We all know them. The McRib. Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets. The PSL. There are just certain
fast food items and restaurants that have gained cult status. Check out these fast food
items that have cult followings and see if you're guilty of placing any of these on a
pedestal.
The elusive McDonald's McRib appears every so often and then disappears. Fast food fans
hear about it through the grapevine and then everyone flocks to the drive-thru for that
mystery pork patty slathered in sauce and topped with pickles and onions. Some will
manage to eat several of the sandwiches before it disappears off the menu again, sometimes
going away for seasons or an entire year at a time.
The McRib, according to one article by The Hustle, originally came about in 1979, when
McDonald's was looking for a solution to a chicken shortage. The restaurant served the
sandwich on the regular menu until 1985, and then from 1994 until 2005. The article speculates
that the McRib may only appear when pork prices are down, as a kind of profit guarantee.
Maybe it's that elusiveness that makes the McRib a cult classic. After all, the people
want what they can't have. The elusiveness has even spawned an online "McRib Locator"
tool that allows fans to chime in when they see the McRib available at a McDonald's location.
You can now find all kinds of weird, pumpkin spice-flavored items, from pumpkin spice salsa
to pumpkin spice Spam. But the OG pumpkin spice treat is Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte,
the abbreviation for which is trademarked, by the way. It not only gave birth to an entire
pumpkin spice industry but also a range of PSL memes. According to The Business of Business,
over the last 17 years, the chain's Pumpkin Spice Latte has generated billions of dollars
— and 1.5 million Instagram posts.
Each year like clockwork, Starbucks rolls out the Pumpkin Spice Latte to eagerly awaiting
fans and, in 2020, the chain rolled it out earlier than ever before, in August. While
Starbucks originally, when introducing the drink in 2003, thought the drink was too over-the-top
to appeal to its customer base, the heavily flavored beverage met instant success. Between
2003 and 2013, Starbucks sold 200 million PSLs, and the PSL, despite its seasonality,
was Starbucks' top-selling drink.
Now, you can find pumpkin spice on just about everything and PSL season is a thing in and
of itself, but there's no doubt this cult favorite is sticking around.
"So ridiculicious. Filet-O-Fish!"
Created to feed Catholics on Fridays during Lent, the Filet-O-Fish might not be the most
popular menu item on McDonald's menu in terms of sales, but it holds its own in terms of
fast food items with a cult following. Rolled out nationwide in 1965 as the first new menu
item to make an appearance on the McDonald's national menu, the sandwich first got its
start in Ohio.
A franchise owner in a Catholic-heavy neighborhood wanted a way to boost sales. According to
Smithsonian Magazine, the sandwich was almost instantly a hit in that Ohio neighborhood.
In fact, in the first month of the Filet-O-Fish's existence, 2,324 total fish sandwiches were
sold, all at that one restaurant.
Today, the Filet-O-Fish still remains popular, and in early 2020, the new McDonald's CEO
introduced a creative twist on the Filet-O-Fish, seasoning with Old Bay, for testing in Mid-Atlantic
states. About 300 million Filet-O-Fish sandwiches are sold each year, with about 25 percent
of those sandwiches still sold during Lent.
It's become a meme by now. The Chipotle guac is extra. We all know. Ask for the guac and
an employee will tell you, though, regardless. The saying has spawned t-shirts, Facebook
groups, and entire self-help books. But beyond the entire culture that exists around Chipotle's
guacamole up-charges and those who want it regardless, employees have their own idea
of what "the cult of Chipotle" actually is.
Employees took to Reddit to air their cult grievances, noting things like,
"I am still waiting for my hooded burrito brothers and sisters to whisk me away into
the night and lobotomize me with guac."
As could be expected, several loyal Chipotle employees came to the brand's rescue.
In terms of fast food restaurants with cult followings, Chipotle honestly seems like the
one that could be most cult-like all on its own — no help from the fans needed.
In 2005, the Crunchwrap Supreme was little more than a seasonal fast food offering. The
hexagon-shaped, tortilla-wrapped portable meal is filled with nacho cheese sauce, beef,
sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes, and it came in at under $2. And it was an instant
success, quickly becoming Taco Bell's most popular menu item, according to QSR Magazine's
report on the Crunchwrap Supreme's move from seasonal item to the permanent menu in 2006.
These days, the Crunchwrap Supreme is a little more expensive, $3.69 on the Taco Bell website,
but it still garners a good amount of loyalty. A simple search for the menu item on Twitter
reveals few criticisms and a large amount of praise, with users commenting things like,
"It's 12:15 am and I'm thinking about a Crunchwrap Supreme."
As well as,
"[I'll give] my kingdom for a Crunchwrap Supreme."
Additionally, copycat recipes for the Crunchwrap Supreme are rampant, both on Google and social
sites such as Reddit and Pinterest.
It's no secret that In-N-Out has a cult fast food following, but the cultiest of all their
cult menu items is likely the animal-style burgers and fries, which, for supposedly being
on the quote "secret" menu, isn't really that secret. However, while an animal-style burger
sounds somewhat provocative and sexy, there's not much to this one.
The special style was supposedly invented by some surfer and skate kids who were called
"animals" for going off menu and being loud and unruly in the store, but today, it's nothing
really crazy. It's merely a standard In-N-Out burger with lettuce, tomato, mustard, pickle,
grilled onions, and extra spread sauce. Animal-style fries, meanwhile, are a little more exciting,
covered in sauce, cheese, and onions.
