My town used to have a Burger King. A Whopper I had there one time was quite literally the best burger I've ever had, before or since.
That said, this was ~30 years ago at one specific franchise, and I hear that BK food is terrible now, so maybe this doesn't count.
Fastfooood, culvers? probably culvers. buttery bread, little crisp on the buns, no gristle patties, yea they're pretty impressive.
That's the only fast food burger I've had in memory that i was like "oh shit!" in a good way. Pretty consistent quality too, in my experience.
Culver’s is the best, in my opinion. Five Guys is also very good but is spendy. Finally, Wendy’s makes excellent burgers as well.
I'd have to say Five Guys has the best fast food burgers. With Freddy's coming in a close second.
Never had a bad In N Out double double with chopped chilies and grilled onions
At various times I’ve enjoyed:
Lately sonic is my favorite.
In terms of large, North American fast food chains, I like A&W, Carl's Jr/Hardy's, and Jack in the Box. In terms of smaller, regional chains, I think In-N-Out is leaps and bounds the best (though What-A-Burger is also really good). Outside of North America, I'm a pretty big fan of Mos Burger from Japan. JollyBee from the Philippines is also pretty great, but mostly because they serve spaghetti and I find that amusing.
I think Shake Shack is overrated but worth trying. FiveGuys is meh.
I also firmly believe that smaller burger chains like In-N-Out, Shake Shack, and What-A-Burger are probably more or less equal in terms of quality and what determines which you think is best is where you grew up.
Probably spicy whopper from BK. Not a huge McD's fan, Wendy's doesn't really exist here (some menu items/branding existing in fakin wendy's), and neither MOS nor Freshness are my favorites. I'm not sure if Lotteria is still around which is the only other chain I can think of.
In-&-Out
It is still a crappy cheeseburger, but its the way a crappy cheeseburger is supposed to be. Cheap, fast and produced by a kitchen that is a shining example of fast food.
In a day when the big three (golden arches, BK, and Wendys) have mostly priced themselves out of their own market. I make it a point to stop by every time im in a place that has one. The farthest one from California is just east of Nashville TN.
Whataburger, but specifically the Sweet & Spicy Bacon Burger. Their regular burgers are pretty generic, but the one I mentioned is great. I don’t even buy it often anymore because you can buy their sauce at the grocery store, so I sometimes make my own version at home.
As a fellow Canadian, I'm partial to the Harvey's veggie burger. It's often on sale in the app and generally hits the spot, though sometimes it's a bit dry if they overcook it.
I'm not a strict vegetarian, but don't go out of my way to get meat either and sort of default on veggie burgers. I've tried them at other places. A&W has the Beyond Burger, which has a bit of an aftertaste I don't care for. I should go back though and try the masala burger. I'm curious about that one.
Burger King has the Impossible Burger. That's quite good, but there are no BKs near me. McDonalds also has a veggie burger now. I tried it. It's very soft and a tad boring. I don't think the Big Mac-style mayo-based sauces work great with it? I wish they would let you opt for one of the nugget sauces instead. Like it might be good with BBQ?
How have you only eaten A&W?
But also, in terms of fast food burgers, A&W Canada is pretty top tier.
Dick's deluxe will always have my heart. You can keep the rest. Always made fresh, always pretty cheap. And they pay their workers pretty good, which I'm convinced makes the burgers taste better.
Hardee's Monster Burger
but honorable mention to Wendy's Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, especially dipped in the chili
Probably Five Guys, but I've only been there once, they are quite rare here. But it was excellent.
Dick's cheeseburger.
I'd probably also go with A&W. I've gone vegetarian and as much as I dislike the pricing on the Beyond burgers at the grocer, they do make a pretty good one. And while I'm not really into their masala burger, it is neat that they have more than one option I can actually eat - truly a sad statement, but here we are.
I used to be pretty into Harvey's though. People are pretty divided on them because like, it's an obviously frozen hamburger and it tastes like it. But A) all their competitors are freezing their patties, and B) it honestly tasted like the obviously frozen burgers I could have been making at home.
Nowadays they cost about as much as going to a nice place though, so there's not nearly as much fast food in my diet.
Super Duper, San Francisco CA
Any local fish and chip shop makes a better burger than the American chains. And cheaper. I'm in Aus.
I’m realizing I like smash burgers from fast food places. For me Shake Shack tops that list, with Freddy’s a close second. I was surprised at how good I thought Sonic’s smash burger was since I usually haven’t been overly-impressed with their food. Not a smash burger, but I do like Five Guys, although they’re really expensive. None of those I would describe as particularly fast, though.
For something that’s actually fast, as in my food can be ready as soon as I get to the window from when I ordered at the drive-thru intercom I’d say Wendy’s is currently my favorite. They changed their burgers after founder Dave Thomas died and I haven’t liked their changes to the traditional lineup, but the Double Stack or Baconator/Baconator Jr. are good. The others like McDonald’s, Burger King, Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. are consistent, rarely bad but also rarely great. You’re in Canada and I’ve noticed when we go visit my wife’s parents up there that McDonald’s is often running some limited-time variant on their burgers, often the quarter pounder, and sometimes they’ve been good, or at least interesting. We don’t seem to get those in the US, so if you want a fast food burger you might want to at least try them since you have easy access.
