What is the point of fast food anymore

[raouldook@lemmy.world]

Around these parts we have a couple of more affordable options but most of the big fast food chains have become $10+ meal bullshits. If the meal is over $10 I might as well go pay the same in a non-fast-food restaurant with a pick up order. But Jack's (burger/chicken store) and Taco Bell still have meal deals for $7 or less.

Fountain drinks are a big ripoff, so you can save a bit by not ordering a drink if you have your own already.

Instead of a burger meal for $11 from bullshit fast food places I can buy a large entree of Mexican food for $8 to $9 before tax from a real restaurant. Chinese restaurants locally are similarly priced. I can get Mexican or Chinese takeout to feed the whole family for under $50

[raouldook@lemmy.world]

No, it's still possible to get that for under $50 in my part of the US

[corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca]

1. Bump up your employer's withholding by 5%
2. Get that overpayment back from the IRS
3. Immediately dump that into a retirement thing that reduces taxable income; like, same-day
4. Next year you have another 5% windfall and a little more back from the retirement contribution. Put both back into same deal
5. Repeat forever
6. Slow win

[flashmobofone@lemmy.world]

Oh yeah.

It's become prohibitively expensive, so I only have it occasionally. My parents made the unfortunate choice to raise me on McDonald's, so unfortunately, I happen to like it a fair bit. For me it's just a treat, or if I mess up cooking my dinner I might order some to replace that, but it's pretty rare as I can cook up some delicious chicken and veggies, or if I really want fries/tots, pop some in the air fryer, and it's infinitely cheaper and just as good as ordering fast food. (And healthier.)

Then there's the calories. That alone is enough reason for me to only have it occasionally.

[gooberear@lemmy.wtf]

In my industry, there's a saying along the lines of "Good, fast, cheap. Pick two."

I think the fast food industry version is "Good, fast, cheap? No, no. And believe it or not, also no."

I don't eat fast food very often, so this is entirely anecdotal. Of the fast food chains I've eaten at in recent history, Taco Bell is by far the worst. Against my better judgment, I even broke down and gave them a second chance at a different location thinking maybe my first terrible experience was a fluke. Didn't work out. Makes me think it's bad everywhere. Wendy's has held up the best of the places I've eaten. It's definitely not cheap anymore, fast depends on the location as well as other factors, and good is relative, but overall it hasn't gone down hill as bad as the others.

[bothsidesistfraud@lemmy.world]

Fast food is insanely declasse. Stop eating it ffs.

[jawa21@lemmy.sdf.org]

Panda Express is actually awesome for this. $10 for huge plates of food with 2 entrees.

[bigbananadealer@lemm.ee]

taco bell definitely has one of the widest ranges in quality. one near my house is fucking awful and never gets the substitutions right, but the one 20 minutes away is great

[flamekebab@piefed.social]

I'm well aware that there are many different ways to format numbers and currencies - that's why I asked specifically about those that use the dollar sign.

[flamekebab@piefed.social]

Hah, that makes sense.

[aa5b@lemmy.world]

It’s been a long time since fast food was any good. It’s addictive, maybe comfortable, but definitely not good. Break your addiction, especially now that you could save so much money

[sojb@lemmy.ml]

Name better fast food at a comparative price.

[loss@sh.itjust.works]

Five guys.

[renzev@lemmy.world]

This sums up my experience as well. It's never been healthy, but at least it used to be cheap and tasty. But nowadays mcdonalds is so expensive I almost consider it a luxury, and the plastic-looking sauces and mystery meat are in no way appetizing (tho that might just be me getting older and changing preferences as opposed to the actual food getting worse)

[nihilistic_mystics@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

Five guys is triple the price if not more.

[ilikeboobies@lemmy.ca]

To me it’s McDonalds, how something using the exact same ingredients and prep can taste so different and have vastly different delivery times in everyone you go to boggles the mind

[ikidd@lemmy.world]

How déclassé to not use the accente aigu.

[dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world]

Yes, but to be fair, it's peak mid. Most other chains do a worse job on burgers, and to do better, you have to go substantially upmarket.

[loss@sh.itjust.works]

Not in the West Coast. Both are about ~7 for the base burger and cap out at about ~12 for the highest menu item without extras.

[iii@mander.xyz]

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