Re the In ‘n’ Out vs. Habit debate, it is In ‘n’ Out all the way in our house- I’m not a fan of the Habit! We have In ‘n’ Out, a Habit, and a Smashburger all within 2 miles. I love that In ‘n’ Out keeps it simple, all the ingredients are fresh, the bun is toasted. Love the fries that they slice from fresh potatoes on site. The Habit’s burgers always seem mushy with too much junk on them. I’m not a fan of Smashburger either.
I like the Habit burger because you can taste the high quality beef that they grind fresh everyday. H prefers In N Out as well. I never tire of telling him how wrong he is. X( At least this argument helps stem the flow of burgers.
In 'n Out fan here. I’ve managed to convince myself that an In 'n Out cheeseburger (with ketchup and mustard instead of the sauce, with raw onions, extra tomatoes and chiles) is practically health food. At 400 calories, with a diet coke, it is a reasonable meal on the run. I don’t eat the In 'n Out fries; not good enough to justify.
The Habit needs more drive thrus.
Hate to say it, but I love McDonald’s french fries. If I do indulge, I tell them I want to wait for extra hot ones straight out of the fryer. Worth it once in a while!
I’ve never heard of Habit. (edit…ok, poop! There is one a few blocks from my old home! Need to check this out during next trip to Calif)
Smashburger is a bit more upscale than In N Out which is your typical “fast food” joint. Smashburger has more upscale burgers and chicken burgers. It’s also more expensive. We see more adults (co-workers, etc) at Smashburger and more families at In N Out.
@nottelling Yes, McD’s fries are very good when nice and hot. I hate any place that gives you “heat lamp” warm fries. Ugh.
Do they still put sugar on McDonald’s fries?
Answer : yes-- soaked in dextrose-- but warning, this video might make you hungry 
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-mcdonalds-fries-are-made-2015-1
I lived in Chicago for a year; worked in Naperville (a hike). There was a Portillo’s in Naperville which I loved. My favorite was the italian beef and cheddar sandwich with cheese fries – a thousand calories of awesomeness. I miss Portillo’s and the Chicago food scene in general.
Wow, I never knew that, though I shouldn’t be surprised. There is so much “hidden” sugar in our food; it explains a lot about how our collective health has tanked with regard to obesity, diabetes, and the complications of those two conditions.
My daughter, who was trying to go easy on refined carbs, was incensed to learn that all those omelets she has eaten at IHOP with girlfriends late at night are made with PANCAKE BATTER. Yes, it’s written at the top of the menu, but not necessarily easily noticed. If you order your omelet without it, you will be told that it’s not possible, as their omelet base is already prepared, with the pancake batter already mixed in.
EEEWWWW Pancake batter???
I’m glad I read about IHOP. Haven’t been eating there for a long time but glad to know that information. It’s terrible.
I never knew that, but I’m not grossed out or perturbed about it. If anything I find it odd, but it works. I mean…eggs and pancakes? Best of both worlds, no? I knew they had to be doing something different because their omelettes don’t taste the way “normal” omelettes taste. Some people add milk to eggs…some add flour to fluff up them up. Looks like pancake batter did the trick. I’ll take one create-your-own omelette, please!
I haven’t found any of the fast food burger joints to have a decent burger, I thought 5 guys was pretty blah, and Smashburger was not exactly that great either, my local Greek diner makes much better burgers. I haven’t had McDonald’s or BK in a lot of years, but from what i remember of them, they were pretty crappy even back then. I just ate at a place people were touting as this great burger, they claim to use grass fed beef, and it was pretty miserable.
My favorite kind of fast food isn’t chain restaurants, my favorite kind of fast food has all but disappeared, the clam shacks that used to be common in the northeast were the best (there is a place in Southold, Connecticut, that though it isn’t on the sea coast, is great…not that I can eat much fried seafood, but their whole belly clams are to die for).
I think Steak & Shake and Culver’s have the best fast burgers.
