Oh no. Not another fast food restaurant!

@p1kef1sh (45681)
April 24, 2008 5:00am CST
Let me say from the outset that I think that the concept of fast food is great, but I cannot remember ever having a pleasant meal in a fast food restaurant. So I very rarely visit them these days. We have recently had a couple of fast food joints opened near where I live. A KFC and a Pizza Hut (the latter is just about bearable to me). If you ever take a burger apart it resembles the most unattractive slurry ever. In fact to help this lump of indigestible gloop slide down they even smother it in a so called mayonnaise. Limp salad, over pickled gherkins, a slither of so called meat which I suspect has been mechanically recovered and the most tasteless "bun" that has ever had the misfortune to be made. As for the chicken. Intensively reared, dry as a bone that needs something "Finger Lickin'" just to make it acceptable on the plate. All these dishes have one thing in common though, they are sufficiently stodgy that you feel full for a whilst afterwards, especially if you wash the whole lot down with a fizzy drink. Super sized of course. So I am not a fan. But millions are. What does fast food mean to you and how often do you eat in one of those restaurants?
13 people like this
27 responses
• India
24 Apr 08
fast food may be good at taste but they are not at all nutrious ..... they infact harm us in many ways they cause obesity heart probs , etc and are not good to have ...
3 people like this
• India
25 Apr 08
but we can have them rarely, they taste good ..
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
My thoughts as well. Thank you.
3 people like this
@mummymo (23706)
24 Apr 08
LOL I ABHOR KFC - I have never tasted chicken so greasy and fatty , yeeeurgh! We occasionally have a McDs or BK but it is rare and I will NOT eat the burgers - I may have a veggy burger or a chicken baguette but no burgers! We do have a fantastic chippie not far away and we have that sometimes , Chicken Tikka and pizza are other favourites although we don't have them that often - makes them taste better when you do get them! xxx
2 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
A good chippy is fantastic. We have an excellent one here. A poor one is dire though. Chinese and Indian foods are not what I really class as fast food, but they can be takeaway of course. But I love chicken Tikka - but with my very strict views on poultry welfare it is rare that I can find a restaurant that sells free range or organic chicken.
3 people like this
@mummymo (23706)
24 Apr 08
I know what you mean by a good and bad chippy pikey! The one just down the road from me used to be so good people came from all over to get their chips but after the owner left to move back to spain and left his son in law in charge it went way downhill and everything you get from there now is a greasy , yucky mess! I love Indian food but can't really remember the last time I ate it in a restaurant - take away does for me these days! xxx
1 person likes this
• United States
1 May 08
Please tell me what a chippy is! Pretty please? I have never heard of this.
1 person likes this
@nannacroc (4049)
24 Apr 08
Bananas are the best fast food ever. I don't eat in fast food restaurants because I don't like cardboard.
2 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
With cream. Yummy. Fast food is mostly cardboard, but without the taste!! I would sooner go to a cafe, or better still a small italian restaurant. This is making me hungry.
2 people like this
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
24 Apr 08
Congrat's on the new food joints...based on your description I guess this means your gonna be eating there all the time LOL We have several fast food places here...McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Sonic and KFC/Taco Bell. I tend to stay away from them as much as I can although if I'm out running errands and my sugar gets too low then I have to eat something. If at all possible I stop at the grocery store and grab something from their deli. It's not ALOT better but it is a little better. I'd rather just make my meals at home myself and be done with it. **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
2 people like this
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
24 Apr 08
Sometimes there is not time to sit down to a real meal inside but I do try to eat something before leaving the house so it makes it unnecessary to have to stop somewhere. I can't imagine a place that wants you to cook your own food...LOL **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
2 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
Don't wait for me inside one of those places, you may get very old before I turn up. LOL. If you need food in a hurry I think that you will always do better going to a "proper" restaurants where they even give you knives and forks or do a you do and get it "raw" from the store. I went to one place once and they had a grill in the middle of the table and expected me to cook my own food. Then charged me for the privilege!!
2 people like this
• United States
24 Apr 08
I'm not a big fan of fast food either. I will get the occasional double cheeseburger when I am out running errands all day and have no time to sit down and eat anything appropriate. I just stopped at McDonalds on my way home and got a pack of apple slices and an iced tea. $2 well spent since I won't have time to actually eat for another 3 hours. I would stay away from KFC if I were you though. If you have ever seen their hormone injected mutant chickens you wouldn't want to put that toxic waste into your digestive system I'm sure.
