Eating Guide for Indonesians in the USA – Part 3

AMERICAN FAST FOOD 
(The good and the bad)

By Buntoro

Well, of course, after comparing the different styles and offerings of Fast Food restaurants between the American and the Indonesian version, I think we should now try to go deeper into the American Fast Food restaurants here (In the good old USA). Without trying to bash any restaurant chains or food, I am trying to give you all a list of American Fast Food restaurants with their website information as well as some recommendations of what to get and what not to get at that restaurant. As a disclaimer, I am not paid by any of the restaurants listed and you don’t have to agree or follow my recommendations.  FYI, these suggestions are based on my personal taste so it may not apply to everyone in the same way. 

Attached below here are the list of some major or better known American style fast food restaurants that I compiled. I decided to categorize them into different groups based on their food offerings. The list is complete with a brief description of the restaurant, their website address (if known), their best menus’ deals (If known and available) and also what to get and not to get based on my humble opinion (your preference may be different than mine but that’s okay).

Burgers and Sandwiches Fast Food Restaurants

McDonald’s

Who doesn’t know McDonald’s? It’s a well known fast food restaurant, even in Indonesia. The chain is  often referred as the golden arches (Due to the yellow arch shaped M logo), and it is known for its Happy Meal and McCafe offerings as well as its Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). In case if you don’t know, McDonald’s restaurant was originally started in 1940 in San Bernardino CA in Southern California as an independent restaurant by Dick and Mac McDonald. Ray Kroc, a Multimixer salesman visited the restaurant and later became their franchise agent. Kroc then created McDonald’s System, Inc in 1955 and six years later he acquired the rights for the restaurant from the McDonald’s brothers for $2.7 million (Source: McDonald’s website). In the United States, McDonald’s is one of the most well known fast food restaurant chains. It also has the second largest number of restaurants in the United States from the statistics of QSR magazine, the restaurant industry specialist. McDonald’s is also the largest fast food restaurant chains in the United States by sales volume in 2016 based on their latest data (Retrieved online on July 12, 2018 from https://www.qsrmagazine.com/content/qsr50-2017-top-50-chart). In fact, McDonald’s have been the leader in sales for many years in a row in the United States. It is also the global leader in revenue based on 2017 data from Forbes magazine (Retrieved online on July 12, 2018 from https://www.forbes.com/pictures/591c79084bbe6f1b730a5811/2017-global-2000-restaura/#5e5e62d56d2a )

Website: www.mcdonalds.com

Best Menu Deals: $ 1 any sandwich, BOGO McCafe, BOGO Pies (from McDonald’s app), $1.99 Filet-o-Fish (Seasonal),$3 Happy Meal (current price without any specials), Coffee (for seniors 55+)

What to get here: Filet-o-Fish sandwiches, Happy Meals, Cones, Pies, Deluxe Breakfast Platter (California only), Iced Caramel Macchiato (Sweeter than Starbucks Coffee, closer to my taste)

What not to get here: Their iced coffee (Try the ones at Jack in the Box or Starbucks Coffee instead), to their beef burgers, which is not up to par in term of taste and value to price, except the new fresh beef burgers which is acceptable taste wise (If you like burgers, you should try In-N-Out or Wendy’s for their fresh never frozen beef. You could also try Carl’s Jr for their humongous burgers sizes) and their chicken nuggets (This opinion is based on the taste of the nuggets compared to the same offering from competitors). At $3.50 for 6 pieces of nuggets, it’s also not worth it value (Chick-fil-A sells 6 pieces of nuggets for $3), unless you buy $3 happy meals with 4 piece nuggets.

Wendy’s

Wendy’s may not be a very familiar name for Indonesians, especially those who lived outside Jakarta as I believe now Wendy’s restaurants are only available in Jakarta and it’s proximity. However, there used to be a Wendy’s restaurants in Surabaya in the 1990s but I believe they are closed due to non performance after the economic crisis in 1997-1998. Wendy’s was born when Dave Thomas opens the first Wendy’s® restaurant in Columbus, Ohio in 1969. Dave later opened the second Wendy’s in 1970 in the same city before he started his first Canadian restaurant in 1975. From then on, Wendy’s grew into the giant chain it is right now (Source: Wendy’s website). In the tough fast food competition, Wendy’s is also battling for the destination for Chicken Sandwich with their Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Also, although not as well known as In-N-Out, Wendy’s restaurants in the United States are also proud to always use fresh, never frozen beef just like In-N-Out. Statistically, Wendy’s is the fourth largest fast food restaurant by sales volume in the United States based on 2016 data from QSR magazine (Retrieved online on July 12, 2018 from https://www.qsrmagazine.com/content/qsr50-2017-top-50-chart). As if the time of this guide is written, the 2017 data is not yet released by the QSR.