Argh. One more reason to stay away from fast food. I haven’t been to McDonalds and the like in years, except to get a fries about a year ago. But yeah, the hidden sugar thing drives me crazy. Getting healthier for me specifically meant getting down the amount of processed/added sugar I eat, and it’s made an amazing difference. But it is everywhere! I don’t eat out almost at all, but I have a friend with a really busy job that does. He is trying to get healthy, and it’s so hard with all the hidden ingredients in many of the foods that you get. I wish they were required to put disclosures about these random hidden sugars in places you wouldn’t expect them (like fries?! or eggs?!). Personally, I find it much more of a concern than calories or sodium or a lot of other stuff you can get information on.
I do like Chipotle and Panera, also most pizza, and Auntie Anne’s - would not go near a McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc., not Subway either (I used to think they were ‘healthy’, as in clean ingredients, which is what matters to me as opposed to calories, but after finding out all the junk they put in their stuff, they are on my bad list). I do have a strange attachment to Long John Silver’s even though I’ve only been there maybe twice in my life. If I see one while on vacation, I may get something there.
Usually, when I am traveling, I will try to either bring fruit or use the rest stop stores, as opposed to the fast food stops. They have some good stuff - string cheese, hard-boiled egg, bananas (LOVE bananas!), etc.
If you are trying to reduce carbs (perhaps you are even diabetic) and want to have a meal of eggs and veggies or something, it is perturbing because you can’t get your omelet without the pancake batter. Which made no sense to me, because you know that they have whole eggs there for all the sunny side up people, so why couldn’t they be more accommodating?
Perhaps it is a matter of individual restaurant and you can get them to make you an omelet from scratch.
And yes, the rationale is that it makes the omelets “fluffy.”
Mmm, that is so true about the sunny side up eggs. I wonder why that is…
I have a special like-dislike for the Long John Silver’s in my area. I eat there once a year and every time I go there the food is so greasy. Like, I don’t like that I’m eating there, but I still eat there and am pretty ok with it at the end of my meal.
With all this talk of fast food it brings up the point that we really don’t know what is in the food we are eating when we go to these places. At home we wouldn’t think to put sugar in our fries or make omelets with pancake batter. It is no wonder we are a country with such expensive healthcare costs. Even if we are careful at the grocery store and cook at home we really have to do our research to know what is in our food. I don’t know how open are these places in disclosing what is really in the food that they make and serve to customers. Not to say that I don’t like to go out to eat once in awhile it just makes me more cautious about what I choose to eat outside. I remember hearing this phrase. “If god made it eat it. If man made it then don’t eat it.”
@raclut, someone once posted the nutritional information about Chili’s restaurant here on CC. I think it was a grilled chicken breast or chicken fajitas, but there was an INCREDIBLE list of ingredients for the “smoke flavor” that was really enlightening and rather frustrating to anyone who just wants a nice simple grilled chicken breast for “healthy eating.”
You probably can find out a lot of information about these products on their web sites and such, but certainly when you place your order, the ingredients list certainly doesn’t seem to be front and center. You are eating blind essentially.
I’ve wanted to buy the prepared tuna salad and chicken salad found at Whole Foods and other similar grocery stores. But they ALL include some form of sugar, whether it’s refined sugar, honey, or any number of those other pretenders. It’s so unnecessary, imo.
^^^Yes.
The amount of sugar in McDonald’s french fries is negligible – there are 0 grams of sugar in an order of large fries, and the amount of dextrose is less than the amount of citric acid (a preservative commonly used in food in very small amounts). Of all the things to be worked up about, the sugar in McD’s fries is not one of them. (Now the fat, other carbs, sodium, and calories may be a different story).
To put it in perspective, a single tiny packet of ketchup has 2 grams of sugar. A serving of Ragu pasta sauce has 6.2 grams of sugar. Those are sources of sugar that are worth thinking about. The tiny amount used in McD’s french fries to preserve color is not.
This is why home cooked meal is always healthier. It saves money too.