What is it with fast food anyway?

[Uh_oh]

Okay, I strongly dislike (I don't like to use the word hate unless it it REALLY deserved) fast food. It tastes like salty, greasy sh*t and I think everyone knows that it is bad for you. Therefore, I don't eat it. What supprises me is that most people I talk to feel the same way about it. Yet it is so popular.

Why do you eat it?

(Not saying that there is anything bad about eating it, go ahead and stuff yourself with it for all I care, if you like it that's great, just curious what people's motivation here is)

[whispering]

It's convinient. It tastes good, its fast and easy. I dont particulary enjoy eating, so fast food is a nice way to just get over with it. Unlike going to a restaurant and waiting like 20-30 minutes for your food.

[RDClip]

The $5 that I could spend on fast food can feed me for 3 meals(I know how to eat cheap) Plus, I hardly ever eat outside my own kitchen, so when I do it is good food.

[DarkFire168]

Okay, I strongly dislike (I don't like to use the word hate unless it it REALLY deserved) fast food. It tastes like salty, greasy sh*t and I think everyone knows that it is bad for you. Therefore, I don't eat it. What supprises me is that most people I talk to feel the same way about it. Yet it is so popular.

Why do you eat it?

(Not saying that there is anything bad about eating it, go ahead and stuff yourself with it for all I care, if you like it that's great, just curious what people's motivation here is)

Well not all fast food is bad for you or is over salty/greasy.

The salads at McDonalds for instance, are pretty tasty and not unhealthy for you. Subway is technically a fast food place but their grilled chicken breast sandwhich's with lots of veggies are both healthy and delicious, ditto for Quiznos. Arbies potato wedges (the ones filled with cheese) are delicious, and while not healthy for you, aren't overly salty.

[Lateli]

Yeah, I like fast food.. It's a taste of something I probably wouldn't get to eat at home, I typically don't eat burgers though. I basically order the same thing from each place everytime, Spicey Chicken Sandwich(#6!) from wendeys, chicken enchritos from taco bell, chicken strip dinner(with honey mustard! I MUST HAVE MY HONEY MUSTARD) from sonic.. I really don't like any of the other places..

If you can't tell, I'm a big chicken eater :p

Restaurants aren't too bad, some non-"chain" ones can be downright nasty though, then they charge you a ton... I don't like having to sit down and wait awhile, then attempt to eat that overpiled plate they just gave you. Also, it would be strange (for me at least) to go in there and eat alone.. :(

[Aria]

I can't say that I always eat fastfood for it's convencience because often times it's just as much work to order take out. But I have to say that due to the high grease and salt content in most fastfoods, they retain their flavor VERY well. Well...at least they retain *a* flavor. But either way, I'm a gal who likes her food to taste good. I tend to snack all day, but it's not because I'm hungry, it's because my snacks taste good.

So since I have a preference for salty/sweet foods, fastfood is just perfect for me because they're not bigass helpings (despite my gluttonous tendecies, I'm tiny) and more often than not they're rather flavorful.

I know a lot of people have read Fast Food Nation and have since sworn off the stuff, but for some reason I can't pull myself away from its unhealthy-goodness. And as long as I keep exercising, I should be okay for the time being. :-p

[Uh_oh]

Well not all fast food is bad for you or is over salty/greasy.

The salads at McDonalds for instance, are pretty tasty and not unhealthy for you. Subway is technically a fast food place but their grilled chicken breast sandwhich's with lots of veggies are both healthy and delicious, ditto for Quiznos. Arbies potato wedges (the ones filled with cheese) are delicious, and while not healthy for you, aren't overly salty.

Um... acctually some McDonalds salads contain more cholesterol, fat and sugar than a Big Mac... but if you don't eat the dressing or the chicken they should be ok... but they are HUGE (as is most meals sold in America. I'm not a big eater, but I can live off one normal American sized meal for two days :eek: although it may just be that I get meals from the wrong places)

And yeah, agree about Subway, I never though of them as fast food (although I don't eat that cuz it's expensive). So alright, it's not all unhealthy.

I appologize for the mistake.

[Tungtvann]

I clicked other. I rarely eat it. But if I do, it's because it is convienient. But it's really quite rare that I eat it, not even once a month now.

But if I happen to still be awake, and I am starving, I'll go out and get a McD's breakfast.

