Fast Food and Guilty Pleasures

Greetings, Readers!

You know, last week’s blog entry on In N Out Burger had me thinking about fast food in general here in California. I had some other sandwiches I planned to review, but this was a topic that stayed on my mind since last week.

Sure, we’ve got the Big 3 fast food burger spots here, but there is a wealth of fast food restaurants in the area that I would easily place above them, if I were in the mood for fast food.

With how many amazing spots there are in Los Angeles for great non-fast food sandwiches, this isn’t often, but it occasionally does happen.

So let’s take a look at a few of my favorites that are well known for being out west.

Jack In The Box: With commercials featuring their lovable “CEO” Jack, this fast food chain isn’t as far out with their menus as the next two entries, but does feature some oddball items. Also, like the next two fast food spots, the calorie count for some of their items will absolutely make your eyes bulge. When I feel like slumming it food-wise, I’m a big fan of the Sourdough Jack, one beef patty, copious bacon pieces and Swiss cheese on toasted sourdough bread. It’s sloppy and it’s not something I would normally recommend, but we all have our guilty pleasures. Oh, and for my Philly readers, their Philly Cheesesteak sandwich commercials are both insulting and hilarious.

Carl’s Jr: With its sibling chain Hardee’s back east, this chain is known for some ridiculously large portion sizes as well as wild commercials, usually employing celebrities or very attractive models to show off their food (for example, this one). Along with Jack In The Box, this is another caloric overload of a meal, but in general the meat is a step above the rest in flavor. Right now, their newest burger is the Buffalo Blue Cheese Burger, which you can wash down with a gut busting Shake, and even a strawberry Pop Tart ice cream sandwich after.

Sonic: This OKC based company has been expanding in recent years, and its closest location is in Orange County, but that hasn’t stopped the commercials from being on LA television multiple times an hour. The food here can border on the ridiculous like Carl’s Jr., and it even had one of the worst burgers as named by Men’s Health magazine. Sonic is also known for their huge hot dog selection.

And so now that my guilty pleasures of fast food are out in the open, join me in revealing your favorite spots to slum it up with fast food. Next week, I promise we’ll move back into some of the better sandwiches of the area.

Until then, Readers…