Fast Food Discussion: Mexican Pizza at Taco Bell

[kyphysics]

$10.59 Hamburger
$7.99 Little Hamburger

I thought about getting Five Guys today, until I saw their prices. God forbid one adds cheese to a burger or gets a side of fries (let alone a soda too).

When did it cost $20 for a lunch meal of burger/fries/drink? ...Remember when McDonald's had $2.99 combos?

Food costs are insane. Yes, I'm aware FG is a premium fast food place that's always had higher prices, but it's still shocking.

I need to time my $5 (for 8 pieces) Kroger fried chicken days to buy like three trays of these to store up (freeze). At least Taco Bell's bean burrito and rice and cheese burritos are still cheap.

 

[hutchphd]

...Remember when McDonald's had $2.99 combos?

With respect, you should know your audience.
I remember when McDonald's had 15 cent hamburgers.

 

[gmax137]

I worked at a small local fast food chain when I was in high school. I remember when coffee went from a nickel to a dime. The old coots who gathered for coffee at our restaurant went hermatile.

 

[nsaspook]

Some 'Fast' food in Asia.

 

[symbolipoint]

High prices, as like in post #211, know that some taco shops do sell inexpensive tacos. Good flavor too. Just also know you get what you pay for; and that does NOT mean poor quality, but means the tacos may be a little small. Taco is a fast food, useful as a quick meal. Some taco places sell a taco for 3 to 4 dollars.

.... but now for my opinion - about Burrito, to me they are still too expensive, almost everywhere. Best learn to make your own burrito at home. So fast-food if you do not mind the price; or slow food if you want a better price and make them at home.

 

[WWGD]

I get myself some store-brand waffles, cheese , and nuke them both for 30 seconds. A nice, tasty , filling snack to go along with more nutritious fare.

 

[kyphysics]

Question for Waffle House patrons:

Is the bill always calculated by the employee by hand? This is weird as hell. They don't punch in the cost into a computer, but do it by hand at my location. I'm catching LOTS of overcharge "errors."

 

[collinsmark]

Question for Waffle House patrons:

Is the bill always calculated by the employee by hand? This is weird as hell. They don't punch in the cost into a computer, but do it by hand at my location. I'm catching LOTS of overcharge "errors."

I don't eat at Waffle House myself (none nearby), but I know that Waffle House will operate on just the bare essentials in order to stay open at nearly all costs. As such, they probably avoid reliance on automated cash registers and things that might break down. For example, if the power goes out, or a store's computer system is damaged, they still need to be operating at full speed.

It's enough that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) based their disaster recovery index on Waffle House. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index

 

[kyphysics]

I don't eat at Waffle House myself (none nearby), but I know that Waffle House will operate on just the bare essentials in order to stay open at nearly all costs. As such, they probably avoid reliance on automated cash registers and things that might break down. For example, if the power goes out, or a store's computer system is damaged, they still need to be operating at full speed.

It's enough that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) based their disaster recovery index on Waffle House. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index

The FEMA link is impressive, but I do find the WH method cumbersome too. The employee calculating my order's total took FOREVER! On top of that, he seemed to add an unauthorized tip for himself (unless it was a math error). It happened a few times (the overcharge) and has spurred me to demand a calculation in front of me with all the numbers written out next time (which is time consuming).

I will say their food prep is quite fast when there aren't a lot of customers. I've been going 5:30 AM a lot.

Their "double" your hash browns for $.50 cents is a great deal.

 

[nsaspook]

 

[symbolipoint]

$10.59 Hamburger
$7.99 Little Hamburger

I thought about getting Five Guys today, until I saw their prices. God forbid one adds cheese to a burger or gets a side of fries (let alone a soda too).

When did it cost $20 for a lunch meal of burger/fries/drink? ...Remember when McDonald's had $2.99 combos?

Food costs are insane. Yes, I'm aware FG is a premium fast food place that's always had higher prices, but it's still shocking.

I need to time my $5 (for 8 pieces) Kroger fried chicken days to buy like three trays of these to store up (freeze). At least Taco Bell's bean burrito and rice and cheese burritos are still cheap.

Things like that is why some of us have been putting in the effort to cook foods on our own. One can but some food items in the less-assembled form, and do what we want with them, according to our own food preparations skills.

