Fresh fries at McDonald's? Free cookies at Panera? Sign us up!
Don't be afraid to ask for a little extra on your next fast food visit.
McDonald's fries are probably as iconic as it gets when it comes to fast food menu items. As soon as
you have one, you often go back for more. That's the addictive taste of the "natural beef flavor"
added to the vegetable oil, by the way. However, while you can't deny how delicious they are,
have you ever gone to McDonald's, ordered fries, and wished they had been a little bit more fresh?
While batches of fries are pre-made all day long and chances are you're getting some that have been
sitting there a while, there is one thing you can ask for to guarantee that you'll get fresh fries
straight out of the McDonald's fryer. Sounds like a dream doesn't it? The secret to hot and
crispy fries is simply to ask for them with no salt. A McDonald's employee on Reddit confirmed,
"Lots of people say they want no salt because then you have to make fresh ones."
A former employee on another Reddit thread went
one step further saying that the same applied to burgers, writing,
"If you order a burger or fries always ask them without salt or the seasoning on the burger,
they will have to make them fresh since they always put [salt] on them,
that is if you don't mind waiting five minutes."
Basically, if you customize your food item,
chances are they'll have to make it from scratch and you are guaranteed fresh food.
Calling all chicken lovers! From opening to 10:30 a.m.,
Chick-fil-A offers quite the breakfast selection, including the very popular
biscuits. However, from 10:30 on, the menu switches to lunch and dinner items.
The best way to get a mix of breakfast and lunch is to order right around 10:30,
items for both menus are likely in the kitchen so chances are they will let you get creative.
the closer you are to 10:30, the easier it can be to negotiate ordering an off-menu item like
the chicken quesadillas. The breakfast menu offers a burrito, and you just know
that the kitchen is full of chicken, so you just might be able to convince them.
"It is more than scrumptious. It is more than delicious. It is scrumpdidliumptious."
For years now, fast-food chains have been making an effort to include vegetarian options
on their menus. Burger King did not hesitate to jump onto that train. As recently as 2020,
YouGov conducted a survey amongst vegans and vegetarians asking them which fast
food restaurants had the highest quality options for them. The results had Burger
King at the number three spot, only a point behind Subway and Chipotle.
Amongst the most popular fast-food veggie options: the Impossible Whopper. The burger
has a plant-based patty, which should be okay for vegetarians to eat. However, as mentioned on
Burger King's website, the patty is cooked in the same broiler as the beef patties, which makes it
not 100% vegan. This detail has understandably upset more than a couple of customers. One
customer even filed a lawsuit against the king of burgers, claiming he bought an Impossible Whopper,
and would not have done so if he had known that patties were coated in meat by-products.
But there is no need to stop going to Burger King just yet. According to an employee on Reddit,
for your meat to be cooked separately, you just need to ask. Burger King stated on its
website that for a non-broiler version of the same patty, the employees will microwave the patty.
We've already talked about the sad reality of getting soggy fries at McDonald's,
but what about In-N-Out? Unfortunately, while they might be a different fast food chain,
they have the same issue. The fast food chain has locations primarily in California and the
Southwest, and the burgers in particular have a special place in the hearts of Californians,
as they are simply incredibly delicious. The Animal-Style fries have also become a
big crowd pleaser — they consist of In-N-Out's classic fries topped with their famous sauce,
a slice of melted cheese, and chopped grilled onions.
Unfortunately, the sauce combined with the melted cheese that lays on top of the fries means that
when they get to you, they'll likely be soft. Lucky for us, there is a solution. One former
In-N-Out manager told Thrillist that you need to tell your cashier how you want your fries done.
They advise that you order them "fry well." What this means is that the fries'll spend some extra
time in the fryer, and will better hold their shape once all those extra toppings hit them.
Let's head over to the East coast now with the Massachusetts-based Dunkin' Donuts.
