Stale food at fast food restaurants

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pmeheran

Senior Cook
Joined
May 21, 2011
Messages
108
Location
Kingsville texas, south of c.c.
Warning! Warning! Beware of chain restaurants in small towns. Something I know, but got bitten again by. I went to a Wendy's to give them another try. Well I simply ordered their quarter pounder burger, which should have been just fine, but it tasted fishy. My wife's did too. Hmmm. Well we decided that it was the meat and it was freezer burned.

Some of the fast food chains are very careful about opening in a small town. If the turnover rate of the food isn't very good, you stand a chance of having it get stale. It is not just about the profit margin, although we tend to think so. So, the rule of thumb is, if the restaurant doesn't get a decent amount of traffic, watch out. Things to consider, in an out of the way place and especially in west texas, don't get anything but white bread, the rye is going to be stale. If you are in the mood for something that is not popular there, as new yorkers say "forget aboud id".

I hope this warns everyone away from the exotic in fast food chains. Now this does not talk about the local specialties. But, on the other hand, you never know.
 
I live in a small midwestern town, and yes, this happens. I'm really not a fast-food person anyway, and all we have is McD's and Subway. Subway gets my business. That or the deli section of one of the two grocery stores in town. Oh, we have a butter-burger place ... Culver's, that's it. Anyway, I really don't use either McDs or Culvers because we simply only need fast food when we're on the road. But yes, when on the road I have run into fries that have been sitting too long and bread that should have been tossed out when in areas not often frequented. Oh, and don't forget, limp salads. I'm a real salad lover and hate it if I get rusty or limp lettuce.
 
I think "Beware of Chain restaurants" is all that needs to be said.

Freezer burnt meat should taste, well, like a freezer. The individual units have strict guidelines that they are supposed to follow, in accordance to law, and CORP standards. . .does that mean they do? I doubt it. I think the longest anything is to sit in a lot of fast food places is like 2 hours, and that is scary.

You would think a small unit, in the Styx, would cook to order, not only ensuring freshness, but for controlling inventory as well. If there aren't people there, there damn sure shouldn't be food parked in the window.
 
Three-quarters of Wendy's are franchise store, and I suspect that for a willing and able-to-pay franchisee, they'll sell one where they wouldn't otherwise open a corporate store. And I wonder if off-the-beaten-track stores get as frequent deliveries as in major markets. Nothing to do, per se, with town size. Among the Texas Monthly 50 best burger were Koffee Kup in Hico, Hruska's in Ellinger, Mel's in Tomball, and Perini's in Buffalo Gap.

As for Wendy's being used as an example in a warning about "exotic" eateries, I suppose the lesson is that if you're in such a small town that Wendy's seems exotic, beware.
 
Claire, all my dink town had is BK and Subway. And I've been burned by Subway twice with stale bread. BK gets my bi-monthly (on average) fast food fix.

OP, I blame it all on either the owners or the manager. You can get hit or miss food anywhere.
 
BTW, Wendy's does not freeze their burgers. They are delivered fresh and stay that way.
 
I will try any Subway in the US, except the 4 here in Missoula, they are all mismanaged by the same woman.
 
I've eaten at Wendy's just once in my life. That was back in the mid 70's. I have no idea why I haven't been back since. There are plenty of Wendy's here in the city where I live.
 
Luckily fast food places here are always quite busy, so when I do eat fast food, it is always fresh.

Subway here (I really don't like subway) are run by middle eastern folks and are really really clean and well run, so when I have to go to subway for one reason or another, it's about the best that a mediocre sandwich can be.
 
The beef tasted... fishy? Makes me curious how their chicken tasted.

What did their fish fillets taste like?

Fish. It's all fish, fish, fish. The fries? Fish. The shakes? Fish. We've all stumbled into places like that. Some of them didn't even serve fish and still managed it.

Funny thing is, Wendy's probably serves less fish than anything. Might actually be an improvement over their natural unnatural flavors.
 
when i order at carl's jr. i say fresh made, please. and they do. it is the only fast food place i go to. mickey d's used to have a low calorie burger. it was always fresh, don't think to many people ordered them. i loved them, more like homemade. evidently not enough people thought so, as they quit making them.
 
BTW, Wendy's does not freeze their burgers. They are delivered fresh and stay that way.


A manager will do anything to maintain the profit margin. In far south texas[Dallas is close to 500 miles north of us] the humidity and the spore load are such that cleanliness and food spoilage are ongoing problems. Unless he is turning over the food sales very quickly, he will have spoilage. Sooo, I suspect in self defence he is freezing the meat, and yes when freezer burnt, a hamburger will get fishy tasting at the edges, especially if it gets partially thawed and refrozen. Oh, by the way, our humidity is anywhere from 97 to 100% in the morning and rarely falls below 50% later in the day.
 
Wendy's used to have a salad bar, and it was pretty good. The only fast food I ate. They closed the salad bar and I haven't been back since. Fast food used to be cheap, but what I would spend at a fast food joint now would buy the makings of a good slow food meal at home. I can wait.
 
When I buy fast food, I assume it's going to be stale, and I just wolf it down quickly without trying to taste it. I don't pay it much attention. But, if a soft tortilla, like a burrito, is stiffer and tougher than cardboard... I can feel my blood start to boil, steam escaping out my ear, and the urge to file criminal charges against someone.
 
Stale, old or freezer burned foods are not exclusive to fast food restaurants.

If you choose to eat at a fast food restaurant or any other restaurant, you're better off going to a high volume place. Lots of customers means they'll have fresh foods coming in on a regular basis.
 

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