[Ev0]

I never eat fast food after having read Fast Food Nation and having seen Super Size Me. I would have to be under some pretty heavy circumstances to eat at a McDonalds or Burger King again. Especially after seeing the experiment with the fries in the extras of super size me. That just was not right...

Although I do eat quite a bit of Subway, but then again, their bread is real, fresh stuff. And depending on which sub you order, its not going to clog your arteries. Therefore, I don't classify Subway as fast food.

[Pierrot le Fou]

I don't generally eat fast food (I don't think that cocoichi curry, or a yoshinoya gyudon count), save for the occasional sausage egg mcmuffin because it's the only damned thing in this country resembling a proper breakfast. Rice and miso soup in the morning, or some sort of sweet bread, well, they just don't cut it.

[Daishikaze]

My only choice for Fast food is McDonalds, so I generally don't go for it, since I don't like McDonalds.

[Roxie]

the chicken is usually good and so are the fries. I've cut back on my soda in take.
Plus, when I'm down to $3, what else can I get?

Not only that, not having a car and only a 15 minute break, McD's was my only choice, cause it was right across the street.

[setrict]

Only two reasons cause me to eat fast food. Time constraints, and Egg McMuffins. Egg+cheese+ham+english muffin. So tasty it brings a tear to my eye, and an ounce to my thigh. Sigh.

[rush]

I don't know if any of you guys have ever been to one, but there's a Steak 'n Shake right up the street. As far as fast food goes, they're not too bad. Plus they have really good breakfasts. :p

[Jai]

Double quarter pounder, large fries and large coke, with a large caramel sundae and extra topping

get that shit into you and stop bitching about fast food ;) damn skin and bone hippies

[Citizen]

I haven't eaten fast food in a while. Once in a great while I'll have some McDonalds, Burger King, Hardees, or Chips. Chips being the best tasting and closest thing to real food, except maybe the angus burgers at Hardees. That's about it. I like the taste, but don't have it very often.

[Roxie]

is Quiznos fast food?

[Bob]

I eat a turkey sub from subway almost every day. Its the only food i can stand to eat besides instant oatmeal, ramen, tuna helper and lobster

#6 from wendys is good, too

[nice gaijin]

the standard classification for fast food is that you order your food and come to the counter to retrieve it when it is ready. Under this definition Quiznos and Subway could be considered fast food, and Carl's Jr doesn't as they bring the food to you if you are eating there (I've discussed this with a manager once whilst waiting for my western bacon cheeseburger).

Fast Food Nation is next on my reading list, and I've watched Super Size me 3 times now. These days I try not to make too many assumptions of how healthy anything from these places is, no matter what they claim or what people tell me.

Although I'd generally say the fast food in Japan tastes better and is less greasy than its American counterparts, that isn't to say that it's too much healthier; and McD's in Japan is just as bad as it is here. I did enjoy my visits to fakkin, mos burger and mister donut. Lotteria had the closest thing to American portions, but their burger made me sick. These days I try to avoid fast food if i can.

[rush]

Does that mean Steak 'n Shake isn't fast food then? Cause they actually have waiters and waitresses that bring the food to you. But they also have a drive-through. This is confusing. :confused:

[Mittens]

Would Subway fit into the category of fast food? It's really REALLY nice, it's quickly served, but it's healthy...
Right? I mean theres all the salads an stuff...
Unless they tamper with that shit? Cos Subway is really the only place I eat that may define fast food.

[nice gaijin]

Carl's Jr also has a "drive-thru" but they consider themselves a restaurant. Subway would still be considered fast food, even though they rarely (never?) have drive throughs.

[Bob]

Although I'd generally say the fast food in Japan tastes better and is less greasy than its American counterparts,

Why do you hate america?

[nice gaijin]

Why do you hate america?
sorry, care to run that train of thought by me again?

[Bob]

sorry, care to run that train of thought by me again?

Not really

[nice gaijin]

well that really makes your statements worth addressing, doesn't it.

To clarify your tangential asumption; no I do not hate America, and I don't see why anyone would draw that conclusion from me stating that Japanese fast is less greasy than American fast food (with the noted exception of McDonalds, which is just as bad).

