Tell me if you’ve been in this situation: you’re hungry, you roll up to your favorite fast food drive-thru, order your go-to combo meal, unwrap your food, bite into it, and “bam!” you’re disappointed. Something just isn’t hitting right — maybe the cheese on your cheeseburger isn’t melted, maybe a certain staleness permeates your chicken tenders or french fries, maybe the fountain drink syrup hasn’t been changed, maybe you’re eating something that was clearly cooked well before you even ordered it…
It happens to the best of us. While fast food is always convenient, it isn’t always consistent. I’ve met people who insist on going to a specific Wendy’s to order food, even if it isn’t the closest one to their homes. While I think that’s a step too far, I get it, if you’re spending money on food you’re going to want it to live up to a certain standard. Which got us thinking — on average, which fast food restaurants are the most consistently good from a quality control standpoint?
A multitude of factors can weigh on the consistency of fast food. It could be a location-specific thing, or it could be a time of day thing, but in covering fast food at Uproxx for over four years, I’ve had all manner of experiences. I’ve eaten at Burger King restaurants more times than I care to count! I need to do something with all this information stored in my head, so we decided to rank all our favorite fast food restaurants based only on consistency.
*I should note — “consistently good” wins the day, not “consistently trash.” I know that seems obvious, but this is the internet.
Instead of going the usual numbered ranking route, we decided to separate all of the restaurants into three tiers: poor consistency, average consistency, and excellent consistency. Keep in mind that this isn’t a ranking of how delicious each of these fast food chains is, rather it’s an examination of how consistently the food comes out the way that it should at each restaurant, i.e. hot and made to order.
Here is where each restaurant stands.
Bottom Tier — Poor Consistency
Rally’s
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Thoughts:
I love Rally’s — I feel like I’m going to preface that with a lot of entries in this category — but eating here is a straight-up toss-up. The food that seems to suffer here the most are the fries. I’ve had some that are stale, some that are soaked in grease, and some that have been fried multiple times. I can’t count on Rally’s to be good, which forces me to order large fries every time in the hopes that they’ll have to drop a fresh order in the frier because they don’t have any sitting around in the bin.
And that’s a huge problem because the fries are easily Rally’s best menu item.
The Bottom Line:
Great flavor is held back by poor quality control.
Burger King
Thoughts:
Every time I make a big fast food list I have to sh*t all over Burger King’s name. I don’t want it to be this way, but BK makes it too damn easy. In my history of writing about fast food for Uproxx, on multiple occasions I’ve had to re-order food from Burger King just so I can give this restaurant a fair shot.
There isn’t any specific dish that suffers from poor quality control at Burger King, it’s just a general thing, from the fries to the burgers, to the chicken sandwiches.
The Bottom Line:
One of the many problems holding Burger King back from greatness is how often their food comes out lukewarm.
Dairy Queen
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Thoughts:
Here is the thing about DQ — if you want great desserts, this place is going to consistently deliver. But the food? It’s almost inedible. Everything here that is fried or cooked on a flattop grill has a gas-station-food quality to it.
The Bottom Line:
If it’s not dessert, it’s probably an afterthought, so avoid DQ for hot food. Unless… apparently… it’s a fish sando in Kentucky!
Popeyes
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Thoughts:
I’m going to get a lot of hate for this one. Trust me, I love Popeyes just as much as you. The restaurant routinely ranks highly amongst our various fast food rankings, from chicken tenders to chicken sandwiches. And let me take this time to shout out those cajun fries — I love them, and on some days they’re my absolute favorite…
But Popeyes varies in quality so wildly that it breaks my heart.
It’s not any specific restaurant’s fault, it’s just the nature of how the food is prepared at Popeyes. Nothing is made to order here, everything is churned out in anticipation of the next customer. Sometimes this works, you’ll get piping hot sides, chicken that has just exited the frier, and soft buttery biscuits, but just as often you’ll get something from an old batch.
It’s just something I’ve come to expect from Popeyes and it’s a reason I rarely roll up near closing time.
The Bottom Line:
Popeyes is amazing, but the risk that you’re going to get some chicken or sides that have been sitting a bit too long under the heat lamp is high.
