Fast Food Experiences

I’m in the McDonald’s in Millinocket and there is a guy sitting at the table in front of me quizzing the young employee about McDonald’s. He began by asking what McDonald’s was known for, then asked about several of its products, its history, and how long th McDonald’s in Millinocket has been here, and this young man had all the answers, although he looks to be in his teens, and I haven’t seen him here before. It’s surprising to find a McDonald’s employee so enthused about his work, let alone a customer who cares.

We might go to McDonald's once every 6 months or so. When the kids were young it was their favorite place to go, but that was back when McD's had the playground stuff and cool "Happy Meals."

Nowadays we pick up Chick-fil-a, Dominos pizza, or Chipotle as occasional fast food choices. We also have good local BBQ but I'm not sure that's "fast food."

Have not been to a fast food joint in 20 some years.
The I Know is part of onboarding.

I’m a Sonic person. Best cheese sticks and real milkshakes east of the Mississippi

I stop there on Sunday mornings on my way home from work and get the big breakfast with hotcakes for my wife and her sister (she lives with us). I also get two of their sausage breakfast burritos to chop up an mix in with the dogs' food.

I personally haven't eaten any fast food from any fast food place in easily 20 years.

I live near a pretty significant interchange (in rural terms) of an east/west interstate and a busy north/south intrastate road. There's a long-standing nice motel there, and a second one was just opened less than a year ago. It should be a gold mine. But the places here cannot seem to get their act together.

The service and quality of the IHOP has sucked since before I moved here in 2010. The same goes for the McDonalds. It has to be the worse-run location I've ever been in. Burger King and Wendy's are no better. While most of them have returned to their pre-COVID state, Wendy's is closed more often than it's open. Some of the places that have opened since I got here (like Arby's and Checkers) are perfectly fine, so it's not a local staffing issue.

It's the IHOP that puzzles me the most. This area has grown quite a bit since I got here. IHOP used to be the only game for 20 miles, and except for the new Mexican and Asian places, is still the only non-fast food sit down restaurant. There has literally been no place to go in this rural region, yet they cannot seem to get their act together, so are hardly ever busy when they should have been raking it in hand over fist. Last time I was in there was a few years ago with neighbors, and the current franchisee is not using IHOP-approved food suppliers. My IHOP 1/4# burger looked like it was from one of those frozen 50-paks you get at Walmart. Others had similar complaints.

I've started going to Sheetz (a regional chain of gas stations) to grab a to-go lunch when I'm out. They make subs & sandwiches & other stuff you order from a kiosk with a ton of options. I can get a sub for about $6 that I'll make 2 lunches out of, and the quality is always good. And WaWa (a Sheetz competitor with really good food) is opening up in that same area.

I haven't bought fast food in a long time. I think the last might have been McDonald's drive-through for a couple of breakfast burritos over 2 years ago. The time before that was maybe a year earlier, Burger King drive-through for a couple of Rodeo Burgers.

It's not some point of pride, I'm just not tempted. Current prices are probably even scarier.

These days I'd probably go pick up pizza before anything else. Something I can squeeze a few days out of for the same price.

I might just be the only American that has eaten @ McDonalds once ! I'll spare ya the long story but back in the late 60s one of them opened near where i worked. It was one of those that was not an eat-in restaurant ,just a hamburger stand. The food was so bad, I just never tried it again.

Maybe someday , I'll give them another try.

Buck Bailey said:

I might just be the only American that has eaten @ McDonalds once ! I'll spare ya the long story but back in the late 60s one of them opened near where i worked. It was one of those that was not an eat-in restaurant ,just a hamburger stand. The food was so bad, I just never tried it again.

Maybe someday , I'll give them another try.

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I had them the first time in June 1963 when we moved to Virginia from Indiana. I was a kid and hated ketchup on my burger, and they didn't do special orders. I was not impressed, either, but have been back many times.

Back in the midwest, fast food places served hot dogs and root beer.



Started in 1953 (a year before I was born) with 20 still in operation.

We had a Dog n Suds in Stephenson, Michigan, where I went to high school. It wasn't there long, though.

John Brunner said:

I had them the first time in June 1963 when we moved to Virginia from Indiana. I was a kid and hated ketchup on my burger, and they didn't do special orders. I was not impressed, either, but have been back many times.

Back in the midwest, fast food places served hot dogs and root beer.

Started in 1953 (a year before I was born) with 20 still in operation.

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I remember it well!