Why would I say something like this? Perhaps because I've had a lifetime of experience with American eateries, and I've eaten in at least five fast food chains in Japan that I can think of right now that are prevalent in the States (McDonalds, KFC, Wendy's, Burger King, El Torito) and many more Japan-only chains (First Kitchen, Mos Burger, Mister Donut, Lotteria, Matsuya, and Yoshinoya, not to mention conbini's and actual restaurants like Denny's, yakiniku, gyuukaku, izakayas, okonomiyaki, etc). On the whole, the food I got at the American chains in Japan was tastier and less greasy than the food I can get here in America (most notably, KFC's fried chicken and french fries), and the food at the Japan-only chains was better still.

From my experience, I feel entitled to make such claims. If you have any experience or evidence proving otherwise, do please feel free to present it here. If not, try not to draw such ridiculous conclusions from what I post.

[Bob]

well that really makes your statements worth addressing, doesn't it.



Yes

To clarify your tangential asumption; no I do not hate America, and I don't see why anyone would draw that conclusion from me stating that Japanese fast is less greasy than American fast food (with the noted exception of McDonalds, which is just as bad).

Why would I say something like this? Perhaps because I've had a lifetime of experience with American eateries, and I've eaten in at least five fast food chains in Japan that I can think of right now that are prevalent in the States (McDonalds, KFC, Wendy's, Burger King, El Torito) and many more Japan-only chains (First Kitchen, Mos Burger, Mister Donut, Lotteria, Matsuya, and Yoshinoya, not to mention conbini's and actual restaurants like Denny's, yakiniku, gyuukaku, izakayas, okonomiyaki, etc). On the whole, the food I got at the American chains in Japan was tastier and less greasy than the food I can get here in America (most notably, KFC's fried chicken and french fries), and the food at the Japan-only chains was better still.

From my experience, I feel entitled to make such claims. If you have any experience or evidence proving otherwise, do please feel free to present it here. If not, try not to draw such ridiculous conclusions from what I post.

You're taking my posts a little bit too seriously

[nice gaijin]

well then i guess i'll just take to ignoring you again; silly me for expecting actual discussion in the General Discussion board.

[bloop]

snip
Japan-only chains (First Kitchen, Mos Burger, Mister Donut snip)


Somewhat offtopic, so I apologize in advance.
When I was in a Mister Donut, I saw a sign or something talking about their San Francisco stores. I know I've never seen a Mister Donut in SF. Does any know what they were talking about?

[RDClip]

For the many people say it tastes good, can I ask why? Have you never had good burgers or real food?

[Lateli]

Hamburgers yes, but I don't eat hamburgers at fast food places.. I eat chicken, and it's good chicken, I've never seen anyone make a spicey chicken sandwhich besides Wendeys, nor have I seen anyone make an enchirito. Chicken strips are everywhere, but Sonic's are really nice, even compared to sit down restaurants.

So at least two of those are a unique taste that I haven't found anywhere else. And they're good, I can't explain it. People eat snails, fish eggs, and bugs and call it good too, while I don't think it's that great. There are popular "unique" restaurants that supposedly have real food too, but it's only good at testing my gag reflexes.

[Arctic_Slicer]

Fast food isn't really that unhealthy for you. I have practically lived on the stuff for my whole life and I don't weigh 300+ pounds or suffering from a variety of medical problems. It's not any less healthy for than eating at home. It really depends more on the ammount you eat more than. You also need to eat a good balance of foods. Fast food sandwhiches take care of your meet and grain needs.

Fast food is widely successful because it's convinent. In the United States people often visit fast food restaurants during their 30 minute lunch as they are the easiest solution to get food in that time period and still being able to make it back to work on time. There are also people who like to travel, as this is a big country and fast food is convient as you can pick it up fairly quickly and eat it while you contine your trip. It's not always possible to cook for yourself on a long road trip. Many people enjoy fast food, myself included. Some people don't like to cook or aren't very good at cooking.

To understand why you have to remember that time is greater than money. "You can always make more money; but you can never have more time."

[Citizen]

For the many people say it tastes good, can I ask why? Have you never had good burgers or real food?

Oh my.

I'm guessing that people say that certain things taste good because, get this(this part is tricky, ya see), they think it tastes good. That's pretty much how it works. :D

I fail to see how one thing tasting better than something else would suddenly make the first thing taste bad.

[Roxie]

well then i guess i'll just take to ignoring you again; silly me for expecting actual discussion in the General Discussion board.
I thought it pretty obvious that he was just kidding when asked that...

[Collapse]

Geh. To relieve quick hunger? That's why it's fast food in the first place anyway.

