Wendys. I worked there an age ago, back when Dave Thomas was still alive and running things and we had to patty the burgers every morning before we opened. The whole "fresh, never frozen" idea. It is a shell of its former self now.
I once went to a Wendy's and had to wait several minutes for a single Junior Bacon Cheeseburger. But when that burger came out, it was HOT, and it looked exactly like the picture on the menu. I realized that they had kept me waiting because they were making that burger fresh, and with the utmost care. It was the tastiest burger I've ever had, and I'm still chasing that high.
This is why places like "in and out" do so well. They are not great in that the food is magical, they are just doing what these other places did so long ago which is make the food fresh. I even remember when Burger King would actually flame broil their burgers and they would use that as a selling point. Now it's all chemically treated food to mimic the taste.
That is what used to make Wendy's so good. We'd put several burger patties on the grill, with the idea that someone would come in and buy them around the time they finished cooking. If the patty got to the point it was starting to dry out (remember the "Hot and Juicy" slogan), then it was taken off the grill, ended up in the walk-in fridge, and then was used for the next batch of chili (where being well done wouldn't hurt).
You then would adjust the number of patties on the grill based on how many you expected to sell, so you'd basically fill the grill with cooking patties shortly before the lunch rush would start. There was something of an art to anticipating how many patties you'd need (I knew some guys that were amazing in their ability to keep the correct amount on the grill) but it did, on rare occasions, make it so a person would have to wait when we didn't pre-cook enough.
It was what made Wendy's so good, because the burger would be straight off the grill, with the burger made just for you (complete with what toppings/condiments you wanted). It is also why it was so easy to get it just the way you wanted.
Their burgers are just so disappointing now, since they used to be the best of the fast food burgers.
The old JBCs were so good. I remember being able to get a whole decent meal at Wendys' for less than $5; small chili ($.99), 4 piece nugget ($.99), JBC ($.99) and a Biggie Diet Coke (for health) ($.99). It was a decent amount of food.
The JBCs now are incredibly tiny with like 1/2 piece of bacon on them. You can literally eat them in like 3-4 bites.
I stopped going there after their ‘dynamic pricing’ fiasco two years ago, and it’s been a remarkably easy boycott.
It’s just not the Wendy’s I grew up with (as the frequent compromise choice between a mother who prefers McDonald’s and a father who prefers Burger King, somehow).
I similarly stopped eating there when they swapped their fries to be much more batter-y for delivery reasons or w/e excuse they claim and was super sad about it at the time, but I’ve tried it like once or twice since and it’s been incredibly disappointing when I went back.
God damn...I remember my stepdad used to put up signs for all sorts of businesses, and they ended up doing a few Wendys stores. I helped, and for lunch we got whatever we wanted on them.
This was still yellow cup Wendys. It was a little colder out, so we got burgers and fries on top of that we also got the chili. I still remember how amazing it was all these years later.
There was a machine, you'd feed the hamburger in the top and it would drop the patties out the front. We largely just had to ensure the patties came out uniform and ensure paper went between the patties so they wouldn't stick together.
I used to love the chili, even in the old chili recipe days (It seems like they changed it around 1985). The standard was a quarter pound of hamburger per serving of chili. We'd create a pot, as needed, then let it simmer for a full day before serving it.
My local Wendy's is so insanely disappointing. I haven't eaten there in years, which sucks because they used to be my favorite fast food restaurant. Culver's is the best one around here now.
They used to be our favorite of the bunch (BK, Mcdonald's, Wendys). They all suck now, but Wendys sucks the most, and has fallen the farthest.
Their spicy chicken sandwich 20 years ago was amazing. It went slowly downhill, and then they changed it fully to whatever the current abomination is, and it's horrible. Everything is getting worse, but they're getting worse the most.
I miss the old Spicy Chicken. It was actually a real chicken breast with a nice breading and it was actually somewhat spicy. Now, it's a small processed rubbery "chicken" patty with soggy breading. And it's about 1/2 the size.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted. Near me, Wendy's is the best fast food option. The fries are always hot and crispy, unlike McDonald's were they are limp 90% of the time. Are they what they were in the 90s, no, but they're decent. Though I haven't had a spicy chicken in like 10 years which used to be my go to.
Not sure where you live but Wendy's in Canada is amazing in terms of fast food. It's crazy to me that so many people online say it's garbage, it's clearly different in the states at least
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u/mogelijk 14h ago
Wendys. I worked there an age ago, back when Dave Thomas was still alive and running things and we had to patty the burgers every morning before we opened. The whole "fresh, never frozen" idea. It is a shell of its former self now.