There is a hot-dog and root beer place over in Indiana that is the best .... I like the foot long slaw-dog and a large frosty root beer ....... yum-yum !

The only hot dog places I'm familiar with are Der Wienerschnitzel and James Coney Island. I believe there are some of those still operating in the Houston area though I haven't been to one in years. I always wondered why a hot dog place was called "Wienerschnitzel" since that means cutlet or something in German.

@Buck Bailey -- my favorite is also a slaw dog. My sister and BIL owned a small burger joint many years ago and they sold all kinds of sandwiches including slaw dogs. They dropped a hotdog in hot oil to crisp the outside, then put it in a bun and topped with fresh cole slaw. Those things were addictive.

The local Sonic has chili-dogs that are pretty good. I like lots of mustard, chili, and chopped onions on mine.

Beth Gallagher said:

The only hot dog places I'm familiar with are Der Wienerschnitzel and James Coney Island. I believe there are some of those still operating in the Houston area though I haven't been to one in years. I always wondered why a hot dog place was called "Wienerschnitzel" since that means cutlet or something in German.

@Buck Bailey -- my favorite is also a slaw dog. My sister and BIL owned a small burger joint many years ago and they sold all kinds of sandwiches including slaw dogs. They dropped a hotdog in hot oil to crisp the outside, then put it in a bun and topped with fresh cole slaw. Those things were addictive.

The local Sonic has chili-dogs that are pretty good. I like lots of mustard, chili, and chopped onions on mine.

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Back in the 70s I worked a job running service calls in DC. There was a place downtown called Best Of The Wurst. Man, they had some good dogs, Brats, etc.. And there was always a Sabrett's cart nearby regardless of where you were. It was a good time to be alive.

I mentioned Scheetz's food. When you have their discount card, you get 2 hot dogs for 99¢ any time/any day.

John Brunner said:

Back in the 70s I worked a job running service calls in DC. There was a place downtown called Best Of The Wurst. Man, they had some good dogs, Brats, etc.. And there was always a Sabrett's cart nearby regardless of where you were. It was a good time to be alive.

I mentioned Scheetz's food. When you have their discount card, you get 2 hot dogs for 99¢ any time/any day.

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When I was a Costco member, I never skipped the $1.50 hot dog or sausage on a bun. I stopped going to Costco when the kids left home and I didn't need the 55-gallon drum of mayonnaise anymore, plus it's an hour away across town in traffic.

Beth Gallagher said:

When I was a Costco member, I never skipped the $1.50 hot dog or sausage on a bun. I stopped going to Costco when the kids left home and I didn't need the 55-gallon drum of mayonnaise anymore, plus it's an hour away across town in traffic.

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Yeh, COSTCO is something I've joined and then let expire a few times in my life. Maybe if I need a new TV or something expensive it would be worth the cost. I hear that their food court is the stuff of legend, but by the time I've finished shopping I don't feel like hanging around. My nearest one is 25 miles away (before it was built I drove 40 miles to buy bulk stuff I didn't need.)

John Brunner said:

Yeh, COSTCO is something I've joined and then let expire a few times in my life. Maybe if I need a new TV or something expensive it would be worth the cost. I hear that their food court is the stuff of legend, but by the time I've finished shopping I don't feel like hanging around. My nearest one is 25 miles away (before it was built I drove 40 miles to buy bulk stuff I didn't need.)

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I used to almost always go with my BFF, Nancy. We'd hit the food court first, so we wouldn't be hungry while wandering among the industrial-sized bakery items.

Beth Gallagher said:

I used to almost always go with my BFF, Nancy. We'd hit the food court first, so we wouldn't be hungry while wandering among the industrial-sized bakery items.

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I always would hit Applebee's first for Won Ton Tacos and 20 oz pale ale. Maybe a Chocolate Lava desert so no sneaky bakery items followed me home. It was amazing how much money I saved and any twinge of hunger could be satisfied with samples. Only once have I ever bought the product I sampled. I think I still have a 75% full jar of Johnny's Garlic Spread. 10 years past the expiration date, but so am I.

I used to like Burger King Whoppers but they were sooooooo juicy. I liked them because they were actually grilled and tasted of smoke but only ate them a half a dozen times or so. About 10 years ago I went back in to get one. No juice and it had more than just beef in the patty as well as smoke flavoring. I left without it.
Taco bell is bad since about the same 10 years. Hardees held on the longest but the price and grease choice was prohibitive. We have Culvers here that is pretty good and worth the price. They had a hard time during Covid. A lot of places died because of Covid.