*** Cyclone Fanatic Fast Food Tournament Round of 64 ***

[Gonzo]

This was one of the tougher ones to put together. I think a pizza one would be tough also because it would be hard to come up with 64 places.

100%

Striking the balance in seedings between quality of food and historical/industry significance was tough. Obviously there are many of these places that put out a superior burger to McD's. But without McD's those superior burger places wouldn't have been born. That has to count for something IMO.

 

[Cycsk]

I had to look up what Portillo’s is. How does a Chicago hot dog place get a 3 seed?

If you know Portillo's in downtown Chicago, you know why it is a #3 seed.

 

[Cycsk]

The Double Whopper helped pull me off life support many of times. The fall of Burger King, Wendy's, and Hardee's is sad. Wendy's did it to themselves when they totally reinvented everything back in the late 2000's.

It seemed that there were ownership and management issues for lots of Burger King's in Central Iowa, especially in Ames.

 

[harimad]

You can order them with as much or as little au jus as you want. Some places will dunk the whole sandwich in it, which I agree is too much.

Yep, that’s a big deal at Al’s Beef. It’s an experience for sure.

 

[cycloneworld]

Zaxby's is hands down the best chicken place. Shame they're only in the south

Several in Kansas City!

 

[cycloneworld]

That's my history with Sonic. I so wanted to like them but never got a decent dining experience at one. Ever. So I quit trying.

Sonic’s “new” smash burgers are really good for a fast food burger.

 

[demoncore1031]

Yes, pizza could be a challenge to reach 64. I think we discussed that in committee when we decided to sequester that separately from general fast food.

It's possibly easier as a 32-team "NIT," although maybe there are more pizza-oriented options than I'm aware.

I'll put together a list of pizza chains when I get to work tonight, just for the hell of it. Kinda curious to see what that will look like.

For this fast food tournament, I was expecting more upsets. Looks like there won't be too many.

 

[Fitzy]

Damn, would have taken Charley’s Grilled Subs over most places, but they wound up against my all-time fave in Culver’s. Shame.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Had to log out to view results without losing my obscene notifications number at nearly 3,000.

Feel like we might have record voting numbers for this one. I think a few 1's and 2's will go in 2nd round.


It was very hard to rank from 40-64.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

The Burger King You Rule commercials is enough for me to vote against them.

 

[aeroclone]

The Burger King You Rule commercials is enough for me to vote against them.

Bring back the creepy king!

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Bring back the creepy king!

I would take that thing back in a heartbeat

 

[Cyinthenorth]

Taco John's beating Chipotle is blowing my mind.

Can't beat taco Tuesday with diarrhea slop from chipotle

 

[Cyinthenorth]

The Double Whopper helped pull me off life support many of times. The fall of Burger King, Wendy's, and Hardee's is sad. Wendy's did it to themselves when they totally reinvented everything back in the late 2000's.

This. Hardee's used to be legit. I kind of stopped going in college when money was tight and they were the only fast food chain to not really offer a dollar or value menu of any kind. Then one by one the 5 Hardee's locations in my town started to shutter. I think there's one left now. Stopped in a few weeks ago and nothing has really changed; pretty high end on pricing vs McDonald's, BK, Wendy's etc. More in line with Culvers price point, but without Culvers quality.

 

[demoncore1031]

This. Hardee's used to be legit. I kind of stopped going in college when money was tight and they were the only fast food chain to not really offer a dollar or value menu of any kind. Then one by one the 5 Hardee's locations in my town started to shutter. I think there's one left now. Stopped in a few weeks ago and nothing has really changed; pretty high end on pricing vs McDonald's, BK, Wendy's etc. More in line with Culvers price point, but without Culvers quality.

Hardee's used to have a daily special for $1. Different burger or sandwich for each day of the week. I ate there a lot back when they did that but that was more than 20 years ago.

It seems to be pretty common that the food quality has gone way down hill over the years from most of the major fast food chains. Places like McDonalds, Taco Bell, BK, etc used to be good when I was a kid and now I find those places to be disgusting. They all deserved a high seed in this tournament because they are the OGs but I think their gross food will lead to some upsets by newer places that actually serve stuff that's edible.

 

[CascadeClone]

Jack in the Box is only good drunk or high.

TWSS

 

[Lineup]

Freddies

 

[harimad]

The Burger King You Rule commercials is enough for me to vote against them.

But they give you those paper crowns to wear

 

[harimad]

This. Hardee's used to be legit. I kind of stopped going in college when money was tight and they were the only fast food chain to not really offer a dollar or value menu of any kind. Then one by one the 5 Hardee's locations in my town started to shutter. I think there's one left now. Stopped in a few weeks ago and nothing has really changed; pretty high end on pricing vs McDonald's, BK, Wendy's etc. More in line with Culvers price point, but without Culvers quality.

Hardee’s is still legit because of their sausage biscuits. I went there earlier this year when visiting my parents and they were still great. I have no idea what happened to their cinnamon and raisin biscuit though. It’s sad how far that has fallen.

 

[loyalsons4evertrue]

Out of every fast food joint, BK's fall from grace seems the steepest, especially given that they used to be such a major player in the genre. I've been to maybe 3 in the last 10 years, waited a long time and didn't get good or warm food at any of them. And all were dirty.


ADVERTISEMENT



It pisses me of nostalgically, too. I spent a good amout of time studying at the BK across from Friley. 2 burgers/2 fries/2 bucks with a small bottomless soda was right in my financial wheelhouse. And their burgers used to be really good for a fast food burger.

I really think their fall from grace just stems from the fact that food service across the board is horrendous. Other than a few fast food restaurants, the wait times for "fast food" are absolutely ridicuIous...I have waited in drive thru lines longer than it takes me to fire up my own grill and make a burger myself.