2 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
I haven't eaten chicken in any restaurant in nearly three years. I only eat organic or free range chicken. It is one of my weird little idiosyncrasies. If i cannot be reassured of the provenance of the chicken, and I like to see a picture of it playing happily on the farm before it is hung upside down, stunned and has its throat slit, I don't buy it. Surprisingly it is almost impossible to find in UK restaurants, yet every supermarket has space devoted to them these days.
1 person likes this
@ellie333 (21016)
24 Apr 08
I will ocassionally buy a Happy Meal as a treat for my son but I don't eat burgers anyway, never have done even at home. I enjoy Pizza Hut though I don't class that as a fast food as such and the girls have chosen to have birthday meals there in the past. One of my daughters won't eat in any burger one but loves KFC but the other has recently taken to having burgers as she was collecting monopoloy tokens or something but not her usual diet and her money not mine but they really don't appeal to me at all. I'd rather a decent sandwich or baguette from a bakery and I tend to buy fish and chips as a fast food if I do buy out as we have one of the best fish and chips shops I have ever been to just around the corner. Ellie :D
2 people like this
@ellie333 (21016)
24 Apr 08
Sorry I responded from email notification so hadn't read the other responses yet, but yes we do have lovely fish here and my son enjoys a good piece of cod and chips too which is wonderful as fish is so good for you. Ellie :D
2 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
Pizza Hut is on the line for me. We do go there ocasioanlly, although we go more often to an Italian restaurant here that does wonderful pizza for about the same price. When our daughter was younger we spent time in these places, but the food was very mediocre. I was just saying to Mummymo above that a good chippy is wonderful. I should hope that you do have good fish and chips where you are. The fish should be hauled straight from the sea. I sometimes buy fish and chips from a stall in West Bay and sit on the harbour wall and escape into my own little World. Bliss.
3 people like this
@34momma (13882)
• United States
28 Apr 08
i am not one for fast food. not really into burgers and things like that. if i must have a burger then i rather make them right here at home. besides they charge you so much in those places. i rather eat salad for lunch
@34momma (13882)
• United States
28 Apr 08
i know what you mean, home made beats store brought or fast food every day of the week. i can say that because i am a great cook
@p1kef1sh (45681)
28 Apr 08
Home mad burgers are the best. I fact home made anything is the best. Fast food restaurants fill a hole, but I hate to think what it is filled with!
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
28 Apr 08
I said "Home mad" when I meant "Home made".... Perhaps I was right first time!!
1 person likes this
• United States
24 Apr 08
very very rarely Pike. I am not a big burger fan to begin with. However i do differ with you on KFC chicken, but only the wings. I absolutely positively adore KFC chicken wings extra crunchy. Yes I realize how they are raised and it pains me. In my own defense, I only treat myself to KFC chicken wings once or twice a year.
1 person likes this
• United States
24 Apr 08
LMAO I know you are not Sugar, I have not ever tried the Chick-Fil-a although we have one in the county over. I just don't do fast food that much. If Jake has company over for the weekend I let them order out pizza, but my feelings are that if I am going to spend that kind of many I might as well spend a bit more and have a very nice dinner out with my husband. Not only that but I like to cook so that is not a biggy, There are times that our lives get into such a hurry that fast food comes to mind, but I generally keep something in the fridge for a fast salad, or sandwich's. Always left overs of some kind... and we eat leftovers in this family nothing if I can help it gets wasted. I tend to cook big for that fact, so that on a night that we are pushed for time last night meatloaf makes a great sandwich tonight. As far as the KFC chicken wings I think it is both the breading and the taste of the meat. Other than that our meat I purchase for the house is of the free range organic variety. We just do not eat much red meat at all. Even for burritos and tacos most of the time it is ground turkey or pork. Some how I feel like I have wandered way off topic.... LMAO reel me back in Pike :)))
2 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
I love good leftovers. Cold meat, salad and my all time favourite cold new potatoes. You didn't drift off point at all. I enjoyed reading about your leftover adventures. LOL
2 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
I am not here to censor people for eating at fast food joints. I have done so myself many times. I just don't enjoy the food. But what is it about KFC chicken wings that you like? The chicken or the coating? I actually have a secret wish to visit a Chick-Fil-A store (which we do not have in the UK. So I shall have to go to your part of the World to do it). I admire the owner and his family who, to me, display the most fantastic work ethic and inspirational leadership technique. Even though theirs is based on religious tenets. They don't open on sundays for example.
