Regional Fast Food Chains You Should Try Before You Die

from coast to coast fast food chains have popped up across the u.s like mushrooms after a rainstorm many are specific to a state or region and the only way you can try them out is to go there let's talk about which ones are worth the trip burgerfi started out in florida and has since expanded up the eastern seaboard burgerfi actually is a reference to the quote burghification of the nation and the fast casual burger joint currently has 10 burgers on the menu at most locations including three plant-based burgers most of the six beef burgers have two patties fresh never frozen and some are loaded with fantastic toppings like bacon tomato jam burgerfi also gets serious points for having hot dogs made from wagyu beef and using only humanely raised chickens one item burgerfire is especially famous for is their onion rings these crispy beauties are as large as a bangle bracelet and are beer battered and fried to order and of course you can wash down the delicious burger and onion rings with one of burgerfi's shakes with flavors such as red velvet oreo cookie or banana churro it's a win from start to finish wisconsin-based culvers started in 1984 with primarily midwest locations but since then they've reached out to the south east and south west with over 800 locations culver serves a lot of frozen custard but the star of the show is their famous butter burger a pressed and seared fresh beef burger with a buttered bun slapping a dollop of butter on a burger isn't as weird as you might think in fact it's delicious wisconsin is the dairyland state and keeping true to culver's wisconsin roots you'll find fried cheddar cheese curds pretzel bites dipped in cheddar cheese sauce and an ever-changing menu of daily made frozen yogurt and shakes including a root beer float made with culver's own root beer along with the usual chicken and fish sandwiches culver's also has home style favorites such as a pot roast and a pork loin sandwich culver's is fast growing and it's likely you'll eventually get to try this wisconsin institution closer to home but until that happens it's worth the road trip the original bojangle's famous chicken and biscuits was opened in charlotte north carolina in 1977 it featured a crispy cajun spiced chicken breast sandwiched between the halves of a buttermilk biscuit and it was a major success today bojangles has well over 700 locations almost all in the south their success can be attributed to the chain's continued insistence on using fresh never frozen chicken and daily baked biscuits made from scratch every 20 minutes bojangles kept to its southern roots by adding cajun beans dirty rice mashed potatoes and gravy mac and cheese and other southern staples to the menu all that means it's worth stopping there a few times when you're in town when compared with kfc bojangle's chicken is less expensive more flavorful and less greasy bojangle's famous biscuits aren't just made for the chicken there are many chickenless biscuit menu items that pay tribute to classic southern cooking the quality of ingredients is bojangle's hallmark as a fast food place so if you're driving through the south and have a yen for some good old fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits stop by bojangles if you're not from ohio you might scratch your head and wonder what the heck is skyline chili it's a cincinnati culinary institution dating back to 1949 when their top secret recipe for a beanless chili first hit the streets the chili is made with a unique blend of spices and since they're not giving specifics you'll have to go there for the real deal at skyline the chili is ladled over spaghetti and then topped with a blizzard of shredded cheddar it's not pretty but many say it's incredibly delicious this chili spaghetti concoction is served in several different ways and that's referring to the number of ingredients the chili spaghetti cheese combo is called a three-way add onions or beans it's a four-way and add both onions and beans it's a five-way and then there's the koni which is basically a chili dog with gobs of cheese they have salads potatoes and kids meals but locals go there for the chili most of the skyline chili locations are in ohio but there are a few in kentucky indiana florida and tennessee you can buy canned skyline chili online or in many grocery stores but you should try the real thing in ohio and see what all the fuss is about if you happen to be driving through eastern tennessee or southwest virginia it's likely that an oddly tiered sky-blue structure adorned with gigantic fast food will catch your eye pal's sudden service has steadfastly kept their 30 locations local and it's famous for their food and extraordinarily well trained staff all but two of pals are drive through only and they serve most of the same food you can find at any other drive-through but with a southern twist breakfast for example is all about the biscuits and the cheddar rounds which are hash brown bites stuffed with cheese mmm crispy crunchy on the outside and full of magic not only is pals known for its high quality but it's renowned for super speedy service you'll spend just 12 seconds at the drive up window and 18 seconds at the handout window they've set the standard for what drive-throughs should be maybe their buildings are a bit wacky but pals is one of the best fast food joints in the country this wildly popular burger joint opened in california in 1948 nestled in a small space with no indoor seating and a two-way speaker box connected to the kitchen owners harry and esther snyder built their burger business by using only the freshest ingredients keeping as much of the work in-house as possible its enormous popularity has a lot to do with in-and-out's ingredients they use fresh beef which they grind themselves the vegetables are fresh and the soft spongy buns that perfectly cushion the burger and toppings are baked daily the menu is simple burgers fries shakes and soft drinks and the not so secret menu gives you options for how many beef patties you want toppings to choose from protein style animal style and even