John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints
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Fast Food Restaurants in the USA and Canada
Introduction
Fast food restaurants are found throughout the USA and Canada, normally in towns with populations above about 5,000. Large towns and cities often have several restaurants of each chain in different areas.
There are some important differences between fast food in the USA and Canada compared to Britain:
- Unlike in Britain, fast food restaurants in the USA and Canada tend to be located outside the centres of towns. They are usually found on the main roads leading in and out of town, especially near Interstate and freeway exits. On toll-free highways there are no service areas in the USA or Canada so the highway traffic uses the same services such as restaurants and gas stations (petrol stations) as the people in each town.
- In the USA and Canada each fast food restaurant is normally a separate detached building in the chain's own architectural style, with its own large free outdoor car park surrounding it. Almost all fast food restaurants have drive-thru's for the takeaway trade.
- As in Britain, the majority of fast food restaurant chains target their advertising at young children, believing that in most cases they make the decision as to where a family eats. However, fast food restaurants in the USA and Canada are widely used by all ages and all classes, for breakfast, lunch and evening meal. The ignorant snobbish rejection of fast food by some people in Britain very largely does not apply in the USA or Canada.
- Many of the fast food chains in the USA and Canada prepare hot food only when it is ordered, using the "order number" system. When you order and pay you are given a receipt with your order number prominently marked on it. When your order is ready, your order number is announced.
- In the USA and Canada more than adequate seating and tables are provided.
- Because of the ease of parking and of finding a table, fast food in the USA and Canada is a much more pleasant experience than in the UK and in our opinion well worth trying, even if you have been put off by bad experiences with overcrowding and less than perfect service in Britain.
- Prices in the USA and Canada tend to be around two-thirds to three-quarters of those for the same products in the UK and very attractive special offers are frequently available.
- Quality and cleanliness are consistently of the very highest standard in the USA and Canada, and (with some exceptions) service is generally very good.
- All fast food chains in the USA and Canada offer free coffee refills, often on a serve-yourself basis. Coffee jugs with orange rings and coffee machines with orange handles have decaffeinated coffee.
- Most fast food chains in the USA now give free refills on soft drinks, increasingly on a serve-yourself basis (which is particularly convenient if you don't like much ice). It is always worth asking for a refill, which you can take with you when you leave if you wish. You'll almost certainly find a suitable drink holder in the car (if you rent a brand new car then it might still be in the glove box or the boot).
Biscuits
Most fast food chains offer biscuits (scones cut in half with a filling) as breakfast lines, which provide a very worthwhile additional choice. Biscuits are also sometimes supplied with chicken meals.
Chinese and Indian Cuisine
As far as I know there are no Indian cuisine fast food chains in the USA or Canada and personally I haven't seen much evidence of independently owned neighbourhood Chinese or Indian takeaways in small-town America and Canada. However, Chinese fast food takeaway kiosks are occasionally found in supermarkets and shopping mall food courts, and Wakefield Carter of Los Angeles kindly emailed me to say:
There's one major Chinese fast food chain called Panda Express, which is mostly located in the U.S. (External link verified Jun-02.)
In addition, there are numerous Chinese takeouts (or "takeaways") that offer cheap Chinese food at $1 (they'll usually advertise it on their windows). As a matter of fact, there are lots of such places here in Los Angeles.
Wakefield also mentioned two other Chinese fast food chains, Manchu Wok, which has most of its locations in Canada, plus a few in the USA (external link verified Jun-02) and Tasty Goody which has eight locations in southern California, mainly in the area between Los Angeles and Riverside. Unlike some of the other Chinese fast food chains, Tasty Goody appears to operate restaurants rather than kiosks and some of their menu items are cooked to order. A serious criticism of some of the kiosk Chinese fast food chains is that the food is cooked in advance and left in warming bowls, making it appear rather unattractive.