1 person likes this
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
24 Apr 08
Fast food, means to me, that oo is prared fast and served to the customer quickly. I do not want to think that we are missing out on the quality of food we eat, just because it is prepared quickly. I know some of the restaurants have nasty food and I would never eat it because it just does not look or taste real. We eat fast food about 4 times per month.
2 people like this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
I have no problem with the notion of fast food. We don't all have the time to spend over a meal as we would like. If the food is good, and well prepare then it should be great.
2 people like this
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
24 Apr 08
Well I have to tell you. I live in a board and care where my meals are prepared for me and if I could afford to eat fast food every day, I would. I live right across the street from a community college, so they have just about every fast food place imaginable within walking distance. The food here, leaves a whole lot to be desired. Sometimes the food is so bad, we do not even recognize it. One night they made turkey loaf and I got so sick, I was violently throwing up. It was so bad that I also peed on myself. To make matters worse, I was at a friend's house. Give me the fast food life any day.
1 person likes this
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
24 Apr 08
A board and care is a home for the mentally disabled. I live here because of my emotional issues due to childhood abuse and neglect. There are millions of places like this now.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
25 Apr 08
Thank yo for that Rozie. I often wonder why those sorts of places feed their "guests" so poorly. It happens here too. My wife worked in one place where they watered down the milk! Now that really is a cheap and rotten thing to do.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
That sounds absolutely disgusting Rozie. I am not sure what a Board and Care is. A type of hostel maybe? I can see the attraction of a fast food restaurant under those circumstances. Thank you for sharing that.
1 person likes this
@CanadaGal (4304)
• Canada
25 Apr 08
When my boys were a bit younger, we would go to Burger King or McDonald's at least twice a month. For me, it wasn't so much for the food as it was for the "play place" areas where the boys could run off some energy. Especially in the winter time, these establishments are fantastic for families with young children. Now that the boys are getting a bit older, I'm trying to broaden their eating horizons, as well as my own. We have a new "thing" we do now, when we go downtown to see a movie and then go out for dinner. We will go to a new restaurant each time. It turns out, the cost of most places, because of their kids menus pricing, is not much different than the costs at the "fast food" establishments. So we may as well all get a nicer meal for a similar cost. The boys are starting to get a bit too big for the "play places" now anyways, so it all works out great. We now have order in food maybe once a month, and I try to take them out once a month. My finances are about to change soon, and we likely won't be able to afford to order in anymore. But I still want to take them out once a month if I can swing it. All I know is that we likely won't be visiting any of the fast food joints anytime soon.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
25 Apr 08
We used to take Clare to those place for the same reason too. I wasn't as choosy then either! But we also took her "proper" restaurants. I think that your film and dinner/lunch idea is excellent. Apart from having a great time, they learn social skills and have an opportunity to do something really different. Give Mom a cooking break too. Being nosy I had a look to see what sorts of restaurants London has. Quite a variety by the looks of things, plenty of scope for choice. I hope that even with different circumstances you are able to keep doing it.
2 people like this
@CanadaGal (4304)
• Canada
25 Apr 08
I've been taking the boys to those proper restaurants for years, but they used to be rather bored with them, because they would have to stay seated most of the time. lol. Now they can handle doing that, and we have great conversations. If I budget properly, I should be able to take them out once a month without too much hassle. Total return trip bus fare is just under $10 for all 4 of us, the matinees are only $4.50 each, and the total dinner cost with tip is usually between $40 and $50. Yeah, so less than $100 for a full afternoon out with 3 kids. That's not too bad.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
25 Apr 08
Not bad at all. Not when you consider how long you will be out for, they will have seen something to talk about with their friends and got fed; and listened to all Mum's jokes again! Great value.
2 people like this
@skinnychick (6905)
• United States
26 Apr 08
Fast food is the love of my life. I can't believe you don't like KFC...it's one of my favorites. Pizza Hut is horrible but I live in Chicago and we have the best pizza around. I crave it and cannot live without it. It is my true love. Damn I'm hungry.