Still, reviewers — both professional and amateur alike — praise the animal-style
burgers and fries. One writer notes,
"You truly haven't lived until you've had animal style fries (order them well-done)."
Even some favorite faces praise In-N-Out's animal-style products, including Anthony Bourdain
and David Chang of Momofuku.
The Starbucks Frappuccino turned 25 in 2020. The iconic fast food drink is a favorite during
the summer, but you can also buy bottled versions of the drink in just about any grocery store
or gas station. Launched in 1995, the cold and slushy drink far exceeded Starbucks' expectations
when first introduced. One Starbucks rep said,
"The first week of launch we were tracking sales, and it was something like 200,000 drinks
the first week — when we were hoping for 100,000."
They continued by saying just how big of a deal it was,
"The next week it was 400,000 and the next it was 800,000. We had figured it would do
well in Southern California — but it sold just as well in Chicago, Vancouver B.C., and
Boston. It was huge."
That summer, the Frappuccino made up 11 percent of Starbucks' sales and, in 1996, the chain
jumped on the chance to bottle the drinks and ship them out to retailers, making sure
to trademark the name.
As of 2015, you could find the Starbucks frap in more than 36,000 flavors, thanks to a wealth
of combinations, all over the world.
"Let me handle this. Good evening Wendy!"
Mention dipping fast food fries into a shake, and there's a good chance that those in your
vicinity will immediately think of the Wendy's Frosty with fries combination. According to
an interview with Shelly Thobe, director of culinary innovation at Wendy's, the combination
evolved on its own, with no help from the chain, but it's one that stuck around, partially
due to science.
"It's that salty-sweet, hot-cold dynamic that works so well. It's activating so many of
our senses. It's taste, it's texture — it confuses your taste buds ... in a good way.
It's a crazy, intense experience."
In an effort to replicate this favorite experience, some chefs and companies are getting creative,
adding "upscale" versions of the Frosty-fries combo to their menus and products. Think of
a milkshakes and fries ice cream flavor that tastes like, you guessed it, milkshake and
fries!
Still, even with a lot of culinary skill at your disposal, it's difficult to beat the
original combo. As one writer noted,
"I don't trust people who don't see what a delicacy it is to dip Wendy's fries in a Frosty."
Sonic's cherry limeade easily has a cult fast food following. The fizzy, fruity, and only
slightly — but just enough — citrus-y drink has been a favorite on the menu for
years and one that you'll find tons of food bloggers attempting to recreate. However,
it's worth taking a step back and looking at the original ingredients to see what's
really special in this favorite drink, because it might not just be what you think.
Cherry. Sprite. Lime. Ice. Could it be that the last ingredient makes all the difference?
According to a huge group of people, yes. While the limeade itself has been described
as "altogether superior" and as "intense ... berry-like, perfumed with a hint of citric notes," the
ice all on its own earns big marks across the board. There's even a specially designed
ice maker that was created to replicate Sonic's ice and was crowdfunded on Indiegogo, with
6,500 individual backers raising more than $2.7 million to get their hands on this ice.
The McDonald's Shamrock Shake is a legendary fast food dessert item that shares some similarities
with the McDonald's McRib in that it pops up at certain times to much fanfare and then
disappears without a trace. In fact, in order to keep followers in the know, the same folks
behind the online McRib Locator tool also have made a Shamrock Shake locator tool.
Created in 1967, the Shamrock Shake is beloved by those who enjoy their sweet treats with
a hint of mint, but wasn't rolled out "officially" until 1970. McDonald's reports that the shake
was an instant hit and proudly acknowledges the shake's cult status.
Love it or hate it, though, it's worth recognizing that the Shamrock Shake is also responsible
in helping build the very first Ronald McDonald House, which helps families with children
with chronic illnesses, in Philadelphia. Shamrock Shake sales in 1974, spawned on by a few Philadelphia
institutions, benefitted the building of the house, and the Ronald McDonald House has gone
on to assist thousands of families around the country.
Not all fast food items with a cult following have been around for decades. Take, for example,
the Popeyes chicken sandwich, which only debuted in August 2020. A pretty simple sandwich,
all things considered, it features a hand-breaded filet, mayo, and pickles on a brioche bun.
So why has it taken off and even completely sold out in some locations?
Some blame it on social media hype and online beef between Chick-fil-A and Popeye's. Whatever
the cause, the new menu item has gained loyal followers who are making the chicken sandwich
switch from the Chick-fil-A cult on over to the Popeye's faction.
"Popeyes, out the blue, introduced a chicken sandwich. A surprise attack on Chick-fil-A.
It was like Pearl Harbor, but juicier."
As one franchise owner noted,
"We've had lines out the door with guests clamoring for the new chicken sandwich. This
weekend consisted of guests lining up all day, from open to close. In my 38 years as
a Popeyes franchisee, I've never seen a product create such a frenzy."
In 2017, Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets were removed from the menu and well, fast food
fans were less than pleased. Turns out, though, some of those fans were celebrities, including
several with large social media followings, like Chance The Rapper and Nicki Minaj. So,
when Chance The Rapper tweeted in 2019 that the spicy chicken nuggets needed to make a
comeback, millions of Twitter users responded — one of them being Wendy's, who responded
by saying that, if two million users liked Chance The Rapper's tweet, "the people in
charge" would bring the nuggets back from the dead.
So, as any good cult would do, the following came out in droves and, within two days, met
their goal. Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets appeared back on menus later in 2019 — and
they're still a fan-favorite menu item.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite
fast food are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don’t
miss a single one.