a grilled cheese the years in-and-out burger has been exclusive to california but it's since expanded to over 300 locations still they say not to expect nationwide expansion anytime soon so try them when you get a chance huawei started out in pennsylvania but over the past 57 years it branched out along the east coast and now has over 850 locations fans of wawa are quite enthusiastic and it's little wonder wawa's menu is amazing breakfast sandwiches are hoagies stuffed with scrambled eggs or an omelette in meats such as applewood smoked bacon sausage or even cheese steak sizzlies are wawa's pre-packaged on-the-go breakfast sandwiches that have reviewers swooning as to the award-winning sandwiches you'll definitely struggle in choosing only one they have hot and cold hoagies deli sandwiches pittas and paninis all made to order adding to wawa's dizzying array of fast foods are salads soups mac and cheese stuffed pretzels chicken bites jalapeno bites and their own milk and ice cream you could easily cater a big event with wawa and actually if you live in philadelphia they'll do it for you one of the fiercest rivalries in the fast food industry is between wawa and sheetz even pennsylvania politicians get heated up about which one is better and that's how you know it's serious in 1952 bob sheets bought one of his father's dairy stores and founded sheetz inc then in 1962 he brought in his brother to work part-time at the sheets convenience store and by 1972 they expanded to 14 stores the company has been growing ever since when compared side by side both chains have freshly made burgers sandwiches and salads but sheets has more mexican dishes sheets also leans a little more heavily toward fried foods both are great for food on the run and late night munchies and it comes down to location so if you're driving east to west or vice versa in pennsylvania try them both and join the sheetz versus wawa battle if you live above the mason dixon line you've probably never heard of cookout a fast food chain with over 250 locations throughout the south that's a shame because cookout is one of the best burger joints in the country for several reasons most cookouts have a double drive through and a walk-up window so you have plenty of options for getting your food fast its menu is an eclectic mix of char grilled burgers hot dogs corn dogs and grilled chicken but you can also pick up some traditional southern favorites like hush puppies vinegary coleslaw and barbecue pork the combo trays are incredibly inexpensive under five dollars and the portions are heaping cookout is also famous for its 40-plus milkshakes with flavors such as peach cobbler banana pudding and versions of cheesecake it's worth a stop just to sample the desserts according to the story brothers rb and maurice jennings were given a choice by their grandmother as she was dying the farm or the biscuit recipe maurice got the recipe and when the biscuits surpassed the sales of pizza at his 12 pizza places he transformed them into biscuitville maurice's son took over the business which now has 65 locations almost all in north carolina as you might expect biscuit sandwiches rule the roost at biscuitville and they are gems of southern cookery the buttermilk biscuits are made from scratch every 15 minutes and you can watch the biscuit boss make them in real time biscuitville is only open for breakfast and lunch its menu has the usual breakfast sandwiches with egg sausage bacon and cheese but the addition of southern style ingredients which biscuitville sauces from local farms make the true biscuit sandwich stars the spicy chicken and honey biscuit the pork chop biscuit the country ham biscuit the home style gravy biscuit and even the fried bologna biscuit are unique to biscuitville they're also famous for their baked goods peach muffin apple fritter honey bun all baked fresh in the morning it's easy to understand why biscuitville has been voted one of the 10 best regional fast food chains in america shake shack started out as a hot dog cart in manhattan's madison square park in 2001 and in three years it grew into a permanent kiosk the menu expanded to include burgers crinkle cup fries and shakes and it's called fine casual because customers will find seriously high quality ingredients being used in a casual setting it's safe to say that the concept changed the fast food industry and you can find shake shacks in 275 locations from california to dubai burgers are the main attraction although there are a couple of chicken and vegetarian options as well as hot dogs and they're really really good the crinkle cup fries are also a big thing despite a negative new york times review in 2012 everything on the shake shack menu is made with fresh ingredients except for the crinkle cup fries they're frozen and after the times review shake shack spent 1 million dollars to research hand-cut fresh french fries they bombed and the frozen crinkle cup fries are here to stay you can top them with shake shack's special cheese sauce and bacon so what's not to love shakes come in five flavors and the shack's frozen custard is whipped up fresh every day penn station is nowhere near new york's bustling train terminal it's a chain of fast casual restaurants with over 300 locations in 15 midwestern and southern states originally called the uninspiring philadelphia steak and sub it was changed to the more memorable penn station east coast subs the menu has a few wraps and salads but almost all of the sandwiches are grilled or cold subs made to order with freshly baked bread penn station subs are stuffed with meats and cheeses in 20 different varieties such as the chicken cordon bleu pizza and of course cheesesteak most of the ingredients are fixed but still customizable for each sub but the dagwood lets you dream up your own sandwich if you don't want to be weighed down by the roll you can turn any sub into a wrap or salad or order a three inch snack size fries are hand cut and fried to order and pounds of lemons are squeezed every day for fresh lemonade penn station offers you a more custom-built experience than other more famous sub chains living the good