoops, forgot Sonic. Mostly 'cuz they are forgettable

[gfweb]

My ranking...
Five guys
Hardees
Burger king
Whataburger

(Big gap)


Bobs Big Boy
Wendy's
Sonic
McDs

[Chris Hennes]

Have you had Wendy's burger recently? It's my understanding that this "Dave's Hot and Juicy" thing is new-ish, and based on my experience I'm surprised to see them so far down your list. I've never eaten at a Bob's Big Boy, but maybe I'll check them out next time I'm in that neck of the woods. Which burger are you rating at BK, by the way? The Whopper?

[gfweb]

Never had a Wendy Burger I liked. I wonder if meat varies around the country.  The Wendy meat here is crappy.<br /><br />For BK I do a double whopper with cheese no pickle no onion, or a double Stacker.   Stackers seem to vary a lot in reproducibility whereas the whopper is the same time after time.<br /><br />Hardees I see rarely and it always surprises me by being so tasty. <br /><br />I forgot Jack in the box. Its in my bottom tier. So is Crystal.

Edited by gfweb, 23 May 2012 - 06:51 PM.

[janeer]

in n out sucks. 5 guys ok

[Chris Hennes]

What's your #1, Jane?

[Pierogi]

On the basis of this thread, when I found myself hungry while out and about running errands a couple of weeks ago, I cruised into the only Wendy's even remotely close to me. It was what I'd consider "late lunch time"....about 1:00 p.m.-ish. I have all of the major chains (Mickey D's, Jack in the Box, BK and Carl's/Hardees) with a mile of me, and 3 In 'N' Outs within the same radius as the Wendy's is. Along with several independent stands. All of which I patronize occasionally. Wendy's, like never.

I have to say.....now I remember why I never patronize Wendy's. The customer service was absolutely abysmal. I was the second person in line, and it took me over 10 minutes to even place my order while the woman in front of me was cell-phoning apparently her entire contact list to firm up her order, while several employees stood around looking bored. Then a soft drink was dumped on my feet when the counter person didn't seal the drink cup properly and tried to pick it up by the top (at least I didn't catch the brunt of the deluge, sadly neither did Ms. Cell Phone). That was actually the best part of the experience.

Another 10 minutes after placing my order, I had my food, and I wished I hadn't. The burger was probably the worst I've had in recent memory. It was worse than I even remember Mickey D's being, and that's saying something. The entire sandwich decomposed in my hand while I ate it, with the bun disintegrating into mush before I was even a quarter of the way through. The burger patty was thin, grey and looked steamed. I *think* there was onion, couldn't really tell in the mushy goo of the bun and tomato. The fries were limp and sort of cold, and I was charged an upcharge for the "special", berry lemonade, which as far as I could tell, just had a shot of high fructose corn syrup "berry" flavored stuff in it.

The restaurant was less than 50% full, as I said at "late-ish" lunch, and this in an area less than a couple of miles from a university, and around many retail outlets and medical offices. 'Nuff said.

No. I won't go back any time soon. I'll stick with Carl's and J in the B if I can't get to one of the independents. Or make my own.

[ScoopKW]

• Freddy's
• Smashburger
• Five Guys
• There is no number four, there is a gap here.
• Braum's
• Wendy's
• In'n'Out
• Whataburger
• McDonalds
• Burger King
• Sonic
• Carl's Jr.

Am I leaving anyone out? What are your lists?

#1 Fatburger
#2 Tommy's Original

And that's the end of my list. I'd rather pull in to a Roberto's or similar Mexican fast food joint than bother with the other hamburger chains. I will certainly try Freddy's when they open in Las Vegas. I went to Five Guys. It was OK. But it wasn't Fatburger or Tommy's by any stretch.

[JAZ]

I tried Fatburger once, and nothing about the experience inclined me to give it even one more try. First, the service was very slow. We didn't go during peak hours (in fact as I recall, only a other customers were in the place besides us) but it took a good 15 minutes to get our food. While that's not too long in regular time, for a "fast food" place, it's forever. Second, the burger was okay, but for the price, a disappointment. We could have spent the same amount at a local non-fast food place and gotten a much better burger, or spent half as much at Burger King and gotten something almost as good.

[Chris Hennes]

#1 Fatburger
#2 Tommy's Original

It's going to be a long time before either chain makes it to Oklahoma, I'm afraid.

[Chris Hennes]

I'll stick with Carl's and J in the B if I can't get to one of the independents.

It's clear that you and I do not share a taste in fast food burgers! Out of curiosity, though, which burger did you order at Wendy's?

[janeer]

What's your #1, Jane?

well, my fave is home. For fast, 5 guys. Haven't had some of the others, including the Freddy's high on one list.
I LOVE a good burger

[earlgrey_44]

Am I leaving anyone out?

Too much East/West coast influence here methinks.

Culvers (mentioned upthread)
Steak 'n Shake (Much praised by Roger Ebert)

Where do they rank? Above Wendys, but I can't compare to the list leaders - not enough FF burger experience...

Edited by earlgrey_44, 24 May 2012 - 09:18 PM.

[Pierogi]

I'll stick with Carl's and J in the B if I can't get to one of the independents.

It's clear that you and I do not share a taste in fast food burgers! Out of curiosity, though, which burger did you order at Wendy's?

Clearly we don't ! What's that old saying about making a horse race (although that, perhaps, is a really bad analogy for a thread about hamburgers......... ).

To be honest, Chris, I can't remember which burger I had at Wendy's. It was so underwhelming, as was the whole experience, I think I erased it from my brain as soon as I pulled my car out of the parking lot.

I am, however, wondering, if the regional differences in purveyors isn't responsible for the vast difference in opinion on good vs. bad, as I believe someone mentioned upthread. Obviously not all the majors follow the Mickey D's lead of sourcing everything from one supplier and one supplier only to ensure consistency across the country. That may explain why Wendy's in the Midwest is good to decent, while Carl's/Hardees sucks and vice versa out here. In all honesty, I don't know anyone out here who likes Wendy's and most, if not all, of the people I know, would take Carl's over the other options, save In 'N' Out.

And I should clarify.....I would choose In 'N' Out in a heartbeat over any other option. ANY other option, including some sit-down restaurants. But sometimes its not so convenient to me, and well, then Carl's does OK. J in the B does sort of OK. All the others aren't even in the game.