I am somewhat fond of fast food. I mean, anything to fill up my empty belly. In terms of nutrition however, I suppose I'm okay with whatever. Nothing too much however.

[Trump]

Fast food doesn't taste bad, but I can usually find things I like better.

[Jai]

well that really makes your statements worth addressing, doesn't it.

To clarify your tangential asumption; no I do not hate America, and I don't see why anyone would draw that conclusion from me stating that Japanese fast is less greasy than American fast food (with the noted exception of McDonalds, which is just as bad).

Why would I say something like this? Perhaps because I've had a lifetime of experience with American eateries, and I've eaten in at least five fast food chains in Japan that I can think of right now that are prevalent in the States (McDonalds, KFC, Wendy's, Burger King, El Torito) and many more Japan-only chains (First Kitchen, Mos Burger, Mister Donut, Lotteria, Matsuya, and Yoshinoya, not to mention conbini's and actual restaurants like Denny's, yakiniku, gyuukaku, izakayas, okonomiyaki, etc). On the whole, the food I got at the American chains in Japan was tastier and less greasy than the food I can get here in America (most notably, KFC's fried chicken and french fries), and the food at the Japan-only chains was better still.

From my experience, I feel entitled to make such claims. If you have any experience or evidence proving otherwise, do please feel free to present it here. If not, try not to draw such ridiculous conclusions from what I post.

Korean maccas and KFC is some kind of foul tasting evil utter SHIT

much like all food in korea ;)

[Bob]

well then i guess i'll just take to ignoring you again; silly me for expecting actual discussion in the General Discussion board.

*single tear*

[4letterwords]

Steak n Shake is terrible. I hate everything about it- the food tastes like ass, its 'fast food' for a resturant price and its not even fast. It takes so goddamn long to get food there that its not even worth going.

Unless you're high at 4:15am and you get really hungry, but even in that case, go to white castle... which even though the epitome of greasy, nasty, unhealthy fast food, it's the only one that I like.

Peace.

[4letterwords]

Sorry for the double post, but nice gaijin is right. McDonalds in Japan is better than in America... So is KFC... I won't even touch KFC here.

Mos burger... OH GOD Mos burger... I love it. It's great. If you've never had it, buy a ticket to japan, fly there and get it. It's worth it.

I might add though, Subway in Japan is gross. It's WAY better here.

[Pete]

I only ever eat it if there's no other option and I don't have time to find somewhere better. If I can I'll always choose Subway over BK or McDs though. Yurgh.

[LJustus]

Kids like processed chunks of chicken, commonly called "nuggets". My son is no exception. I have a hard enough time getting him to eat. I appreciate that some of the major fast food chains have started to include healthier options with their kids meals. (McDonald's offers apples, and Wendy's offers madarin oranges.)

My personal favorite is Chipotle - although my waistline doesn't like it when I eat there.

[Kustom]

Look, I'm French, I can cook, I love good food and I spend most of the not-so-unsignificant salary I receive from Nova on restaurants.

And I sometimes eat in fast foods, because I fucking en-joy it!

It's greasy as an old condom and tastes like the things I made out of clay in kindergarten; it's plain and unrefined and that's just how I like it. So it's unhealthy. So what? Don't worry, you'll get your cancer, you can shop all your life at whole food, I guarantee you will. All those healthy vegetables are full of pesticides for all you know, and there's no telling if the tasty sushis in this expensive restaurant don't come from a Tokyo bay fish with 6 eyes... You can stop eating meat because you're scared of the mad cow disease (or the crazy chicken, the funky pig, the loony lamb, whatever new monster man will come up with next) and still get run over by a car next week and your last thought will be: "Goddamn it, why did I order hundreds of those horrible caesar salads when all I really craved for was a quadruple cheeseburger with mayonaise?".

I'm not saying I would eat in fast foods all the time or even would enjoy eating there often, that would be stupid and probably kill me for sure, but hell, once a month (who am I kidding? Every 1 or 2 weeks!) I go into a Mac Donald's and eat myself a couple of burgers (I'm still very thin, by the way), and I feel pretty good about myself. I will NOT go to subway to get a thin sandwich made of cardboard box or get a Mos Burger and stain all my clothes with teriyaki sauce because the bread is so small. Why fool myself into eating this stuff I don't want? Do you go to a fast food chain to satisfy your sense of the finer things in life or to stuff yourself with disgustingly greasy shit in 5 minutes? If you answer the former, I believe you are lying to yourself...