life joe living the good life indeed texans are obsessed about whataburger as californians are about in and out this texan fast food icon began in 1950 in corpus christi texas when owner harman dobson dreamed of creating a burger so huge the customer would yell out what a burger in 1961 dobson built the first orange and white striped a-frame store and as a former pilot he designed it so whataburger could be seen from a plane dobson died in a plane crash in 1967 and his wife took over running the business it was family run until 2019 and today whataburger has over 800 locations in the south west and southeast from arizona to florida whataburger has seven burgers on the menu along with limited time special burgers but customers can customize the bread the meat the size of the burger and the toppings over 38 000 ways whataburger is open 24 7 and has an impressive breakfast selection including biscuit sandwiches pancakes egg sandwiches and taquitos which can be made to the customer's preferences fries and onion rings can be amped up with an array of dipping sauces and ketchups and even the three salads on the menu can be customized everything's bigger in texas there are hamburgers and then there are hamburgers like the kind you get it whataburger georgia-based zaxby's was dreamed up in 1990 and although it was slow to expand there are currently more than 900 locations situated in the south and southeastern u.s today zaxby's is often compared to other chicken fast food restaurants known for their boneless and bone-in chicken wings and chicken fingers zaxby's also gets things right with its breaded fried chicken fillet that's topped with a top secret zack sauce or the newer spicy zack sauce in fact sauces are a big deal at zaxby's if you order chicken wings you get to choose a sauce or dip from 15 that range in heat level from mild to insane each meal comes with crinkle cup fries and texas toast a thickly sliced bread that's been buttered on both sides and grilled in march 2021 zaxby's threw down the gauntlet by relaunching the chicken sandwich war with its signature sandwich a behemoth that needs its own larger bun and wrapper if you're down south and it's sunday when chick-fil-a is closed get your fried chicken at zaxby's in 1980 the new owners of the hamburger habit changed the name to the habit by 1997 the habit had only 17 locations until it was purchased by a private equity firm the chain rapidly expanded and in a 2014 consumer reports poll it beat in and out burger for having the tastiest burger in america the habit burger grill doesn't have an extensive menu and though it's considered fast food it's pretty elevated there are five hamburgers all char grilled over an open flame are made to order one of the standouts is the santa barbara char a double burger with cheese and avocado on grilled sourdough bread marinated chicken and beef sandwiches are also char grilled and if you're not in a meaty mood go for the sushi grade ahi tuna fillet sandwich salads are definitely on the healthy side with chargrilled chicken you can get fries and onion rings but why not try the tempura green beans instead in 2020 the habit burger grill was bought by yum brands which owns taco bell kfc and pizza hut so this california regional favorite could pop up near you soon as the first fast food chain restaurant in the world white castle turned 100 in 2021 co-founders billy ingram and walter anderson opened the first white castle in 1921 and they sold their square sliders by the sack for just five cents apiece back then burgers were frowned upon as unsafe and unsanitary so ingram and anderson set out to change the public opinion by promoting their spotlessly clean restaurant where patrons could watch the 100 beef being ground obviously their perseverance paid off still a family-run business there are nearly 400 white castle locations in 14 states mostly on the east coast midwest and florida a lot has changed since 1921 and white castle's menu reflects the update to more modern tastes the original slider is still there but what's new is the impossible slider a seafood crab cake slider a panko breaded fish slider and even a chicken and waffle slider sides run the gamut from traditional fries onion rings mozzarella sticks to a bit out there chicken rings fish nibblers and clam strips white castle is considered a niche chain but with the new menu items the old timer is still making its mark as distinct oh let's do this together founded in 1932 during the great depression crystal is the second oldest fast food chain in the country it was inspired by white castle and sold similar mini square burgers for five cents a piece in their first chattanooga tennessee location crystal caught on and the chain expanded only in the south because of an agreement with white castle that neither would cross the mason-dixon line it wasn't only the burgers that were small crystal also miniaturized hot dogs and corn dogs called pups but over the years crystal has had severe legal and financial problems and in january 2020 the company filed for bankruptcy four months later crystal bounced back with a new owner and is once again serving their sliders are called crystals and they're constantly compared to white castle's original sliders the main differences seem to be that crystals have a denser bun and are more savory burgers aside crystal has uniquely southern menu items like the scrambler a bowl piled with scrambled eggs cheese grits and bacon or sausage chili cheese tots are a recent addition think tater tots drenched in chili and cheddar cheese even die hard white castle fans need to head here at least once you have to experience it to have an opinion on which is better right just sign us up for more sliders check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more mashed videos about all your favorite restaurant chains are coming soon subscribe to our youtube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one

Channel: Mashed

Views: 335,613

Keywords: mashed, fast food, restaurants, chains, must try

Id: QI47-ZaaBJE

Length: 18min 42sec (1122 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 10 2021