Fast food is a vital part of a road trip and a savior on those nights when we're too lazy
to cook. Just because we know our way around a McDonald's or Taco Bell, though, doesn't mean
we don't make mistakes. Here's a look at some of the blunders everyone makes when eating fast food.
Receiving a box of soggy fries just sucks. On the other hand,
eating a fistful of fresh fries can make your week a million times better.
And while it's completely inexcusable that some places can't consistently serve up quality dishes,
the time of day when a person orders their fast food could impact the meal's taste.
First We Feast broke down the ideal times to go to a few of these joints.
You should head to Krispy Kreme at 6 a.m. First We Feast wrote,
"This is your best shot at finding the red light on at Krispy Kreme,
which means that fresh glazed doughnuts are rolling off the conveyor belt."
The prime hour to eat Chipotle is, surprisingly, 3 p.m. According to First We Feast,
"Chipotle has convinced a lot of people who normally scoff at fast food to believe that
it's totally reasonable to eat a baby-size burrito for lunch.
And you know what that means? Lines so long they essentially negate the fast in fast food."
It could also be a smart idea for every foodie to jot down the hours that correlate
with top-notch and terrible fast food meals. Who knows, maybe you'll find a
pattern and can head to your favorite local fast food restaurant at the optimal moment.
"Everything that we do is like at the top, at the tip top."
"Are you just bragging?"
"Yup."
Accidentally ordering too much food isn't typically framed as a noble mistake. A person may
feel guilty about throwing away the things they don't eat, or finish a meal only to feel overfull.
It probably won't surprise you that many fast food chains prompt their
patrons to buy more food than they planned. These places can use their
menu layouts to encourage their customers to get combo meals. Business Insider wrote,
"Even though fast food menus are big,
their confusing layouts make it difficult to find exactly what you're looking for.
It's easiest to read the menu when you're close to the counter. But then, it's time to order.
The pressure is mounting, and you just pick that big, bright, juicy Number Three."
"And now you can get two pieces of my world famous chicken as a $5 fill
up. A secret you can eat for just five bucks. KFC ! It’s finger lickin’ good."
If you end up ordering one of these combo meals as a snap decision,
there's a chance that it'll contain more food than you intended.
It could be worth your time to plan your order before you step into a fast food restaurant.
It might just save you from feeling bummed out at the end of the meal.
Many claim that if you desire the best fries, you should request them unsalted. Foodbeast wrote,
"If you want your fries freshly made to order,
there is something you can do to guarantee that luxury — ask for them without salt.
When you ask for them without salt, McDonald's has to make a new batch of fries just for you."
However, this method of acquiring fresh fries might not be the most effective. One McDonald's
fry cook believes it's better for a customer just to ask for a new batch. The employee said,
"There's a 90% chance that you read some 'life hack' on Reddit
that says to get fresh fries just ask for no salt.
Do you realize you can just ask us for 'fresh,' and we're more likely to give them to you, right?"
Another employee said that asking for no salt could result in your
order receiving fewer fries. The worker said,
"The fry person will need to wipe down the station, the fry scoop,
and clear the area to keep salt from contaminating the new batch. The fry person might not even fill
up your container as full due to this fuss. And if any fries fall out of the bag/container,
they won't put more in because the rest of the fries may have already been salted."
In the anime series Dragon Ball Z, two characters can do a special dance that fuses their minds,
bodies, and souls together. This new individual is more powerful than its combined entities
were separately. And while our fast food items can't perform a series of steps that combine
them into an all-powerful warrior, they can be merged to make some mouthwatering dishes.
In 2015, BuzzFeed combined a number of fast food meals from different establishments.
The first fusion was a combination of Dunkin' Donuts' Munchkins and KFC's
Popcorn Chicken. Dubbed "Munchick Popkins," the item apparently had a great flavor.
Spoon University tried a mashup of a McChicken, McDouble,
and Taco Bell's Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes. The article declared,
"The cheese on the potatoes keep the potatoes on top of the sandwich for
the duration of the ride. The chicken between the two beef
patties adds an amazing spice that you never thought you would want."
If you want to be a fast food aficionado, then your mouth should definitely try
the above-mentioned meals. Or, you could become a famous inventor and devise a fusion yourself.
Fast food provides an easy and affordable meal, but we could be saving even more.
One TikTok user broke down a cost-effective way to purchase Mcnuggets from McDonalds. The user wrote,
"Instead of ordering the ten-piece, which is $5.79,
get two six-pieces for $2 [each]. You do the math."
However, it's worth noting that the price can vary depending on your location.
A news editor at Delish reported that this hack wouldn't have worked in her area.
Instead, the editor discovered an entirely different nugget deal. She wrote,
"In more than half the McDonald's locations I checked,
it was actually cheaper to get three four-piece McNuggets
($1.30 each at one location) than it was to get a ten-piece ($4.50 at that same location)."
Both of these findings tell you the same thing, though. You should check to see if
buying duplicates of a small serving is cheaper than getting a larger portion.
Back in 2014, a Reddit user posted the question:
"Fast food workers of Reddit, what should we NOT order at your restaurant?"
A ton of different accounts had something to say about this subject.
The thread even ended up getting around 3,000 responses. Multiple people claiming
to have worked at Panera Bread stated that the restaurant's pasta is pre-made.
Another user said that they were a former Little Caesars manager and revealed that the chain's
Crazy Bread, Jalapeno Bread, and Italian Bread aren't dressed with real butter. The user wrote,
"It's some nasty imitation that comes in a huge bottle and does not need to be refrigerated."