1 person likes this
• United States
26 Apr 08
There are worse that I love than KFC. We have a restaurant here called White Castle. The burgers are called sliders. You eat them and supposedly they slide right out the other end. That hasn't happened to me but I do love them. Most people eat them when they are drunk. LOL
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
26 Apr 08
Now Ainge told me how White Castle make their burgers in front of you, at least in NYC. But the thought of a "slider" is simply revolting. Hope that they have clean toilets in their stores.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
26 Apr 08
Skinny! KFC! What am I going to do with you? You cannot beat a well made pizza. Fortunately for us a lot of Italians heading for the US got tired just about the time they hit the UK and we have some fabulous places here. Pizza Hut is not a fave. I've been, but don't beat a path to its door. KFC. Such a good girl our Skinny. Where did we go wrong? Can we show our faces outside again.? KFC. KFC. KFC. OOOh woe!!
1 person likes this
@Aingealicia (1905)
• United States
25 Apr 08
Oh my friend P1kef1sh, Not a single one. I gave them up when I gave up Wally world and the like. I do love white castle here in NY, however I can watch them make real food and with what I can or in my case can not eat. Two burgers fill me up with out an issue. Ainge
1 person likes this
• United States
25 Apr 08
Oh yes, the burgers there are not really big.
1 person likes this
• United States
25 Apr 08
They are the only fast food I eat actually, yeah they make the burgers in front of me, their products are fresh and service is friendly. However I have not been to one for well ummmmmmm since last year before the holidays. So it is a very rare thing for me indeed. I prefer to get food from home or off a cart on the street in NY. Ainge
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
25 Apr 08
I have no problem with fast food. But it should be proper food not gloop. I don't know White Castle at all. I went to their website but it was corporate bland so I don't feel that I am much better off. But the make the burgers in front of you do they? Whatever, if you enjoy the food there, way not. I am not trying to be a killjoy, but I struggle with the stuff myself.
1 person likes this
• Canada
24 Apr 08
I am not a fan of fast food at all. It is sloppy junk full of hormones, preservatives, pesticides and who knows what else. (Often a hair from someone, too, yeck!) I eat 99% homemade food. Mostly organic, although not certified organic because I disagree with some of the criteria for that. I have a bad stomach, gastritis, borderline ulcers, so I cannot stomach (literally) greasy fare. I believe those grease pits are very unhealthy. About the only fast food I eat is subs and occasionally an Ice Creme treat.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
24 Apr 08
I love to fish. Trout mostly. But have one of those fresh from the river. Yum Yum Pig's Bum!! Sorry to hear about your gastric problems; fast food is definitely not going to be a friend to the Annie tum is it? I am keen on organic and free range animals and eat organic veg and fruit when I can get it. But the criteria is very demanding. What aspects concern you.
2 people like this
• Canada
24 Apr 08
To be 'certified organic' in livestock production (animals ie. chickens, cattle, sheep, etc), you cannot give them ANY antibiotics under any circumstances whatsoever. I disagree with that, because if something is ill, it should be medicated to save it's life or enhance it's life by curing it of the ailment, not allow it to suffer. The thing about antibiotics in our food supply that most of us disagree with, is having 'preventative antibiotics' added to the animal's feed on an ongoing basis. The other thing I do not agree with is that you are not allowed to use wormers to deworm your animals. That means that the meat you eat is laden with parasitic worms......yeck! And that is a vet's opinion that I have adopted. So he knows. The althemics they use are considered chemicals, when, in fact, they are derived from plants.
1 person likes this
• Canada
24 Apr 08
Oh, you mentioned your passion for fish and chips. My version of that is to go fishing and catch my own bass or pickerel, then lightly batter it with 'fishcrisp', and eat it truly fresh within hours of catching the feisty little guys.
1 person likes this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
27 Apr 08
I am not a fast food Fan either p1 Years ago they where not to bad, when I used to take the Children for a treat actually they where quite nice, but now it is very rare that I will go to them My Children still like them lol but not for me at all
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
27 Apr 08
Call me cynical but I think that these restaurants deliberately target children and teenagers making it appear the food is fun - which it can be. But I see so many youngsters eating this stuff in addition to their three meals a day and it is little wonder that we have an obesity problem.