Fish And Chips
Neighbourhood privately owned and operated fish and chip shops as exist throughout Britain are sadly unheard of in the USA and Canada. However, there are some seafood fast food restaurant chains which offer an approximation to British fish and chips, together with many other choices. These chains include Long John Silver's and Captain D's. Prices tend to be rather more expensive than other fast food restaurants. There is also a small fish and chip fast food chain called Arthur Treacher's. We found one Dairy Queen offering fish and chips but I don't know if this is available generally; we were impressed with what we had. In Apr-2001 the Carl's Jr chain offered an excellent fish and chips meal for $3.10 as a special offer for a limited period only; we thought this was a significantly better product than Long John Silver's. Occasionally independent cafes and food stands may offer fish and chips, for example we saw one on the quayside in Bandon, Oregon. We saw a number of "chip vans" on Quinte's Isle in Ontario, presumably similar to the "Frituur" vans seen in Belgium. Fish and chips are also sometimes available in the restaurants in department stores such as Zeller's in Canada. There are also several more up market seafood waitress restaurant such as Red Lobster. In any case, don't expect anything in the USA or Canada to duplicate true British fish and chips.
Ice Cream And Milk Shakes
Most of the fast food chains offer at least one ice cream or milk shake option. Many milk shakes, for example Wendy's Frosty, are so thick as to really be soft ice cream. A few fast food chains, for example Dairy Queen and Tastee Freez, offer a very wide choice of ice cream and ice cream dessert menu items.
Mexican Fast Food Chains
Fast food chains specialising in Mexican food such as tacos, burritos, nachos and fajitas are very widespread throughout the whole of the USA and Canada. Some of the best known of these chains are Del Taco, Taco Bell, Taco John's and Taco Time. The Mexican fast food chains offer excellent value for money and are very highly recommended. You can conveniently order as many tacos or burritos as appropriate for your level of hunger.
Roast Beef Sandwiches
A few fast food chains such as Arby's and Hardee's offer roast beef sandwiches (a bun containing numerous layers of very thinly sliced beef) which are highly recommended.
Submarine Sandwich Chains
Fast food chains specialising in submarine sandwiches are very widespread throughout the USA and Canada. The best known of these chains, Subway, now has more locations in the USA than McDonald's. Many very small towns, too small for any other fast food chain, now have a Subway.
Regional Chains
Because of the huge size of the countries, there are quite a few regional fast food chains in the USA and Canada. Some of these are well worth trying, especially if you see an establishment which attracts plenty of custom, as evidenced by the number of vehicles in the car park. The In-N-Out Burger chain in California is extremely highly recommended.
Additional Comments
Fast food restaurants are highly recommended for breakfasts, which generally offer excellent value for money.
A "combo" is a combination of a hamburger or other major item plus (usually) fries and a drink. Combos usually offer a considerable saving over buying the items individually. Often combos can be "supersized" for a very small extra cost, in which case you get the same size of hamburger or other main item, but a larger size of fries and drink.
Once you make your wishes clear, fast food restaurants are quite happy to omit certain ingredients, for example if you prefer a hamburger without tomatoes. However, making it clear what you want can sometimes be rather tricky, and of course it's difficult to know what's in an item if you've never tried it. Also, you'll usually have to wait a few minutes for your "special" or "grill" (as it's often called) to be made. Of all the fast food chains, Wendy's probably caters for "fussy eaters" better than any, although Carl's Jr and Hardee's are also well worth considering because of their wide range of menu items.
Before patronising any fast food restaurant, check on the number of vehicles in the car park and avoid any establishment which hasn't got many customers at a time when you'd expect people to be eating.
Always be sure to look out for special offers advertised on signs outside the building, on posters on the windows, and on displays on the counter inside. These special offers are very frequently extremely good value for money.
As in Britain, nearly all the fast food chains publish full nutrition details of each of their products in the form of printed leaflets and on their web sites.
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As with all the other pages on this personal web site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.
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Most recently modified 30-Jun-02