5/11/05 | McDonalds Wins Fast Food Poll
[ Currently Eating: Sandwich ]
I could have seen this one coming a mile off. McDonald’s took first place in the Fast Food Poll I had on the site for last month, though not with some serious competition from Burger King. I’m actually quite surprised that Burger King made such a strong showing. It must be all their new “silent scary king mask” commercials that they’ve been pushing lately. Or perhaps it was their Enormous Omelette which seemed to get enormous publicity.
I’m a bit sad that my own fave, Jack in the Box, came in third. Belatedly, I also realized what with the furor over the Wendy’s chili finger incident that I should have included them in the poll instead of Carl’s Jr. I have a lot of good memories from Carl’s first introducing the Western Bacon Cheeseburger though, so I thought I’d include them:
As far as the cheapest restaurant of the four is concerned, all of them have their 99 cents menus and various other promotions. I feel that Jack in the Box promotes their 99 cent menu more than the others, although McD’s definitely has their “Day of the Week” specials that are extremely popular. I actually think Carl’s comes in a bit expensive, but maybe that’s because when I used to eat there when I was a kid I would go for the “strange” sandwiches, like that Chicken sandwich that actually had(has?) alfalfa sprouts in it, which are more expensive than plain old hamboigers.
Has Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation really gotten to everybody and convinced them to avoid fast food restaurants? I haven’t read the book yet, so I can’t really comment. But I’ve heard from many friends who have read it that it’s been at least partially responsible for a 180 degree turn in the way they eat. 
I have a lot of fond memories of eating at Arby’s when I was a kid. But at the time I didn’t make a huge distinction between eating a Arby’s vs. eating at McDonald’s because I ate in fast food restaurants a lot less back then. So perhaps I didn’t appreciate the size of the roast beef sandwiches back then. Because they have certainly shrunk. 
That’s a great idea… I’ve been thinking about doing something like that for awhile, a Rachel Ray’s $40 a Day theme but with less money. But I’d probably try to attempt something impossible like $6.75 a DAY…
The Detroit Free Press has a popular column by Matt Helms about Cheap Eats. This article he wrote was on a place in Detroit called “House Of Reuben”. I looked everywhere for a picture of the House of Reuben but couldn’t find one so you’ll have to be content with a borrowed pic of a Reuben Sandwich. Anyhow, I have a soft spot for diners and while sit-down restaurants are always more expensive (because of tip, drinks not coming with meals, etc.) I’m often willing to sacrifice just a teeny bit of dough if it’s a good enough diner setting with good enough food. This one sounds pretty good, though it’s all the way in Michigan. They feature Reuben Sandwiches, as the name implies.
I must get Pizza Hut Coupons in the mail nearly every single day. In college, I used to think what a great service this was, bringing me deals on pizza right to my door. If you wanted to order pizza for takeout, you just checked your mail. 
It’s nice to see other people talking about Cheap Eats. Matt Helms from the Detroit Free Press wrote a short piece on the Tim Horton’s doughnut and fast food chain. This must be another one of those East Coast things (akin to something like the love for Dunkin’ Donuts that I experienced in Boston) because I’ve never heard of Tim Horton’s. It seems as if the chain is actually part of Wendy’s International Inc. and there are currently over 500 locations, though none near me.