Mid Tier — Average Consistency
Carl’s Jr.
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Thoughts:
I’m begrudgingly putting Carl’s Jr. in the “Average Consistency” tier but I feel like I should mention that in my experience, this fast food chain seems to be moving in the wrong direction when it comes to consistency.
Lately, I’ve noticed the quality of its chicken tenders has dipped. What used to make these tenders special was that they were hand-breaded in restaurant, giving it a sort of quality more in line with places like Raising Cane’s or Chick-fil-A rather than its closer contemporaries like Burger King or McDonald’s.
I think the tenders are still hand-breaded but not as heavily as in the past, and oftentimes times I get chicken tenders that look shriveled and have a stale flavor. The fries also suffer from what tastes like unclean or rancid oil. I’ve experienced poor-quality fries at all sorts of different hours of the day.
The Bottom Line:
Carl’s Jr. is an improvement over similar restaurants like Burger King or Rally’s, but just barely.
KFC
Thoughts:
I don’t know what KFC is doing that Popeyes isn’t, but from my experience KFC’s food is more consistently hot and fresh-tasting than what I encounter at Popeyes. The chicken is more often than not hot, the sides always deliver, and certain menu items like the Secret Recipe fries or Original Recipe nuggets taste made to order.
Having said that, I would rather eat at Popeyes than KFC knowing this. But I have to give credit where credit is due.
The Bottom Line:
KFC is a step above Popeyes in this area only.
Jack in the Box
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Thoughts:
I don’t love Jack in the Box and I think dropping its “We Don’t Make It Til You Order It” policy is the chain’s biggest misstep. You’d think that by dropping that policy, JiB would land squarely in the “Poor Consistency” tier but every time I come here, the food is hot and the milkshakes are thick and luxurious.
We can debate about the quality of flavor in its burgers, sandwiches, and sides, but one thing is certain, if you’re ordering JiB you’re going to get hot food, and that goes a long way for some people. Me included.
The Bottom Line:
They may have dropped the “we don’t make it til you order it” policy, but the food here still comes out nice and hot.
El Pollo Loco
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Thoughts:
For a place where the food isn’t made to order, El Pollo Loco has some pretty great consistency. The chicken is flame-grilled on site and in my experience always comes out tender and juicy. The sides are hot and the salsas taste fresh.
The only weak aspect of this menu is the tortillas, which can often be stale.
The Bottom Line:
Great chicken, great sides, poor tortilla quality.
Wendy’s
Thoughts:
More often than not if you’re eating at Wendy’s you’re going to get some good food, especially if you’re order a cheeseburger. But the same can’t be said for the chicken. A stale chicken nugget is downright inedible, and it happens often. You’re probably ordering nuggets as a side anyway, so it’s not the sort of thing that can ruin your meal.
The real gamble is the chicken sandwiches. Wendy’s chicken sandwiches are great when they’re hot, but there have been a handful of times when I’ve ordered a sandwich and the filet is re-fried or has been sitting around for too long. Once these chicken filets sit, the meat becomes tough. Because of this I almost always defer to ordering a cheeseburger because I know it’s going to deliver the big flavors.
The Bottom Line:
You can’t go wrong with a burger, but getting any sort of chicken is a gamble.
McDonald’s
Thoughts:
Like Wendy’s, if you’re getting a burger from McDonald’s, it’s going to taste the same as any other McDonald’s in any city, at any time of day. Same with the breakfast, McDonald’s burger and breakfast game is top tier.
But we need to be honest about the fries. They may be the most delicious in fast food, but they aren’t always hot, and when they aren’t hot the quality suffers. The same thing goes for the chicken nuggets. A cold nugget is not fun.
The Bottom Line:
At McDonald’s stick to the breakfast or the burgers if you want consistency. Unfortunately with the fries it’s a toss-up, but when they’re good, they’re great.
Chipotle
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Thoughts:
From an overall quality standpoint, I’d say Chipotle ranks incredibly high. The food is delicious, the ingredients are high quality, and more often than not, the consistency is pretty solid, but not all the time, so for that we’re going to have to leave this on the high end of the Average Consistency tier.