Website: www.wendys.com

Best Menu Deals: $ 4 for 4 (current price without any specials), BOGO deals (From mail based coupons), $2 off any premium salad (From survey), Keychain with free Frosty for a year.

What to get here: Frosty, their burgers and salads.

What not to get here: Their Chili soup (No, not because of the finger scandal, but they do taste watery down and not as good as canned soup).

Carl’s Jr.

During my last visit to Indonesia, I noticed that Carl’s Jr. restaurant chains are growing in Indonesia. Carl’s Jr. chain started in Southern California and its headquarter is still in Southern California. The chain is known for their humongous size burgers (Especially when compared to McDonald’s size). For at least 12 years, Carl’s Jr. is also known in the USA for their racy ads in TV featuring scantily clad models, staring with Paris Hilton’s racy ad in 2005, although the practice was stopped in early 2017 because their boss think sex no longer helps increase sales (Source: Washington Post. Retrieved online on July 18, 2018 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/03/30/carls-jr-sex-no-longer-sells/ ). Some of their famous offerings are the Famous Star burgers and their Six Dollars Burgers.

Website: www.carlsjr.com

Best Menu Deals: BOGO Famous Star, BOGO Six dollars burgers (from mail based coupon ad), $1.29 small fries (Get the Criss cut fries)

What to get here: Six dollars burgers, Famous Star burgers, Criss cut fries

What not to get here: Their Kid’s Meal AKA “Carl’s Cool Kids Menu” (Not worth it for the full price, no toys and mediocre value. If I could, I would probably call it “Carl’s Not Cool Kids Menu” instead)

Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box may be an unfamiliar name for Indonesians as there is no current Jack in the Box franchise restaurant in Indonesia yet. The chain is also started in Southern California, from San Diego to be exact. The restaurant was started in 1951 by Robert E. Peterson and it then expanded from then on (Source: Jack in the Box website). San Diego is also where its headquarter currently located. The chain is known for their all day breakfast. Some of their famous menu are their Jumbo Jack, their cheap tacos and their croissants. Jack in the Box is also known for its creepy mascot, a man in a suit with a ping-pong ball as a head, in the TV ads. This Jack in the Box mascot was listed as the third creepiest mascots in a Time Magazine article in 2011 (Source: Time Magazine. Retrieved online on July 18, 2018 from http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2090074_2090076_2090072,00.html ).

Website: www.jackinthebox.com

Best Menu Deals: 2 croissant for $ 4  (current price without any special coupons), BOGO croissant and sandwiches (from mail based coupon ad).

What to get here: Their croissants and their Iced Coffee (Pretty good)

What not to get here: Their Kid’s Meal (Terrible value), Fish Sandwich (Seasonal item but it doesn’t taste very good, McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish is much better)

Burger King

Burger King chain is probably better known in Indonesia than some others as there are already a few franchisee restaurants open in Indonesia (in Jakarta area). While Burger King is famously known for their Whopper burgers, the chain also claimed to be the place for the Original Chicken Sandwich since 1979, as indicated in their website (Retrieved online July 16, 2018 from https://www.bk.com/menu-item/original-chicken-sandwich ). Burger King is ranked fifth in sales volume in the United States based on 2016 QSR data.

Website: www.burgerking.com

Best Menu Deals: $ 3.49 or 2 cheeseburgers combo, 50 cents cone (current price without any special coupons),

What to get here: Their Whopper burgers, fries, Cones (How can you mess up a cone?)

What not to get here: Their Chicken Fries (No, not because of the health concerns, they just taste pretty nasty to my taste).