Much like wanting fresh fries at McDonald's and In-N-Out, having fresh coffee can be pretty nice
as well. But in fast food joints, you can't know whether you're getting your coffee fresh or not,
right? Wrong. Unlike many coffee shop chains, where you don't quite know what
kind of coffee you're getting, Dunkin' is the place for fresh coffee. As a matter of fact,
Dunkin' can grind your coffee beans right in front of you, on the counter.
At Dunkin' Donuts, fresh coffee is brewed every 18 minutes. This means that if having
a freshly-brewed cup is important to you and you aren't in too much of a rush, you should
definitely ask the Dunkin' employee when the coffee was last brewed. You don't have much to
lose by asking. If they tell you 15 minutes ago, you can always wait three minutes for a fresh cup,
and if they say five minutes ago, you know you're getting pretty fresh coffee. No down-side!
"Mmm, that's great."
The original fast food tacos
are crowd-pleasers for sure. With over 7,000 locations and $12.6 billion in sales in 2021,
Taco Bell is fourth on the list of America's favorite fast foods, according to QSR magazine.
Additionally, it doesn't look like it's going anywhere since, on average,
a Taco Bell location opened every two hours in 2022. Amongst its most popular items, you'll find
Crunchwrap Supreme and Quesarito. You'll also have a pretty nice selection of grilled items
like their Grilled Steak Soft Taco or the Grilled Cheese Burrito, which has become quite successful.
To get the best possible experience at Taco Bell,
this hack is all about saving time. For a piece all about fast food, Buzzfeed asked
former or current fast food workers to share things they wanted customers to know. Amongst
the stream of comments left in the anonymous comment box, one Taco Bell employee said:
"If you go to Taco Bell and want anything grilled,
please order those items first. It takes a few more seconds than usual to make those items."
Ordering grilled items before the rest of your order will help
employees get your order to you that much faster.
"What's for dinner? Panera."
If you're a regular at Panera Bread, you probably know all about its delicious bread bowls and tasty
salads. You've probably also already tasted some of its heavenly pastries and fresh baguettes and
bagels. Panera Bread is definitely on the healthier side of the fast food spectrum,
and it's a crowd favorite for sure. If you are not convinced, we have two words for you: free cookie.
Fast food chains will often mess up your order. According to a study by QSR magazine,
there is only an 84.4% chance for your order to be accurate. While Panera Bread is not in the 10
fast food chains picked for the study, the chain isn't exempt from mistakes. And when one happens,
you are allowed to go notify management of the error. When you do, Panera Bread will apologize
with a free treat. A customer went over to Yelp to confirm it with a picture captioned:
"If they get your order wrong. You get a free treat. I got a
cookie as a treat. Explained on the receipt."
While the policy guarantees you a free treat, you'll likely get a chocolate chip cookie.
We're back at Panera Bread for another hot tip on how to make your fast food experiences
better. Are you a coffee lover? Because, if you are, you're in luck. At Panera,
the best thing to do when ordering a coffee is to always ask for the small size. This is for
the very simple reason that refills are free, so ordering a bigger size will cost you more
money. In the end, you can get the same amount for cheaper by refilling your small-sized cup.
This hack is available to all customers. However, Panera Bread is all about unlimited refills,
so you can go one step further and subscribe to Panera Bread's Unlimited Sip Club. Sounds elite,
doesn't it? Well, it does turn you into quite the privileged Panera customer, that's for sure. With
the Unlimited Sip Club, you can get much more than free coffee refills. For $11.99 a month,
you also get free refills on Charged Lemonades, iced and hot coffees, iced and hot teas, and more!
"Hey Kyle, nice sip!"
"Nice drip." With who-knows
how many fast food restaurants specializing in burgers and pizzas, Chipotle Mexican Grill came
in strong with Mexican fast food that won over the United States. While there isn't much you
can do about paying extra for guacamole, there is a hack to get more meat for no extra cost!
The key to more meat and no extra cost is to ask for half and half meat. Chipotle employees know
exactly what portion they need to scoop up when you ask for beef or chicken. If you ask for both,
you may end up getting a bit more meat, perhaps even a double portion. Employees are working
fast and don't have time to carefully scoop up half the portion they would normally give you.