I stopped going to corporate fast food and my life got easier. If you are a hungry person like me, a couple of mental rules I set up.
If I actually want to eat out, I need to be motivated enough to go out and get it myself. (No more doordash/grubhub/uber/ anything).
If I’m willing to spend my hard earned money, I will only spend it on good, local food. No more McDs, I go to my local burger joint now. No more dominos, I go to the sticky tabled pizza joint.
If neither of those sound good, then I’m not actually hungry enough.
Now that fast food is no longer cheaper than a sit-down restaurant, it just means that fast food has no use case anymore. You’re better off picking up a grab&go type thing from the grocery store. Fast food used to be cheaper, more consistent, and faster, but with the concession that the quality wasn’t great. Now it’s expensive, it completely sucks in unpredictable ways, and it isn’t actually that fast. It’s like the industry only exists for people who are on a road trip and also want to punish themselves for some reason.
stoners and idiots will keep them afloat for decades.
Fast food is often the only restaurant option for people working night shifts. I used to clock out at 5am. You know what’s open at 5am, when you’re hungry but too tired to cook dinner because you’ve been on your feet for ten hours? Fast food. Maybe a diner if you’re near a truck route, but honestly that’s not much different.
It’s far from the only way society ignores the needs of people who keep everything running behind the scenes, but it sure was annoying.
I’m super disappointed also in what these burger chains offer. All of them have small shitty burgers full of sugar.
Started making my own burgers. It takes 10 minutes! Mix meat and a bit of salt and pepper and make the pieces really thin. Fry in pan. It’s delicious.
Fast food is disgustingly expensive for the amount of food you get too. Their drinks are ultra cheap sugar water, and even that they are thinking of limiting.
Don’t make them thin, at least 1cm or even 2, then it’ juicy and delicious and don’t overcook them. If you can get safe meat (grind it yourself) then go with medium raw, it makes the burger absolutely stunning!
I knew I would get opposing views here :)
There are many ways to do it, but I think everyone should make their own at home. It’s super tasty and quick.
Haha I love Lemmy. Anywhere else you’d have started a flame war.
Personally I love mine super thick, medium well with crispy crispy bacon. Top it off with mayo, lettuce and tomato.
Smash burgers are a interesting diversion… But I want to need to unhinge my jaw to eat burgers. Lol
Smash burgers and thick burgers can both be good; they’re just different.
I started living this way too. Honestly, fast food doesn’t even have a value proposition anymore. It’s not cheaper than some local family run taco or burger truck/shack, and significantly crappier. Also, the lady or guy handing you your food keeps the money after paying the cook and what not, if they’re not the cook themselves. I’d rather that than it go to frozen patty distributors and stock buybacks or whatever they’re up to these days.
It’s marginally cheaper than a run of the mill sit down joint.
Also soda… I don’t understand why anyone drinks that shit. I used to, then I stopped, and now when I try it it’s gross honestly. Syrup with bubbles in it. You want some, make some ginger ale, its easy and delicious. You cut up some ginger, cook it in a pot with sugar and water, let it cool, put it in a pressure bottle and pitch yeast, it’s ready in a couple of days.
I’ve never ordered door dash or any of that stuff, as soon as I heard about it o was put off by the idea.
You’ve got the right idea man. No lazy food. If it’s not worth effort you’re not actually hungry.
Where I am “fast food” big chain stuff is only a buck or two cheaper than the good local brewery sit down place. It’s weird.
Yeah man, used to be you could spend like 5 or 6 bucks and get something quick. Full meal too. Nowadays I think those companies are just riding on inertia, Americans are used to eating it and still have this idea that it’s cheaper even though if you think about it for a second it’s not. By the time you pay it’s like 10-12 bucks. Meanwhile there’s a Cuban lady down the street, she has no menu, she just makes one thing each day it’s something different, whatever she wants, you don’t get to decide, you hand her 10 bucks and she hands you a little box of the most delicious surprise you’ve ever had. Why would I pick the corpo garbage over that?
Good, maybe people will drink less soda now
That’s not the reason why they’re doing this, just like how eliminating the super size option wasn’t to have people eat less junk food. It’s not effective in achieving that. This is just to squeeze more profits out of people, on an item that costs them pennies.
My friend worked at McD in high school. Drinks are their profit, they don’t have good margins on food and expect people to buy drinks which have the bulk of their margins.
McD is definitely struggling (good riddance)
No kidding. No one needs 64oz of soda with their meal. McDonald’s is actually one of the few fast food places that saw an increase in customers over the last few years and they’re planning on releasing a $5 meal soon.