In my experience, the worst times to hit up Chipotle are right when it opens, and near closing. I’m not sure what the deal is with the early hours of Chipotle, but the quality of the beans, fajitas, and meat is at its lowest at this time and by the end of the day you’re going to encounter the worst guacamole you’ve ever seen.
Luckily, at Chipotle you can see all of the ingredients — so if something looks off to you or old, don’t order it.
The Bottom Line:
Chipotle should get credit for its high-quality ingredients, but sometimes the food sits a bit too long under the heat lamp.
Top Tier — Excellent Consistency
Panda Express
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Thoughts:
For a chain restaurant that has a lot of food sitting under heat lamps, Panda Express is incredibly consistent. I’ve never had a dish or side here that is cold. The restaurant is constantly tossing a new batch of food in the wok and will even cook a portion specifically for you if you ask them to.
The only thing that suffers here is the fried rice, which can sometimes taste a bit too dry.
The Bottom Line:
Don’t let the heat lamps fool you, Panda Express’ food is remarkably consistent.
Chick-fil-A
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Thoughts:
Whatever the hell Chick-fil-A is doing needs to be studied by every other fast food restaurant in America. No drive-thru moves as quickly as Chick-fil-A’s and to accomplish that task you’d think that the quality of the food must suffer as a result, and yet… somehow, it doesn’t.
The chicken sandwiches, nuggets, and tenders are always top-tier quality. I’ve never been disappointed by the quality of my main dish, the only thing that ever disappoints is the waffle fries. It doesn’t happen often but I’ve had an order or two that taste a bit lacking. But that’s nothing a good dip can’t remedy.
The Bottom Line:
I’m not sure what sort of magic Chick-fil-A is doing in the kitchen that makes their food come out so consistently top-tier, but it’s working.
Taco Bell
Thoughts:
This might come as a shock to some people but Taco Bell always tastes exactly as it should. Sure, the food is never hot, I’d say it’s lukewarm, but I’ve never been disappointed by anything I’ve ordered at Taco Bell. The tacos, Crunchwraps, and nachos always taste the same as the last time I ordered them.
Maybe it’s because all the food is ready-made and just needs to be put together and heated up. I’m not sure, but I know that I can always count on Taco Bell to scratch that Taco Bell-itch.
The Bottom Line:
Taco Bell always tastes exactly as Taco Bell-ish as you remember it. And that’s a good thing.
In-N-Out
Thoughts:
It’s no secret that In-N-Out is great. It’s so praised that some people swear it’s overrated. They’re wrong, it’s not.
In-N-Out makes perfect cheeseburgers, hand-spins its milkshakes to order, and is one of the few restaurants that peels and cuts its french fries in restaurant. At In-N-Out, you’re guaranteed to get fresh food no matter which location you’re visiting. I’ve had In-N-Out in major cities in multiple states, and even at rest stops in the middle of California.
Every time, the food tastes identical — mind-blowingly delicious.
The Bottom Line:
I’ve never had an In-N-Out burger that wasn’t up to standard.
Raising Cane’s
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Thoughts:
I love Raising Cane’s. The menu is incredibly simple: chicken tenders, fries, and Texas Toast, and everything is dropped in a frier or grilled on the flat top to order. They even fresh squeeze their lemonade and mix their Cane’s sauce daily. It doesn’t get better than that!
The Bottom Line:
The best chicken chain in all of fast food. Incredibly consistent.
Shake Shack
Thoughts:
I have some gripes with Shake Shack. I think the fries could be better, I wish the burgers were a little bigger, and they consistently introduce new menu items only to take them away. I wouldn’t say this is my favorite burger chain, but without a doubt, they have the best ingredients of any burger chain.
The produce is perfect, it’s crisp, fresh, and flavorful. The beef is unparalleled, it’s savory, meaty, and cooked to perfection. And it’s one of the only fast food burger restaurants that tries to elevate its core product. Want fried shallots on a burger? You’ll find it at Shake Shack. Looking for some sort of truffle aioli? You’re going to find it at Shake Shack. Are you a big pickle fan? Shake Shack has the best.
Couple a burger with a malted milkshake, and you’re going to have a perfect meal every time.
The Bottom Line:
Shake Shack makes fast food with restaurant-quality attention to detail.
