Fast Food - Changes

[AlaskaMoose]

I just had an experience that is perfect for this thread. Was flying through the Denver airport, which is a really big airport and when you fly on United Airlines as I did, often a connection spot. Decided to grab some lunch and went to the Smashburger. I paid almost $30 and the food was awful. Of course, airport price gouging is at play here, but still is just bad.

Two days ago, I went to a local restaurant (you still might call "fast food") and paid $10 for basically the same meal. This proves that local places are almost always better, either in price and/or quality of food.

Yes, the foods sold at the airports and similar places usually are more expensive than what the local restaurants where the same kinds of foods are prepared. For example, the same hamburger at the airport costs more and does not taste as good it does as a food prepared at a restaurant. All depends on the restaurant and the service it provides.

Now, if you want different ingredients and processes, then you have to pay more for the service at a restaurant. The bottomline is that the best or healthier foods cost a lot more than the average foods found in fast food joints, unless it is a "special food" that has become popular with visitors (tourists) and the local community. Once these foods become iconic, people all across the US want to give it a try without worrying about the higher price. 🙂

 

[decafjava]

I just had an experience that is perfect for this thread. Was flying through the Denver airport, which is a really big airport and when you fly on United Airlines as I did, often a connection spot. Decided to grab some lunch and went to the Smashburger. I paid almost $30 and the food was awful. Of course, airport price gouging is at play here, but still is just bad.

Two days ago, I went to a local restaurant (you still might call "fast food") and paid $10 for basically the same meal. This proves that local places are almost always better, either in price and/or quality of food.

I may have mentioned this but our American students always remark how US fast food chains are more expensive and so much better in Europe then the US. Not to mention local European versions.

 

[adrianlondon]

Local-ish restaurants becoming chains usually kills them. Jamie Oliver knows this well 😁

In London, we used to go to Honest Burger for our burgers. They were really good! Then there were three of them - still ok.

Then there were loads, and the price went up and the quality went down. We've never been back.

(As an aside, they're still doing ok so obviously don't miss our expenditure.)

If you own one restaurant and can save 20p on each burger you make by skimping a bit on ingredients ... who cares. Sell decent burgers and don't make that extra 20p.

If you own 20 restaurants in a chain, some accountant will multiply the 20p by some huge amount (say, the most burgers sold in one place, multiplied by 20) and the savings look huge! So, of course, put less pickles, charge extra for some stuff, use cheaper meat etc. Very temporarily, you make more money as it takes a while for the customers to notice and stop going. Then you go bankrupt.

As for airports ... Heathrow has quite good food airside, but the airport takes so much money to provide the space that everything is more expensive than outside. Except for Starbucks, as they simply charge a fortune everywhere ...

 

[decafjava]

I flew through Newark a few years ago and it was terrible. Overpriced food and freezing air conditioning. The Geneva airport is also expensive but the food it OK. I have flown through heathrow and agree the food is decent but expensive. Munich is similar though I enjoyed the beer flying back to Geneva.

 

[boppin]

Back then, we often went to McDonald's because cheeseburgers and chicken burgers only cost €1.

We very rarely go out to eat fast food these days.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Nothing better than a home-made hamburger, on 2 slices of good quality and healthy bread (I prefer a whole-grain organic bread, or at least one that is made with non-processed ingredients, and also without any added sugars).

While I sometimes trim the fat and then grind a NY steak (or two), I have noticed that some of the local stores (Costco for example) sell organic bison low-fat (around 10% fat) ground beef I can use to prepare and grill my own hamburgers. I no longer eat commercial hamburgers with processed hamburger breads, not because I am "special" or anything like that, but because I am old and have had to start and maintain a healthy diet two years ago.

 

[adrianlondon]

Nothing better than a home-made hamburger, on 2 slices of good quality and healthy bread (I prefer a whole-grain organic bread, or at least one that is made with non-processed ingredients, and also without any added sugars).

Ah good, another person who uses (whole-grain) bread or bread rolls instead of hamburger rolls or brioches.

Years ago, after a bbq, I had one hamburger roll left. "Ah, a roll" I thought, as I put cheese and pickle in it to make a quick snack. It was like eating cake! So sweet. Weird that I didn't really notice it when eating hamburgers. Since that day, I no longer bought hamburger rolls.

Oh a related subject ... years ago, when living temporarily in Beijing, I saw two loaves of sliced white bread in my local supermarket. One had the Union Jack on it, and one the American flag. I checked the ingredients, and pretty much the only change was the American one had sugar right near the top of the list. As it happens, I bought neither, as I hadn't flown all that way to eat sliced white "foreign" bread 😁

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Ah good, another person who uses (whole-grain) bread or bread rolls instead of hamburger rolls or brioches.

Years ago, after a bbq, I had one hamburger roll left. "Ah, a roll" I thought, as I put cheese and pickle in it to make a quick snack. It was like eating cake! So sweet. Weird that I didn't really notice it when eating hamburgers. Since that day, I no longer bought hamburger rolls.

Oh a related subject ... years ago, when living temporarily in Beijing, I saw two loaves of sliced white bread in my local supermarket. One had the Union Jack on it, and one the American flag. I checked the ingredients, and pretty much the only change was the American one had sugar right near the top of the list. As it happens, I bought neither, as I hadn't flown all that way to eat sliced white "foreign" bread 😁

Not only this (above), but the US food industries are quite "sneaky" in relation to their use of whole-grain flour, In this case unsuspecting buyers may read the words "whole-grain flour" whiteout realizing that the flour itself is a processed ingredient. I have seen some organic and other whole-grain breads at the local supermarkets, but if one takes the time to read the ingredients listed on the label, all contain some type of sweetener.

I agree with you about the amount of sugar and other sweeteners in breads. Regardless if being organic or not, from molasses (even honey) to corn-derived sweeteners, these still are unhealthy when consumed regularly. We have become junkies to both sugars of various kinds and salt from childhood.

All that said, I do understand that one may not have any choice but to buy the foods sold at airports and other places when one is in the move such traveling and so on. 🙂

 

[boppin]

Ah good, another person who uses (whole-grain) bread or bread rolls instead of hamburger rolls or brioches.

Canadian style? 🇨🇦

alfredissimo! broadcast from 2/20/1998

Bill Mockridge is making hamburger patties with Alfred Biolek 🍔

Ingredients:

1 kg ground beef
12 hamburger buns
2 large onions
1 package herb butter
2 packages sliced processed cheese
1 head of iceberg lettuce
1 jar relish
1 bottle ketchup
1 jar mayonnaise
1/2 kg tomatoes
Steak seasoning blend
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:

Peel the onions and cut them into thin rings. Place the cheese slices on a plate. Wash the tomatoes and cut them into thin slices.

Preheat the oven to 100°C.

Mix the ground beef with pepper, salt, and the seasoning blend. Shape the mixture into hamburger patties, fry them in herb butter, and keep them warm in the oven.

Arrange the other ingredients (relish, ketchup, onion rings, tomato slices, cheese) on the table so that everyone can assemble their own hamburger to their liking.

Bill Mockridge | Hamburger

aus alfredissmo!

www.happy-mahlzeit.com