I wish had a dime for every time I’ve seen a homeless person walk into a McDonalds, Jack In The Box or similar, just fill up their skanky ass cup (I even saw one take a cup out of the trash can outside first) from the machine and walk out, of course without paying. Like it or not this move makes sense. I don’t mind asking an employee for a refill.
that’s not a ‘problem’ everywhere.
if they dump the free refills here and still take 15 minutes to make a simple order, i’m going elsewhere. i’ve already cut way down because of cost and time, i’ll just forget they exist entirely. three competitors are literally adjacent. all three also have free refills, and all three can beat mcdonalds service times. prices are basically the same now, mcdonalds hasn’t had that advantage since before covid.
Ah I see. You’re part of the crowd who sees homeless people are subhuman.
Yes, let’s make a worse experience for everyone in the name of hurting vulnerable people who are already suffering immensely. And you approve because it’ll save a multibillion dollar company 10 cents. Cool. That says a lot about you.
Well, your response is telling as well. You night not notice, but there is a serious twist in your logic: why is it on McDonald’s to feed the homeless? It shouldn’t be and they cannot be called out for not doing it. By blaming companies for stuff like that, you obfuscate where the blame should really go: everyone in any form of government and everyone supporting bullshit narratives that social welfare and capitalism are polar opposites and cannot go together. Don’t waste your energy on fucking companies. They will not foot the bill the government should.
If they paid their damn taxes in proportion to their use of our public services and share of income maybe the government could actually do that. But hey, you’re the one who decided that the homeless person trying to survive was sufficient justification for more widespread corporate greed.
It’s the governments responsibility to make companies pay their fair share of taxes.
Exactly. Don’t blame fucking companies for doing what companies were always about to do. Blame the government for letting them. If you get mauled by a lion, you won’t blame the lion, you (or your heirs) will blame the zoo for saving money on the fence. Why is it different with companies?
So because the zoo fucked up I shouldn’t be upset with the lion for mauling people? You can be upset at two things simultaneously, and you sure as shit don’t need to support making life harder for the people already being mauled. That’s some “Boys will be boys” defense right there.
there is no defense in there. I never defended the company. I just called your stance that companies ought to do social welfare unreasonable. I very much like everyone to do social welfare stuff, but to blame companies when they refuse to do what the fucking government should is just a pretty twisted stance, innit?
I have no idea why anyone still goes to McDogsbreath (I’ll likely hear some reasons in responses to this comment, but I’ve heard them before and don’t buy them). Back in the day I rarely had positive experiences when I was dragged out there reluctantly. Plasticy food of subpar quality, and very uncomfortable, plastic furniture.
And in recent years, between the prices quadrupling, the limited menu for people who don’t like burgers, the shite Wi-Fi, and now them not even being willing to lose 10c on a relatively small % of customers who get a soda refill… Why go there at all! There are so many better fast food options than that disaster of a chain.
It’s cheap, quick, and good for a burger delivered to your window.
But it’s not cheap anymore
It’s gone up but the ranting that is over $20 is overblown. I can get 2 bacon egg and cheese bagels for 4.50. Or I got a triple quarter pounder meal and a happy meal for like $20.
Don’t care. Self serve machines are basically covered in diarrhea anyway. Everytime I awkwardly and semi-accidentally turn something into a combo I grimace as I use the taps some kid was just wiping their snot on.
Just getting over a brief cold which could’ve easily been caused by using a self-serve tea machine at a habit burger.
man you guys live in some gross areas. im not sure a kid could even reach the nozle in places near me. They tend to be somewhere between 4 or 5 feet off the ground and a kid has to hold the bottom of the cup and use the top of the cup to extend his reach to activate the lever. now messy pop residue all over the counter. that is common.
man you guys live in some gross areas. im not sure a kid could even reach the nozle in places near me.
You tell yourself whatever you need to, but they’ve done studies and those nozzles were almost always covered in poop bacteria from the people using them, the people “cleaning” them or a combo.
Links to these studies would be nice
Thirty seconds of searching yielded this: https://www.delish.com/food-news/a44040735/are-restaurant-sodas-dirty/
Congratulations, you’ve provided a source for your claim and it was just that easy!
I really don’t care man, everyone on the Internet needs sources for things that are pretty commonly known like they don’t also have keyboards.
I honestly almost didn’t bother searching for you this time either. Each thread on the Internet isn’t the beginning of some scientific argument like a lot of randos seem to think. I used to care a little more before I realized just how worthless and stupid providing sourced claims was.