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A is one of the fastest growing fast food restaurants in the United States. The chain is reported to be number  five among the fastest growing fast food restaurant chains in the United States based on Business Insider data in 2017 (Retrieved online from http://www.businessinsider.com/fastest-growing-restaurant-chains-in-the-us-2017-2017-6 ). The chain was originally started in the East Coast of the United States, in the suburban area of Atlanta, Georgia. Chick-fil-A is known for it’s chicken sandwiches. The restaurant is also known to close on Sundays, as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas days, per the corporate policy.

Website: www.chickfila.com

Best Menu Deals: BOGO Sandwiches (from mail based coupon ad), 6 pieces chicken nuggets (regular price, cheaper and better than McDonald’s)

What to get here: Sandwiches, chicken nuggets and waffle cut fries, Kid’s meal, Cones, Shakes

What not to get here: None (All their menu selections are pretty decent in value and taste)

In-N-Out

In-N-Out restaurants started in Southern California as a drive thru only fast food restaurant in Baldwin Park, California. The restaurant is  mostly known in California, but it is slowly expanding to Arizona, Nevada, Utah , Texas and Oregon. The chain is a family owned chain, they do not offer franchise. In-N-Out is famous for their fresh never frozen beef patties and their freshly cut fries (Cut right in front of you in their restaurants). The restaurant is owned by the Snyder family and its headquarter is currently in Irvine, CA.

Website: www.in-n-out.com

Best Menu Deals: N/A (They never advertised or give away coupons), except for grand opening day special vouchers.

What to get here: Their burgers (fresh, never frozen) and freshly cut fries (Pretty good although they never issue any coupons)

What not to get here: Their shakes (Watery, not a good value, get the shakes at Chick-fil-A or  Jack in the Box).

Arby’s

I remember long ago, there was an Arby’s franchise in Surabaya but they now closed for business. Arby’s is famous for their roast beef sandwiches and they are one of the few chains who don’t go into the burger business. Arby’s restaurant chains is used to be owned by Wendy’s/Arby’s Corporation, but they recently sold their shares to private investor, Roark Capital in 2011 after many years of poor performance (Based on Time Magazine’s data, retrieved online on July 16, 2018 from http://business.time.com/2011/06/14/why-wendys-cant-stomach-any-more-arbys/ )

Website: www.arbys.com

Best Menu Deals: Their specialty, roast beef sandwich BOGO

What to get here: Their roast beef sandwiches, salad and fries. And if you are an adventurer, try their crème brulee shakes too. Their seasonal gyros are also pretty decent for fast food

What not to get here: Their cinnamon rolls (For the price, you can get a much better quality cinnamon rolls at Cinnabon).

Subway

Subway is the leader in the submarine style sandwich fast food in the United States. It is called submarine style because the bread is long and skinny like a  submarine (unlike some other sandwiches which are served on around or oval bread). Although many Subway restaurants may have unassuming look, Subway chain is the largest fast food chain restaurants in the United States  by the number of locations as wells the second largest restaurant by sales volume (Based on the 2016 QSR data). Because of lack of data from Subway’s official site, I am not sure if there are any Subway franchise restaurants in Indonesia or not right now, but I am sure there used to be a Subway restaurant in Surabaya also, but I heard that it was already closed for a while when I went back to Surabaya in 2017.

Website: www.subway.com

Best Menu Deals: Their BOGO sandwiches (with coupons) 

What to get here: Their tuna sandwiches (Some people may hate this, but I think it is my only choice if I go to the Subway).

What not to get here: Their chicken (Kind of nasty IMHO, Quiznos chicken used to be much better)

Quiznos

Quiznos is a smaller fast food chain serving submarine style sandwiches, just like Subway. I believe Quiznos products and offerings were better than Subway (I said they were because I only based on my data from the time when I still run the franchise), however Quiznos corporate management is incompetent in my honest opinion. Honestly, I probably have a love and hate relationship with  Quiznos since I used to own and run a Quiznos. I noticed many Quiznos franchise restaurants in Southern California closed in the past ten years, partly because of increase in the food cost and bad locations. IMHO, the bad location is partly due to  corporate lack of due diligence in approving franchise locations. I personally also think it was partly due corporate’s lack of support for their franchisees such as lack of advertising, as well as the corporate greed in keeping profit from the food cost from being passed on to the franchisees. On a side note, I believe someone opened a Quiznos franchise in Indonesia not long ago, I am not sure how well it fares since Quiznos website often listed closed locations.