 

[symbolipoint]

$10.59 Hamburger
$7.99 Little Hamburger

I thought about getting Five Guys today, until I saw their prices. God forbid one adds cheese to a burger or gets a side of fries (let alone a soda too).

When did it cost $20 for a lunch meal of burger/fries/drink? ...Remember when McDonald's had $2.99 combos?

Food costs are insane. Yes, I'm aware FG is a premium fast food place that's always had higher prices, but it's still shocking.

I need to time my $5 (for 8 pieces) Kroger fried chicken days to buy like three trays of these to store up (freeze). At least Taco Bell's bean burrito and rice and cheese burritos are still cheap.

Another interesting high-price routine is the very many so very many taco & burrito fast food shops offer various things, including burritos and several kinds of assorted plates and other stuff,... and then some of these places sell TACOS for very low prices, like between 2.5 and 3.00 dollars per taco; while the burritos are sold for between 9 and 12 dollars each. Wild Price Differences!

 

[kyphysics]

Another interesting high-price routine is the very many so very many taco & burrito fast food shops offer various things, including burritos and several kinds of assorted plates and other stuff,... and then some of these places sell TACOS for very low prices, like between 2.5 and 3.00 dollars per taco; while the burritos are sold for between 9 and 12 dollars each. Wild Price Differences!

Taco Bell's ~$1.00 menu is pretty decent. A dollar for a cheesy rice & bean burrito is nice. The taste is okay, but I'll admit that I get sick of them after even one (two is the most I'll eat).

For food that I like, I'm paying about $10 for just the main item (a simple veggie burrito/bowl at Chipotle is $9.13 after tax - I get this 2x a week, so I've memorized the price), which sometimes doesn't even fill me up (depends on the day - sometimes it does). That's the new inflationary norm I guess.

I've actually been preparing some meals at home as you said.

If I HAD to choose an "affordable" meal outside that I liked the taste of, it'd probably be a Chick-Fil-A sandwich for $5.50 or so. Decently filling, tasty, and not super expensive. It can sometimes get me by without having to add fries or anything else. Their chicken is thick and real 100% meat.

 

[symbolipoint]

Taco Bell's ~$1.00 menu is pretty decent. A dollar for a cheesy rice & bean burrito is nice. The taste is okay, but I'll admit that I get sick of them after even one (two is the most I'll eat).

Try instead looking at and trying tacos and burritos from the not-famous restaurants. Look around and you can find many small not-well-known places with mostly very good burritos and tacos. The items are different and to many people, better than of the well known brands.

 

[kyphysics]

Try instead looking at and trying tacos and burritos from the not-famous restaurants. Look around and you can find many small not-well-known places with mostly very good burritos and tacos. The items are different and to many people, better than of the well known brands.

I know it's fallacious to think all such places are like this, but I went to one and there were HUGE rats around the store. I was freaked out and left without eating there.

 

[symbolipoint]

I know it's fallacious to think all such places are like this, but I went to one and there were HUGE rats around the store. I was freaked out and left without eating there.

Maybe you were just unlucky one time. You could try or check in with other places.

 

[collinsmark]

Speaking of Waffle House, this was on Saturday Night Live (SNL) last weekend.

 

[nsaspook]

 

[kyphysics]

Speaking of Waffle House, this was on Saturday Night Live (SNL) last weekend.

I must be going AFTER those events. lol My typical time is 5:30AM. Usually, it's just me and one or two other customers. Very quiet.

One thing I've been doing, though, is using my air fryer more often and trying different potato concoctions (fries, wedges, thin strings...). I feel I can replicate or do better than WH hash browns at home. It's pretty easy, as potatoes aren't hard to clean, nor prepare. Not the best for my diabetes, but they do save me some $$$ and taste great!

 

[jtbell]

Last summer I showed you all a retro Dairy Queen in Gastonia NC. Here's another one that I visited this past weekend in Salisbury NC. It looks like it's been kept up better than the one in Gastonia.

It doesn't have much seating, though. Just the bench that you see, and a matching one on the other side.

 

[Grelbr42]

The thing that gets me about "fast food" is that I can't seem to find a place where it is actually fast.