My recommendations might not mean much, though, because I haven’t been particularly impressed with the A&W burgers I’ve had in Canada. I’ve already forgotten what I really don’t like with them even though I had one a few weeks ago, but I think it’s something like the buns are weirdly grainy and the meat is loose and has an odd flavor. I like the root beer, though, in spite of your paper straws that start breaking down way too fast.
I don’t know if it is considered boutique, but Five Guys and Smash Burger are top in my book. If you’re only counting drive up availability, In-n-out.
Here's a shoutout to Albino Black Sheep!
I'm a Hardee's person. That mushroom and Swiss is my fav
The 'Shroom Burger at Shake Shack is still the best non-meat burger I've had by far.
Oh my goodness, oh my dayum...
The best i ever had was the one from the "American Cafe" next to the embassy. Sadly, the embassy moved, and the Cafe closed long ago.
Second is the "Lieblingsburger" food truck, a small local chain.
With big Chain Burgers, I prefer Burgerking. Eons ahead of McD.
Super Duper Burgers, only in northern California right now, but hands down my favorite burger. Second is In & Out animal style.
It used to be Fat Burger, but the only one near me closed.
Now it is Five Guys.
Here in nz we have burger fuel. The backfire from them is pretty good
Common! Which country?!
Actually fast: Jack in the Box Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger.
Technically fast food but it aint fast to get: In-n-Out Double Double (the long ass fucking lines make me not even consider In-N-Out fast food; it can take up to an hour just to get to the order box!)
Unless Carl's Jr. brings the Jack Daniels whiskey sauce steakhouse burger back. That thing still haunts my dreams. 🤤
I've had enough burgers at fast food chains to confirm none are even close to what I make at home.
MacDonald's are too small, hardly any meat.
At Burger King getting a Whopper on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday is a mistake. Patties are cooked ahead of time and are very dry. I had one on a Friday that was amazing. Another time the Friday Whopper was meh.
A&W Mozza burger is pretty good but have gotten smaller and more expensive over the years.
Harvey's are the closest to what I make at home.
Hard to beat Carl's Jr. (Hardees) for me. Haven't had one in 15 years, though.
Yall gonna think I’m crazy but Farmer Boys. Everybody else around me gonna say In-N-Out.
Max. Hands down.
I've only had hesburger and mcdonalds, and out of the 2 I'd take hesburger :p
White Castle and P. Terry's from Austin.
They are all more or less the same to me.
Bit better than average there is the local one across the street but it's not a franchise so none of you would know it.
The burger king next to the airport an hour north of here was a pleasant positive surprise.
I still miss the one-man operation from my childhood. Tiny building, 5 seats. Not sure how he could make ends meet. He retired in the early 2000s I think.
I ordered Steakhouse from Burger King the first time I went there and it was good so that's what I've gotten every time since. I haven't even tried any of the others.
Right now it's the double steak burger with cheese, plain, from Steak N Shake. So delicious.
I haven't eaten a huge variety of hamburgers, but I particularly liked the "Tobikiri Cheese" burger (now discontinued) from the Japanese hamburger chain Mos Burger.
Mos Burger emphasizes using "domestically sourced" ingredients, and among the many foreign-owned burger chains in Japan, it particularly pursues a taste tailored to Japanese palates.
Furthermore, this hamburger chain stands out among Japanese hamburger chains, having been the first to sell the "Teriyaki Burger" (also known as the Samurai Burger).
Unfortunately, this favorite menu item is no longer available, but I like the overall flavor direction of this brand, so I'm thinking of going back again.
There is a local business called The Real McCoy - their mojo burger is the best burger I've ever had anywhere.
Honorable mentions - The Burger's Priest bone marrow lettuce wrapped was great.
Harvey's veggie burger was a solid choice.
BK Whopper of the major chains.
Dairy Queen
it kinda depends on the size of the chain. like there is a burger place near my house that has the best burgers but its not a chain. For the been around a long time and large chains I felt wendys held up the longest. Burger king was great in the 80's but went down hill. It seems that its still decent if you are away from a major metro area. Basically they are not cooking on demand in high density places. You can still request it be cooked and made fresh which makes a big difference. their patty is skinny as heck still now.
Where in Canada? Toronto has small shops that are better than any of the big chains.
But if you're asking me to pick from the well known chains I'd have to go with Shake Shack over the others.
I don't get the appeal, any burger you make at home is going to be a million times better than a fast food burger. You don't even have to complicate things, just buy the buns, butter and toast them, spread a spoonful of aioli, throw some fresh salad from the market, press garlic, a big slice of ancient tomato, there, it's already better than any store-bought and we haven't even gotten to the patty.
I like Dirty V (Norway) and Vincent (Germany). I can go with Max Burger (Scandinavia) too, if the other options are MacDonald's or Burger King, as these two mainly make vegetarian food that is unseasoned and lazy.
Despite reddit and Lemmy nerds screeching, McDonald's is fantastic.
That being said a fast food burger is a burger, they are all pretty much the same except form factors.
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