Website: www.quiznos.com

Best Menu Deals: Their BOGO sandwiches (with coupons) 

What to get here: Their Chicken Carbonara and Prime rib sandwiches (As long as they still use the real products from corporate, since I noticed some Quiznos in Southern California didn’t use the real Quiznos products because they are too expensive compared to the products available from regular food wholesale). I also love their soups (Clam Chowder, Chicken and Corn and even their Chili), their flat bread and their bread bowl (Not sure if they still serve them since the closest Quiznos in my area closed like 5 years ago).

What not to get here: The salads probably (FYI, I used to own a Quiznos franchise myself and I noticed that most franchise owners often cheat on the freshness of their products, especially salad).

Sonic’s Drive In

Sonic Drive In is one of the few remaining Drive-In fast food chains in California. The chain may have their employees on roller skates, but not all restaurants are that way.

Website: www.sonicdrivein.com

Best Menu Deals: Their 50 cents corn dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches, $1 small smoothies (Seasonal offers)

What to get here: Their grilled cheese sandwiches

What not to get here: The shakes or smoothies (Quite expensive at regular price).

Wienerschnitzel

Wienerschnitzel is one fast food restaurant chain which serve mostly hot dogs and some burgers. Most of their location also have Foster Freeze products like Sundaes, Cones and Root Beer Floats. Their older location has an A-Frame shape in which cars can drive through the restaurant. They are known for their cheap chili dogs

Website: www.wienerschnitzel.com

Best Menu Deals: Their daily specials , mostly desserts (No coupons needed). Their 5 for $ 5.95 chili dogs 

What to get here: Their corn dogs, their cones, their pastrami sandwich (If you like Pastrami) and sundaes (Especially during special price).

What not to get here: The fries (mediocre), banana splits (Well, it’s not banana split for me if there’s no three different flavors of ice cream)

Chicken Fast Food Restaurants

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)

Just like the name, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) chain in the United States sell their own version of Kentucky fried chicken as their main product offering. As you probably already know, the chain was started in Kentucky by Colonel Sanders, whose figure often grace KFC restaurants, who sells fried chicken spiced and cooked according to what he called as his secret fried chicken recipe. However, for those of you who have been to KFC in Indonesia, you will see a different menu since KFC restaurants in the USA don’t sell rice dishes and some of the local Indonesian food variants (like perkedel).

Website: www.kfc.com

Best Menu Deals: $5 Fill Ups

What to get here: Fried Chicken (Both Original or Crispy), Coleslaw, Mashed potatoes.

What not to get here: Their bone-in wings (Somewhat tasteless and too pricey)

Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen (Popeye’s)

Popeye’s is also another fast food chain which sell fried Chicken also, but their chicken is Louisiana’s style. There are some other smaller Louisiana style fried chicken chains but Popeye’s is the largest and the most known among them. Just like the other Louisiana style fried chicken chains, Popeye’s specialty is in their spicy Cajun style Louisiana friend chicken. 

Website: www.popeyes.com

Best Menu Deals: Tuesday Special: $1.99 for two prices of leg and thigh.

What to get here: Fried Chicken, Sweet Tea (If you like sweet tea)

What not to get here: Their mashed potatoes, the gravy tastes too peppery. Their strawberries and crème pie (You can get the same product for much cheaper at McDonald’s).

El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco (A Spanish phrase which literally means the Crazy Chicken) is one fast food chain specialized in Mexican style citrus marinated grilled chicken. The chain is originally from Mexico. Their first restaurant was opened in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico in the 1970s, but they later expanded to the United States in 1980s. 

Website: www.elpolloloco.com

Best Menu Deals: $7 free entrée with any entrée purchase (From app), Free entrée when you buy $10or more (From mail based coupon)

What to get here: Their chicken, macaroni and cheese

What not to get here: Their burritos, you better off getting them at the local Taqueria or small mom and pop Mexican restaurants.