A franchise in Canada is called Tim Hortons. Named after a hockey player who invested his salary from The Game. You line up to the cash register to order everything. If you order certain types of stuff, the person on the register gets it for you. Other stuff, for example if it needs to be prepped on the grill, gets passed to somebody else. So you get to wait for both parts of everybody's order. This person wants a donut and a coffee, you have to wait for the person on the register to get the donut out of the bin.

Then the next person requires 12 minutes to order a coffee. The instructions needed to be stated, repeated, acknowledged, corrected, re-repeated, lost, found, and re-re-repeated. And the result comes out in a paper cup like my "medium coffee black."

So the 8 people in front of me required a total of 27 minutes to put in their orders. I timed it. "Fast" food.

I frequently travel to my brother's place, a 3 hour drive away. Some sort of food half-way is pretty much required. So the road-side stop has 9 touch-screen terminals to put in your order. And 7 of them are not working. But the burger-breath in the place is not taking any orders at their counter because you are supposed to use the machine. So I use the machine, line up for 20 minutes to get to the machine. And I'm standing there without my receipt because the machine is out of receipt tape.

And the person behind the counter has her back to the customers, waiting for the product in the order she is working on. She will *not* work on anything else before that order is finished. She won't turn to the counter and take orders from the thirty people waiting. She won't start any other order whether the product is there or not.

"Fast" food.

 

[Grelbr42]

Last summer I showed you all a retro Dairy Queen in Gastonia NC. Here's another one that I visited this past weekend in Salisbury NC. It looks like it's been kept up better than the one in Gastoni

Retro DQ is great. I recall fondly from my childhood when the family went to a DQ in a nearby town. Real milkshake from one of those mixing machines, made with real milk and ice cream and fruit. Banana split with an actual banana. Tin-roof sundae with real crushed peanuts on it, along with hot caramel.

What I really miss are the retro A&W places. The serve staff used to roller skate out to bring your order on a tray that hooked onto your car window. Frosted glasses, real glass not waxed cardboard, for the rootbeer. Hamburgers that they didn't start cooking until you actually ordered them. Fries made from real potatoes. Yum!

 

[berkeman]

The thing that gets me about "fast food" is that I can't seem to find a place where it is actually fast.

I'm no expert on this, but it seems like some fast food chains around here (like McDonald's) let you order and pay online, so when you get to the location you walk to the head of the line, get your order and walk out. Have you looked into that option?

 

[Grelbr42]

I'm no expert on this, but it seems like some fast food chains around here (like McDonald's) let you order and pay online, so when you get to the location you walk to the head of the line, get your order and walk out. Have you looked into that option?

Tried that.

My food sits in a bag on the back of the counter for twenty minutes. After sitting in the bin for twenty minutes. And I have to wait for the clerk to get it for me anyway. Then I have to wait for them to get my drink, which wasn't with the rest of the order. So at best I avoid the line to order and receive cold food.

 

[berkeman]

Tried that.

My food sits in a bag on the back of the counter for twenty minutes. After sitting in the bin for twenty minutes. And I have to wait for the clerk to get it for me anyway. Then I have to wait for them to get my drink, which wasn't with the rest of the order. So at best I avoid the line to order and receive cold food.

At McDonald's, or other places? At least at the one location that I went to a few times (to get a soda before heading to the park to shoot hoops), during the time I would stand waiting for my drink order to be filled, at least 5 people would walk right up and get their order bag. I never saw separate drinks, so I'd assume they were included in the bag.

 

[gmax137]

My wife wanted Taco Bell for lunch today. They have the self-order-kiosks now too. I really don't like them but I guess now that nobody wants to work in these places that's what it takes to stay open. Our order came fast and without any mistakes. Plus, we each got a free taco since it is Tuesday. As we ate, we listened to the staff as they served a dozen or more customers in the drive-thru. What I want to know is how do people eat tacos while driving? I would have to wear a raincoat.

 

[Vanadium 50]

They have the self-order-kiosks now

This is what happens when you raise the minimum wage. Minimum wage says "If your work isn't worth $15/hour (or whatever) it's worth $0" This is to be compared with the cost of doing without - e.g. kiosks.

 

[symbolipoint]

My wife wanted Taco Bell for lunch today. They have the self-order-kiosks now too. I really don't like them but I guess now that nobody wants to work in these places that's what it takes to stay open. Our order came fast and without any mistakes. Plus, we each got a free taco since it is Tuesday. As we ate, we listened to the staff as they served a dozen or more customers in the drive-thru. What I want to know is how do people eat tacos while driving? I would have to wear a raincoat.