I usually tell my American friends: if you're so worried about your health, don't take your fucking car to get across the parking lot! Eating only salad every meal is not gonna get you very far improving your life expectancy...

On a last note, someone said "I don't enjoy eating".
Everything that's wrong about the world in a nutshell.

[Balain]

Shiver me timbers this grub not be fit for scurvy dogs. It only be good for the head

[4letterwords]

I dont' really like fast food because of the way it makes me feel after I eat it... like a heavy, weird feeling...

Could just be me?

[morganlefayw]

Neko, you're not the only one who gets that feeling- I do too.
As for the whole fast food issue, the reason we even have them is b/c our American culture has progressed to such a speed that we don't have time to prepare anything ourselves- grab n' go is the prefered method. Most ppl choose fast food b/c it's quick, it's there, it's cheap and it takes care of the hunger. I have this thought about our culture that ppl see their hunger as a problem- I'm hungry, therefore I must rid myself of it b/c it's a nusiance that keeps me from completing the 50 tasks I *must* do today. They don't see it as their body telling them they need nurishment. People are disconnected from their body. So fast food is most likely the easiest answer.
I work at a KFC and being around food 40 hours a week, last thing I wanna do is eat that stuff. Its made me think about my eating habits and those of other people I see. I lost ten pounds last winter running around doing my job and biking to and from my job. Sometimes I feel like grabbing these people by the shoulders and scream "Why are you eating this shit!!??"
But people have free will.

[Roxie]

yeah. Fast food, especially burger places, tend to give me a heavy feeling in my stomach I don't like. Which is why I started sticking to the chicken or fish. I don't feel nearly as big and I don't have a huge shit afterwards that kicks my ass inside out.

[Myrsilus]

Convenience. I tend to shy away from greasy foods, but I do eat it when I need food quickly. I actually prefer the taste of healthier foods, and besides if I eat too much of a greasy food I tend to feel heavy and a little sick...

I do enjoy some fried foods and all, like chicken, but in moderation.

[Shamu]

I dont' really like fast food because of the way it makes me feel after I eat it... like a heavy, weird feeling...

Could just be me?
I get that also and I hate that feeling, but like Justus said, when you have a kid, it's convenient and they'll actually eat it. I try and stay away from fast food places for the most part, but if I do go, I usually get chicken or something like that.

[akitaka]

I used to consume the stuff every day, for lunch, back when I was in highschool. There was an Arby's, Burger King, and Mcdonalds all next to each other in front of our schools. Any kid with good grades could walk to the local shops and eat.

No weight was gained on account of my body type and activities (3hours of Wushu, 3 times a week). In fact the only adverse affect was my horrible acne; I probably had the worst out of all my freinds, some of which were notably overweight.

Now after 17 I stopped eating at those places on two accounts: School moving, and money-saving. No more would I be spening 3 dollars for a "meal", rather than a simple sandwich with some water. Zip a few years later to where I am now, and I can say it's been about 3 or so years since my last bite of fast food. My acne cleared up very well, too, in the following month of the move. However there was an exception.

I had a friend who was visiting and asked me to come with her to go to Sonics; I didn't want to be rude, so I followed anyways, stating that I wasn't hungry. She said she would feel "like a pig" if I didn't eat as well. So I bought a simple hamburger. The evening went rather well.

...until I the night where my intestines were almost cursing with discomfort. The follow-up restroom experience wasn't any better. It was like taking a really bad laxative. I know it wasn't food poisoning, either, since a few months before the event I had consumed some Taco Bell Gordita that was sitting in the refridgerator, which ended up in me tossing my cookies.

With this, I'm just going to stick to home cooking/good restaurants, or just skip a meal. Personally, I can't handle fast-food.

[kshgosu]

It doesn't have any effect on me waist-line wise, the protein content/calories in some of the food is desirable after a workout. I quit burgers though, as they caused me stomach cramps and nausea when I only ate them once in a while. Subs are awesome, all salads taste like shit to me though.

[Jynx_lucky_j]

I normally eat at home, i only live about 10 mins from work, so its easy for me to run home for food. But im currently deployed in florida (Air Force) and they got me in a hotel about 30 min from work. Plus i work 12hr night shifts, from 6pm-6am and there just isnt much open beside a couple of fast food places, I do have a little food in my tiny hotel frigde but its too far for lunch. So I have been eating at fast food places more often lately for convenance