Raising Cane’s

Raising Cane’s is one of the newest fast food restaurant chains offering Southern style fried chicken which expanded into the Southern California’s market. The chain is currently listed as the fastest growing fast food chain based on Business Insider data in 2017 (Retrieved online from http://www.businessinsider.com/fastest-growing-restaurant-chains-in-the-us-2017-2017-6 ). There are only few Raising Cane’s restaurants in Southern California as of this time.

Website: www.raisingcanes.com

Best deals: No known coupons or deals known yet.

What to get here: Their chicken fingers, crinkle cut fries and Texas toast.

What not to get here: The chicken sandwich (So and so, Chick-fil-A can do better)

Asian style Fast Food

Panda Express

Panda Express is definitely the forerunner of the Asian style fast food restaurant chains, one of a few local chains which managed to grow into a national level fast food chain. Their restaurant concept is pretty simple, an affordable American style Chinese fast food. Their food is served in the steam table just like the other Chinese fast food place. The chain started as a sit-down restaurant in Pasadena, California as Panda Inn, the family owned restaurant was struggling but their luck turned to the better when one of their loyal customers, Pat Donahue, whose family owned Glendale Galleria offered them a chance to open a quick serve model of Panda Inn in Galleria’s new food court. When they decided to go with the idea, Panda Express was born (Source: Business Insider. Retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://amp.businessinsider.com/how-panda-express-was-created-2016-6). The Cherng family opens their first Panda Express in Glendale, California in 1983 and from then on, the chain grows into a chain with locations from coast to coast and all over the world (Source: Panda Express website. Retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://www.pandaexpress.com/ourfamilystory/about ). Nowadays, Panda Express is the largest Asian style fast food chain in the United States. It is currently listed as the only Asian fast food chain, ranked as number 22, from the QSR Top 50 list of 2017 (Retrieved online on July 16, 2018 from https://www.qsrmagazine.com/reports/2017-qsr-50 ). One side note about the QSR data, 2017 QSR Top 50 list is actually based on the same 2016 data.

Website: www.pandaexpress.com

What to get here: Their signature orange chicken dish and Beijing Beef, both are my favorites. I also found their Angus Beef and Fried Shrimp entrees to be quite decent (although it carries the extra charge)

What not to get here: Their chicken teriyaki {Usually is pretty dry and tasteless). Their egg rolls is often too old (Get the egg rolls from Vietnamese restaurants instead)

Pick Up Stick

Well, you can say that Pick Up Stix is a Panda Express wannabe. Yes, it is also another fast food chain specializing in Chinese style fast food although they tried to differentiate their offering by promising a freshly work item for every order, so don’t expect to see a steam table when you go to the Pick Up Stix restaurant. The chain also started in Southern California but I noticed that the chain is slowly disappearing from the Southern California fast food landscape, perhaps partly due to tough economy in the last 10 years or so.

Website: www.pickupstix.com

Best deals: BOGO Tuesday and cheap Wonton on Wednesdays (Not advertised, but still honored in some Restaurants)

What to get here: Their freshly work Thai Sweet Chili Shrimp 

What not to get here: Orange Chicken (They’re okay but not as good as Panda Express)

Yoshinoya

Most Indonesians are probably already familiar with Yoshinoya since they also have restaurants in Indonesia. Yoshinoya is a fast food chain whose main focus is the Japanese inspired foos. The chain is originally from Japan before it expanded to other parts of the world. Today, there are more than 2,000 Yoshinoya locations worldwide, serving more than 500,000 delicious bowls daily (Source: Yoshinoya America website. Retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://www.yoshinoyaamerica.com/our-story ). Yoshinoya in the United States have a slightly different menu than their Indonesian restaurants, but they still sell their original Beef Bowl (gyudon) and Chicken Teriyaki Bowl which are their specialty. Yoshinoya in the USA offer some local menu variations like Orange Chicken, Shrimp Bowl, Lemon Pepper Grilled Fish and seasonally Louisiana’s style Lobster Bowl.