Now I know, you aren’t changing most people’s minds. They’ll still think masks don’t work, that covid is caused by 5g, that the world is flat, etc etc etc.
I’m happy to just know I’m right and whistle along and take the downvotes on the chin because it’s all worthless anyway.
Many claim to want evidence just to give you a homework assignment, and won’t be persuaded a single iota by it.
The soda serving sizes used to be so big in the USA that I always wondered how people actually managed a refill.
when the food has 2 days worth of sodium in it, you get thirsty. Many people don’t drink enough water so then your thirsty and have your liter-of-cola and you can down it easily at that point
A bit surreal since they never had either here in Germany, at least in the 40 years I can actively recall. In fact they’re suspiciously trying to improve themselves here, which feels even more surreal.
In fact, I’m pretty sure free refills is only an American thing. And that kind of culture is the biggest cause of obesitas. McDonalds definitely isn’t healthy in Europe either, but at least we don’t have it as bad as it could be 😅
European: you guys have unlimited drinks at mcdonald’s?
European 2: you guys still have self-serve?
One of many reasons Americans are generally fat as fuck.
yea so how about spreading awareness about health issues that arise from consuming garbage instead of trying to rip on a sick society numbnuts
your slave masters care as little about you as ours do about us
I’m not a health expert. No one should take diet advice from me. There’s plenty of credible information available if they bothered to look. I don’t even know what the fuck you’re talking about with slave masters or what that would have to do with watching your diet so I’m not even going to try to respond to that.
right because “information is available” really solves everything. we have ads for fast food instead of how to keep your mind and body healthy but yes blame the sick society and not their “slave masters”
I didn’t say it solves everything. It’s the first step. After acquiring the information the next step is to exercise a modicum of self-restraint and make healthier choices. I blame the individuals because everyone is responsible for their own choices. Blaming advertising is just laziness.
im not blaming anyone you are
we have ads for fast food instead of how to keep your mind and body healthy
Why I now don’t ever go there. The one dollar drinks and the fries was something I went to for a treat every once in a while, now I just not go to any of the fast food or even restaurants
Besides in and out because I know they won’t change anything, they haven’t changed anything sense idk forever
If I’m going to spend $20 - $30 for a burger and fries and a drink, I will go to a local diner and give the money to people who need it, and who care about their food, and what’s more, those burgers are almost guaranteed to be vastly superior in quality.
When I was young my friends and I would stop at a McDonald’s for value-menu snacks on the way to paintball or my family would stop there when traveling for convenience and cheap food.
Now that the “cheap” is gone, what exactly are they offering? For the price of one of their meals I can buy ground beef and make burgers for everyone. I’m so confused how institutions like this survive. Oh yeah, a population addicted to fast fixes of sugar and high-calorie carbohydrates.
It’s amazing watching the language of people who don’t even realize they have an addiction.
Just like the good ole days
I boycott McGenocide months ago and it was surprisingly easy. There’s much better food to eat out there.
McGenocide is definitely a new one. Honestly you probably shouldn’t be eating fast food more than once a month. It is a McGenocide to your insides.
OBVIOUSLY they’re ALSO going to drop prices since they don’t have to give free refills now! THANK YOU Benevolent McJob Creators!
If they leave a dedicated water fountain I see no issues. You shouldn’t need employee assistance for freaking water.
Never travel to Germany with that mindset.
I remember my mom having to order “Leitungswasser” whenever we went to a restaurant when I was a kid. And ice in drinks isn’t a thing there, either (or wasn’t then, at least).
No, it’s not. People will complain regularly about places like Burger King and McDonald’s who throw ice cubes into drinks. I, personally, hate it as well. I don’t want my water close to the freezing point, and I would rather not get bumped int the teeth by lumps of frozen water that dilute my drink and hurt my teeth.
What, do you bite the cup when you sip? You shouldn’t be bathing your teeth in whatever you’re drinking like that unless it’s just straight water
Yeah, I’ve heard getting water in restaurants is weird in several countries in Europe. Sparkling water is apparently default in some places (italy I think?).
In Germany it is and you gotta pay for water.
It’s illegal to charge for water in the US.
One of the only fucking things we’ve done right in this country, right up there with banning coin-op pay toilets pretty much everywhere.
Never been a thing at McDonalds here in the UK.
The problem with cold drinks is they cannot sell it hot enough to give 3rd degree burns so the free refills must go.
