Famous Restaurant Guide Survey Picks Wendy’s As Best Fast Food Chain
Posted June 10, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
O.K., it’s official. Well, as official as these sort of things can get. One of the world’s most prestigious restaurant guides has picked the top fast food restaurant in North America. And the winner is Wendy’s.
While Zagat is more often associated with high class establishments, its online survey tallied intangibles like best French fries and best value, and the chain the late Dave Thomas created and named after his daughter finished at the head of the menu.
To qualify, a franchise has to have more than 5,000 outlets in North America and be pretty much continent wide. Wendy’s was cited as having the best food and the best facilities, while Subway took the nod for best service and the most healthy options.
Next on the list in order of appearance: McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King.
Mickey D’s, which all but created the fast food craze tied to its one original California store back in the late 50s and early 60s, wasn’t completely shut out of the top spot. It was ranked as having the best fries and the best value, with its much famed dollar menu valued highly in hard times.
The best coffee came from Starbucks but that may be because Tim Hortons is mostly a Canadian phenomenon and many in the U.S. don’t have access to it.
And the best burger isn’t something you can taste without getting on a plane. It’s from a small franchise called In-N-Out Burgers, but its restaurants are only located in four western American states.
Zagat isn’t saying fast food is the best thing you can eat, but acknowledges it’s popular with North Americans, while the chains scramble to try and feed an increasingly health conscious population.
Some believe they’ve thrived during the economic downturn because the meals are cheap, the food tastes good and it’s less expensive than going out to the kinds of restaurants the guide usually reviews.
The survey involved some 6,000 participants, who were asked to vote on a wide variety of categories. Their comments, published on the Zagat website, don’t actually make reference to any specific chains, but they’re hilarious and revealing either way.
Among the best morsels:
“If mayonnaise were currency, these guys could fund the bailout.”
“My children loved it when they were younger, but now they have taste buds.”
“Usually dreadful, sometimes rises to awful.”
“Their cheese has never met a cow, nor been in the same room as one.”
“Eleven herbs and spices but eight of them are salt.”
“Are those fruit toppings or melted crayons?”
Hungry for more snide comments? Read them here
Photo credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
