In the USA, KFC even sell pies!
And they’re very nice too I’ve been told.
Kenducky Fried Duck?
I was driving to work this morning and noticed McDonald’s Glen Waverley store is being demolished! Are they going to build a new store or turn it into apartments?
Maybe they want to change the layout of the store?
Yes I saw that on the weekend, literally on my way back from the US where I saw them everywhere haha.
So I’ve just come back from the US… and given I’m a strict healthy eater at home I had no guilt and went all out on the takeaways in the US. Here’s some thoughts on some of the ones I had:
In-N-Out Burger - Overrated. The store in Hollywood was packed every night, basically lines out the door and the drive through line went down the street as well. From the hype I had heard about it I was surprised that there were pretty much only 3 burgers to pick from on the menu. It just felt like a smaller Mcdonalds. The shakes were like Macca’s thickshakes but I will say that the fries there were really good.
Carls Jnr - Saw these everywhere when I hired a car and drove down the Californian coast. Didn’t actually try one until towards the end of my trip. I got some burger with bbq sauce and onion rings in it. I felt it was greasey had a bad after taste… didn’t really enjoy it.
Steak and shake - This was probably my favourite. They had what was like a toasted sandwhich but with a burger bun inside… delicious. The shakes were awesome too. Oreo and choc mint rocked.
Johnny Rockets - This is a more gourmet / diner style burger place. A bit pricey but pretty decent.
Popeyes Chicken - Apparently very few people in the US (or at least on the west coast) know about KFC. There weren’t many around. I was told that if people want fried chicken they generally go to Popeye’s. It was similar to KFC as far as the chicken goes, but most meals come with a ‘Biscuit’ which tasted pretty much like a deep fried savory scone. It was bizarre. Serving sizes were massive too.
McDonalds - Well glad to say I didn’t even touch McDonalds in the US 
I’m sure I ate more but that’s the jist of it haha.
I loved Shake Shack when I was in the States.
Agree with you. I’ve been to same In-N-Out Burger in Hollywood and thought it wasn’t worth the huge wait and it was way too busy for my liking, like there was no tables free so you had to wait for someone to finish using the tables.
Carls Jr - The Thickburgers or the Famous Star are my favourite ones. Just as good overseas as the US.
Johnny Rockets - I used to live on those for lunch when I was in the US. Tried the ones in Bali, still good however tried another one in Malaysia and I thought it was average. Maybe I just got over them.
Popeyes Chicken - Tried them in Singapore, I think KFC is better especially their Hot N Spicy however did like the butter biscuits they have. Wouldn’t go back there in a rush
McDonalds in Australia is the best in the world. All the McDonalds overseas including US is average. Burger King was ok but I prefer the Whoppers in Australia as the bread is that bit better than the ones in US.
I miss iHOP. Loved their pancakes.
Yet to try Shake Shack and Five Guys. I am planning to relocate to NY in a few months so will have plenty of time to try it.
I think McDonald’s in Hong Kong is great as well, they have more varieties than Australia (including soup macaroni for breakfast, and rice burgers after 10.30am) and often include Chinese and Japanese flavours in their limited release burgers. The only bad thing is the price of the value meal.
Shake Shack is by far the best of the bunch IMO. Five Guys has large, tasty burgers, but the prices are similar to a Grill’d meal over here so it’s not outstanding overall.
The appeal of In-n-Out is the price for the quality you get, rather than menu variety or anything else like that. It is cheaper (though this varies - the prices are different in every location… e.g the Downtown SF or LA locations are more expensive then a location off the freeway about 10km out of SF) then McDonalds and BK in the USA but significantly better quality. It is still over-hyped but there is a valid context for that IMO (it’s only in a few states).
McDonalds in the US is woeful. Apart from the value menu items also extremely overpriced considering US cost of living.
Yep it was exactly like that. We actually went our first night there and saw the line and aborted… thought coming back the next night but later it would be quieter. Nope. Lucky after we ordered a table freed up which we quickly grabbed, but we were expecting to eat on the street lol.
I never got to try Shake Shack. I’ve only had it in Dubai a couple years ago. There was one not too far from where I stayed in Vegas but it was 42 degrees so never trecked back down there. I think Steak and Shake is pretty similar.
Agree about McDonalds in Australia being one of the best in the world. Even I would occasionally go to McDonalds here now to do the create your taste - you can make it somewhat healthyish.
I’ve been to In and Out a couple of times and the key is to try the ‘secret’ menu.
Isn’t the secret menu pretty much just modifying the usual menu? Apart from adding a lettuce leaf as the bun from what I’ve read online it mostly seems like it’s just modifying what is already available.
Johnny Rockets is pretty good.
It’s been a while since I’ve been to the US but what I loved was the Freestyle(?) Coca Cola machines in Maccas and the like, where it was all touch screen self serve drinks, and you could add say, orange or cherry flavoured syrup to your Coke/Sprite/Minute Maid etc. So many combinations, and in a unit not much bigger than what most fast food places here already have.
No love for Jack in the Box?
Yeah I saw those vending machines at a few places. I think they say they have over 100 varieties of soft drinks in them. They seem to have things like Fanta and Sprite in numerous flavours.
I saw a few Jack in the Box but never ate there. What are they like? They look a bit better than Carls Jr.
Had Hungry Jacks for the first time in a long time, what on earth happened to their french fries? They were these weird cut chips that were cold and dried out.
It’s a total reconstruction according to Monash Leader. Foundations for the new store were laid this week.
1 Like
I drove past it a couple weeks ago and was surprised to see it demolished as well as it’s a busy store. I’m still surprised that they’ve knocked it down completely rather than just renovate the store. If they are trying to look more modern then I would expect more stores to follow suit. Must be a lot of $$$ invested in this.
Eagle Boys, the nation’s third largest pizza chain, has collapsed into voluntary administration.
The pizza chain’s head office called in administrators SV Partners on Thursday, but insists its 120 or so franchisees will continue to trade while a potential sale is negotiated.
Damn! 
I guess that what happens when you don’t make enough dough.
Thanks, once again, I’ll see myself out. Try the pizza, it’s tops!
4 Likes