That being said, the quality of any franchise's item can change depending on which location you
brought it from. It could be worth your time to ask the employees at your local
joints which products they actively avoid or, at least, which ones they recommend.
Look, we all know that fast food is meant to be, well, fast. But if you have the time, a bit of
patience, and several basic cooking skills, then you can elevate these meals to a whole new level.
Chef Cassi Faust turns Krispy Kreme's glazed doughnuts into incredible sandwiches. She said,
"For the best grilled cheese sandwich of your life,
slice a doughnut in half and fill it with deli ham or bacon and cheese with the sliced sides [of the
doughnut halves] facing down. Butter a skillet, grill your sandwich on both sides, and enjoy!"
Another chef, Lewis Donald, said that one of his favorite concoctions is Wendy's chili mixed with
his homemade macaroni and cheese. He described this combo being a "yummy chili-mac dish."
Hopefully these examples will inspire you to
make your own homemade meals with fast food ingredients.
If your body is craving a cold drink on a scorching hot summer day, you may be
thinking about adding a ton of ice. But you'd get a lot more liquid if you simply skipped the ice.
A news editor at Times Colonist explained why we should order our drinks without ice. He wrote,
"Ice dominates. The drink — orange juice, soft drink,
mineral water — fades to the background, and your tongue is numbed by the cold."
If you're mildly concerned that ordering a beverage without ice
could irritate a fast food worker, he explained,
"When I ask for a drink with no ice, restaurants and bars have been happy to oblige.
The request must be frequent, because there is never a quizzical look, or a sigh of annoyance."
Hack The Menu wrote,
"Secret Menus at restaurants are comprised of unofficial and unadvertised selections
that fast food chains will make when ordered but that do not exist on their regular menus." These
underground items are exciting, of course, but ordering and eating these
sort of meals may not actually live up to their hype. Delish revealed,
"Something on the secret menu is pretty much never going to be as good as something on the
normal menu. The lovely people making your food [...] have been trained and prepped to
make a certain number of items that are readily available for everyone to order.
Think about how whacky it gets when you try to make one simple modification to your meal."
Thrillist also investigated and discovered that certain restaurants do indeed serve secret menu
items, but these places are the exception. So if you're dead set on ordering an unlisted creation,
you should ask your neighborhood spots if they genuinely make them.
If you're a Chipotle fan that loves a good deal,
you may want to follow Bustle's instructions. Bustle wrote,
"The ultimate way to work the system at Chipotle is to order a bowl instead of a burrito or tacos.
You may be grumbling about not having a tortilla, but here is where the genius
comes in. When you order a bowl, you generally get more of everything."
If you get this item, you're also allowed to request a tortilla or taco shell — which is free.
And voilà, you can now make your very own super-packed meal.
"You get to walk right in. You see me making your chicken. This is gonna be in your bowl."
This hack may work at other fast food franchises too.
It could be worth your time to ask for a burrito bowl and a tortilla the next time
you're at a non-Chipotle establishment, like Moe's Southwest Grill or Qdoba Mexican Eats.
A lot of folks eat while using their phones. The Orlando Sentinel wrote,
"In a study commissioned by Nutrisystem, it was discovered that nearly one in
three Americans can't get through a meal without being on their phone.
Out of 2,000 people surveyed, 29 percent of people said that they are on their phone during meals."
But just because it can feel normal to be on your cell while you're chowing
down some fast food doesn't mean that this behavior will make you happy.
In 2018, Time interviewed Elizabeth Dunn and Ryan Dwyer about a study they helped
author — and what was found was pretty shocking. Time explained,
"Phone use during a meal led to a modest but noticeable decrease in diners' enjoyment,
according to their research [...] Technology at
the table caused people to feel more distracted and less socially engaged."
If you're eating fast food with your buddies, then you may as well enjoy it as much as humanly
possible. That may mean putting Instagram away for 30 minutes, but it'll be worth it in the end.
If you're a child, or an adult trying to relive their childhood,
then there's no better order than a Happy Meal. You get a cup of juice,
a couple snacks, and a plastic toy to distract you for a couple of minutes.
Nevertheless, children can sometimes be messy creatures, and the Happy Meal is a box instead
of a plate. Fortunately, Rebecca Maufe made a TikTok that reveals how you can transform
a Happy Meal carton into a platter that's easier to eat from. Near the bottom of the box,
there is a small tab that you can pull. If you tug on this tab, it turns into a long strip of
cardboard that separates the top part of the container from the bottom. Maufe's video shows
that if you follow these simple instructions, then you'll end up with the perfect plate.
Isn't mathematics incredible? Not only did it help get humankind safely onto the moon,
but it can also be used to optimize your fast food pizza order. Fermat's Library tweeted,
"Here's a useful counterintuitive fact.
One 18-inch pizza has more 'pizza' than two 12-inch pizzas."
Mathematician Eddie Woo then responded to this tweet and outlined why an 18-inch pizza
is much more substantial than a 12-inch pizza. His explanation acknowledged that the 18-inch doesn't
seem that much larger than the 12-inch. However, this pie is six inches bigger in every direction.
The 18-inch pizza is therefore 20 percent larger than the 12-inch pizza.
Pizza Hut has large pizzas that are only 14 inches. In fact, this seems to be the
standard size for a large. But even these large ones could be a better value than a medium.
In 2017, Big Think did the math to work out whether or not Pizza Hut's medium cheese was
cheaper per square inch than its large cheese. The medium cheese costs $8.83 per square inch,
and the large cheese costs $7.79 per square inch.
So, there you have it, ordering a large pizza is potentially better than defaulting to a medium.
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