Website: www.yoshinoyaamerica.com

Best deals: BOGO Entrees (From mail based coupons)

What to get here: Their beef bowl and chicken teriyaki bowl

What not to get here: Their lobster bowl (A New Orleans wannabe, but not quite up to par)

WaBa Grill

WaBa Grill is another Asian inspired fast food chain specializing in rice dishes and teriyaki, similar to Yoshinoya but WaBa only serve teriyaki style beef not the Yoshinoya’s gyudon style beef bowl. The hain tried to position itself as the healthier alternative with their “Eat Smart, Be Healthy”slogan. The chain claimed to always use real fruit and vegetables to make their sauce. WaBa Grill also claimed that they always use boneless, skinless chicken, never frozen and fat trimmed. They also claim that their Salmon is always wild Alaskan and certified responsible and sustainable (Source: WaBa Grill website. Retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://www.wabagrill.com/menu ). WaBa Grill is one of the fastest growing Asian fast food chain according to the research from Technomic, a market research firm (Quoted from Splinter, retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://splinternews.com/here-are-the-3-fastest-growing-restaurants-serving-asia-1793848268 ).

Website: www.WaBaGrill.com

Best deals: BOGO Entrees (From mail based coupons), 2 Chicken Bowl for $10.98 (Current special price).

What to get here: Their teriyaki bowl. I like Salmon so it’s one my favorite choice every time I go to a Teriyaki place.

What not to get here: Salad (Not worth it price wise, unless you really like salads or on diet)

The Flame Broiler

The Flame Broiler is also another Asian style fast food chain with teriyaki as their main product offering, similar to WaBa Grill. Flame Broiler also claimed to be the healthier place for the Asian style Teriyaki rice bowls. The chain claimed to exist to serve delicious, healthy food with honest, simple ingredients. Flame Broiler competes using their ingredients as a striking point, as they proudly mentioned that their chicken is all natural chicken, their beef is choice Angus Beef and their tofu is organic tofu (Source: Flame Broiler website. Retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://flamebroilerusa.com/menu/ ). The chain is also proud with their corporate responsibility in which they claimed that the founder of the chain will sponsor 2 children in need for each location of Flame Broiler. The Website claimed there are 180 locations of Flame Broiler open for business (Source: Flame Broiler website. Retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://flamebroilerusa.com/our-story/ ). The chain is also listed as one of the fastest growing fast food chain in Asian segment, according to the data from Technomic (Quoted from Splinter, retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://splinternews.com/here-are-the-3-fastest-growing-restaurants-serving-asia-1793848268).

Website: www.flamebroilerusa.com

Best deals: N/A (No known coupons as of yet)

What to get here: Nothing, everything is mediocre. Their portion is also too small for the price (Maybe because they use fancy expensive ingredients but the taste is just so and so in my opinion).

What not to get here: Everything, too pricey for the portion and the taste. Well, YMMV – Your Mileage May Vary (Maybe because I am not a healthy conscious person… :-p)

Mexican Style Fast Food Restaurants

Taco Bell

Taco Bell is one fast food restaurant chain which sell Mexican style food, such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas etc. However, Taco Bell is not from Mexico, it’s a local chain started by an American named Glenn Bell who is neither a Mexican nor a person of Hispanic descents. Glenn Bell first started his business by selling hot dogs in San Bernardino, California before he struck his fortune when he opened  a small taco stand in Downey, California which he called Taco Bell. The small taco stand located in Firestone Boulevard was a success as the area was a booking area in 1962 (From Huffington Post, retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6818968) . Based on the latest QSR data, Taco Bell is now sixth largest fast food chain in the USA based on sales volume (QSR magazine, retrieved online on July 17,2018 from https://www.qsrmagazine.com/content/qsr50-2017-top-50-chart).

Website: www.tacobell.com

Best deals: BOGO deals and $ off (From coupons), $5 special combo (Seasonal)

What to get here: Their $5 specials, Chalupas and Gorditas

What not to get here: Tacos (Ironically)

Del Taco

Del Taco is also another Mexican style fast food chain that is competing with the market leader in that segment, Taco Bell. Del Taco’s first restaurant was opened in Yermo, California in 1964, and the company went public in 2015 with 550 restaurants in 16 States (Source: Del Taco website. Retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://www.deltaco.com/history ). The chain is known to compete against Taco Bell by selling the products cheaper, that’s why Jay Leno, the former Tonight Show host often joked about Del Taco as “it’s just like Taco Bell but even cheaper.” When Taco Bell launched their $1 deals, Del Taco also advertised for their “Buck and Under” items (Source: Del Taco website. Retrieved online on July 17, 2018 from https://www.deltaco.com/index.php?page=menu_items&category=buck-and-under). Quality wise, I think Taco Bell is still slightly ahead.