1 person likes this
@Ohara_1983 (4117)
• Kuwait
25 Apr 08
for me fast food chain is good idea for the people who be in shopping or with whole family, but as we know fast food also is not good if your making your own diet.lot of people as we know dis-agree & agree to this food chain. but im not the person who love to eat in the fastfood, i order maybe once in a2 or 3 months. as long im strong & can cook for myself & family, i avoid also my kid for the fastfood.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
25 Apr 08
Fast food serves a purpose Ohara. I am not against it. I just don't think that it is very pleasant to eat. Home cooked food is always much better. Thank you.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (72315)
• United States
25 Apr 08
I don't like a lot of the food at fast food resturants but usually I can find at least one thing that I really like even if its not healthy. McDonalds has great fruit & yogurt parfaits on the dollar menu which are healthy and inexpensive! Their milkshakes are a yummy treat. Burger King has delicious BK Veggie Burgers! I order them without ketchup though because I dislike ketchup very much! Arbys has mozzarella sticks but arent really good unless you use marinara sauce on them. Some burger kings have mozzarella sticks and they are really good. Burger kings fries are better then most of the other fast food resturants.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
25 Apr 08
I love milkshakes (but I rarely drink milk. Odd boy that I am) but there is quite a lot of sugar in those things so I tend to have one once in a blue moon . There are of course things that you can eat. But their mainstays are, in my opinion, just tasteless stodge. You are not the first person to mention BK's fries. Looks like I am going ot have to go and buy some and see what the fuss is about. LOL.
1 person likes this
@suehan1 (4344)
• Australia
25 Apr 08
p1ke my son would have to be a fast food junkie if i let him,i am sure he is aiming for a career at mcdonalds as a food tester.we have so many fast food outlets just down the road from us and they are all aweful.kentucy as you said dry as a bone or greasy as.give me a good take away of chinese anyday compared to any fast food outlets.cheers sue
@p1kef1sh (45681)
25 Apr 08
This is the great strength of fast food places Sue. They create a novelty product that appeals to the young. Once they have you it is not too easy to shake free. Chinese or Indian are much preferred by me.
1 person likes this
@novataylor (6570)
• United States
26 Apr 08
I don't like fast food, for the most part, and I rarely eat it. Taco Bell is ok, but I wouldn't eat in one of the chicken chains to save my life. Eewww! I'm particularly picky about chicken, and don't care to eat it if I don't cook it. I'll eat it at a nice restaurant, but not at a fast food chain. I like Steak n Shake, although I doubt you know about that one. I grew up on it and I love their burgers - they're steak burgers, ya know, so they're very tasty. And they cook everything in front of you - their motto is "in sight it must be right". Works for me. But I'll tell you something. I don't drive. Therefore, I don't pull into a fast food joint at a whim. That makes a huge difference, trust me. And none of 'em have a bike thru window. I'm a snob when it comes to fast food, sorry, but I just am. Hey, did you ever see the movie 'Supersize Me', about the guy who ate nothing but McDonald's for a month or something? Yikes, he gained a huge amount of weight and got literally sick. Talk about unhealthy! I'll stay a snob, thank you.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
26 Apr 08
You and me together the Nova. Perhaps we can start out own chain. NovaFish - Bespoke Burgers for the Discerning Cyclist - Get it? Maybe the Tour de France would sponsor us. I am getting into this entrepreneurial lark. Skinny and I have a bra customisation company and now we have a burger chain. Sheesh we're going to be busy. Perhaps all the burger assistants could wear conical bras whilst serving.
1 person likes this
• India
25 Apr 08
the extra fat that is deposited securely and adamantly under my skin is due to fast foods!!i know it is bad and harmful but i just can't steer away from them.it is kind of a lifestyle for me now.i can't help it.whenever there is a fast meal i need to take leaning on them is the fastest solution at hand for me.though i try to make healthy choices like avoiding carbonated drinks and meat wherever i can.restaurants some of them in my locality are really cool with bright colors and youngsters with excellent food quality so i visit those .the ones who look like a drab i give them a skip!
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
25 Apr 08
Isn't that strange. There is a drive on here at the moment to show how healthy Indian food is, and India itself is being bombarded by fast food restaurants. Always head to clean places. Dirty ones can put you in hospital.
1 person likes this
• India
28 Apr 08
hi i like indian food, excellent food and good quality.