(1) Does the kiosk allow customer to ask for and be given a "Live Agent"?

(2) Driver does not have to eat in the car while driving. Passengers, maybe. Drive to a park or to home or workplace; and eat there.

 

[gmax137]

(1) Does the kiosk allow customer to ask for and be given a "Live Agent"?

I did not notice a "speak to human" button on the kiosk, but the young woman working the drive thru told us to ask her if we needed any help.

(2) Driver does not have to eat in the car while driving. Passengers, maybe. Drive to a park or to home or workplace; and eat there.

Yes, but I don't know why anyone would prefer cold tacos at the park, to hot fresh ones. Obviously there may be circumstances...

 

[Grelbr42]

(1) Does the kiosk allow customer to ask for and be given a "Live Agent"?

Whether or not you can get a human depends on the specific location and the brand of fast food. Lots of places I have seen, when they get the kiosk they make it very difficult to get a human's attention. Other places, there's a human hanging out at the kiosks because the kiosks are "not ready for prime time."

 

[Vanadium 50]

Kiosks are computers that run programs, and some programs are better than others. I doubt this is a surprise.

One advantage of kiosks is that they can support multiple languages. Many customers speak Swahili but none of your workers do? Not a problem if the kiosk is programmed to. They also tend to increase the use of credit/debit cards, and while these have costs, so does cash - you have to pay someone to take it to the bank, and you need to make sure you're not robbed - less cash, less risk.

I predict you will start to see dynamic pricing within a couple years. Items like fries expire after a short period ("hold until sold, no matter how cold"). After a while they get tossed and a fresh batch made. You will start to see the price dropping as the expiration time approaches, because selling them for 20% off is better than tossing them entirely.

 

[russ_watters]

I'm no expert on this, but it seems like some fast food chains around here (like McDonald's) let you order and pay online, so when you get to the location you walk to the head of the line, get your order and walk out. Have you looked into that option?

View attachment 326955

I do this at McDonalds. The app doesn't actually let you place the order until you arrive, and I think that's fine. But it does mean that if there is no drive-through line, the app isn't the fastest way to get food.

 

[symbolipoint]

I predict you will start to see dynamic pricing within a couple years. Items like fries expire after a short period ("hold until sold, no matter how cold"). After a while they get tossed and a fresh batch made. You will start to see the price dropping as the expiration time approaches, because selling them for 20% off is better than tossing them entirely.

Interesting Prediction! In fact, things like this happen in other retail situations.

 

[pinball1970]

I was absolutely desperate for a takeaway last night. Working till 11pm, dehydrated, exhausted and on the aps we had including MD, absolutely nothing.
It's Manchester!
I had a tin of beans with a tin of tuna plus lazy chilli and garlic. Cold. Protein, fibre and some carbs. I drain the sauce.
Tomorrow will be chicken in Peking sauce, extra chillies, boiled rice. 45 mins. Half tomo, half Friday morning.EDIT: To qualify Manchester is excellent for food of all types city centre.

 

[kyphysics]

Random Observation & Question of the Day:
I've noticed that many restaurant (not necessarily fast food, but certainly fast food included - ...see how I sneakily worded that to make it fit this thread?) ranch side dips are better than grocery store versions.

I've tried lots of grocery store brands and have never come up with one that tastes as good as restaurant ranch dips (from Buffalo Wild Wings to Texas Roadhouse - these chain ones just seem different and better). Why is that? Is it that hard to make and package as a longer shelf-life item?

What is different & better about restaurant ranches? 1.) They are not as thick. I swear, it seems the ones you by at grocery stores are always thick. I wouldn't say restaurant style ones are watery either, but they are definitely more thin and more "runny." 2.) Restaurant ones are more tangy and better balance the herbal/spice flavor with tangy-ness. Grocery store ranches lack any tangy taste at all and are more thick/heavy, "rich," and salty, which I don't like.

Lastly, am I the only one who likes ranch on nachos over sour cream. SC is tasteless to me and does nothing for my nachos. I like ranch more and am surprised it's not a staple ingredient on them at restaurants.