Website: www.deltaco.com

Best deals: BOGO Items (From mail based coupons), Buck and Under menu items.

What to get here: Their quesadillas

What not to get here: Tacos or Burittos (They’re cheaper but they are also not as good as other local Mexican chains or mom and pop’s owned Mexican fast food restaurants)

Rubios

Website: www.rubios.com 

Best deals: BOGO Entrees (From mail based coupons)

What to get here: Their beer battered fish burritos

What not to get here: Their other burritos or tacos (Not as tasty as others)

Chipotle

Website: www.chipotle.com 

Best deals: BOGO Entrees (From mail based coupons)

What to get here: Their beer battered fish burritos

King Taco

Website: www.kingtaco.com

Best deals: N/A (No known coupons as of yet)

What to get here: Their burritos and their salsas

What not to get here: Not known yet, so far all is good

Molcasalsa

Website: Unknown

Best deals: N/A (No known coupons as of yet)

What to get here: Their adobada, their fish burritos, their Super Fries

What not to get here: Their fries by itself (Too greasy and not good)

Pizza Fast Food Restaurants

Pizza Hut

Website: www.pizzahut.com

Best deals: $6 Pasta Tuesdays and 60 cents Wings Wednesdays (No coupons necessary). $6.99 any two topping large pizza (Online only), 

What to get here: Their pan pizza, their pasta, bread sticks and wings

What not to get here: Their hand tossed pizza

Domino’s

Website: www.dominos.com

Best deals: $7.99 any 3-topping large pizza (Carry out orders only, no delivery)

What to get here: Their hand tossed pizza

What not to get here: Their pan pizza (mediocre compared to Pizza Hut)

Papa John’s

Website: www.papajohns.com

Best deals: 50% off any pizza (Email offers), Free pizza (Seasonal and Local Deals only)

What to get here: Their All Meats Pizza

What not to get here: Anchovies (If your wife hates it)

Little Caesars

Website: www.littlecaeasars.com

Best deals: N/A (No known coupons as of yet)

What to get here: Their $5 large pizza

What not to get here: The bread sticks (Not as good as Pizza Hut)

Mediterranean / Middle Eastern style Fast Food Restaurants

Daphne’s California Greek Restaurant

Website: www.daphnes.biz

Best deals: BOGO Entrees (From mail based coupons)

What to get here: Their Entrees are generally pretty good

What not to get here: Their baklava is mediocre

The Halal Guys

Website: www.thehalalguys.com

Best deals: Free drinks (By signing up for their reward card which is free)

What to get here: Nothing, all food is mediocre at best (Beef is dry, hummus is underwhelming)

What not to get here: Everything. All mediocre food, go to Masis Kabob for a much better food. Even Arby’s have a much better gyros.

Massis Kabob

Website: www.massiskabob.com

Best deals: N/A (No known coupons as of yet)

What to get here: Their beef Koubideh, Chicken breast Barq, Chicken Kabob, Idaho Trouts and falafels.

What not to get here: Not known yet, so far all is good

Hawaiian style Fast Food Restaurants

Ono Hawaiian BBQ

Website: www.onohawaiianbbq.com

Best deals: N/A (No known coupons as of yet)

What to get here: Their teriyaki chicken and beef (Well, how bad can you mess barbeque chicken or beef?)

What not to get here: Not known yet, so far all is just barely over mediocrity.

Wahoo’s Fish Tacos

Website: www.kingtaco.com

Best deals: N/A (No known coupons as of yet)

What to get here: Their fish burritos

What not to get here: Not known yet, so far all is good

Maui Hawaiian Barbeque

Website: www.mauihawaiianbbq.com

Best deals: N/A (No known coupons as of yet)

What to get here: Their BBQ Mix, Chicken Combos, Spam Musubi

What not to get here: Their Saimin (Hawaiian style ramen), pretty mediocre.