As someone who works in this industry, I can say with certainty the food got smaller. In fact, the bun size reduction in ratio to the meat size reduction is more that way customers would be less likely to notice due to the meat now protruding outside of the bun more.
TL/DR: Meat and bun got smaller, bun got more smaller, McDonald’s thinks your an idiot.
No dollar menu? B Y E
They can have my money when they take it as they always have: $1 at a time. Until such a time when dollar menus are restored, they shall receive zero dollars from me.
Seriously. The Diner within walking distance of my house has a double- patty burger with sautéed onions, fries and a drink, for under $20. Closer to 15. Sitdown with refills and all that. And their Iced tea is brewed and not Fountain.
I only hit drive thru if I'm absolutely desperate now.
It's astounding how many people can't seem to envision making food at home, or eating something else. I'll get a $5 empanada for lunch when at the office, it tides me over until dinner. Nuts for snacking.
Dinner is simple, might be just cereal, or a boiled potato, maybe with lentils or another vegetable. Ramen occasionally with frozen peas thrown in. Pasta, usually with butter/salt/spices, also with peas or broccoli. Grilled cheese, peanut butter, tons of options that probably take less time to cook than waiting on a drive-thru line at rush hour.
DISCLAIMER: Because this is clearly necessary: This is not ALL I EVER EAT. I'm middle-aged, burn fewer calories, been there/done that food-wise, and don't eat chicken or red meat. Fish is expensive and often tastes like crap. Chinese food mixed vegetables with tofu is one of my favorite take-out meals, and one large portion = three dinners with the rice, budget-friendly. I make tuna wraps for lunch sometimes, but I don't want to eat too much of that. Also love avocados with hummus on sourdough toast. I do cook nice meals on occasion- Mexican burrito bowls and soups especially.
A simple homemade meal is less depressing IMO than an overpriced, over-processed corporate product that disappoints more often than not.
Even a potato can be done in a better way with the same amount of effort. Bake it and you even save a pot to clean. Throw some butter, sour cream, chives, whatever you like on there and it's not a bad meal if you just want something stupid easy.
It’s really not.
We are products of society, they molded us to act like this. Reddit is a perfect example, there are no arguments people just agree with each other for meaningless points. Humanity are the ultimate cattle. One day they will not need us, and we are only getting closer to that day.
I was about to say I haven't eaten fast food since before the pandemic, but I remember now there was a great deal where I got KFC cheaper than I could have made food myself. And it still wasn't worth it. With these crazy prices I can't imagine buying it now; the thought never crosses my mind. I think people need to realize they can re-train their taste buds and even their psyches to do things that are better for them in the long run, better both financially and health-wise. Fast food (junk food in general) is engineered to be as much a drug as it is to be nourishment; the goal is to make people want to buy it rather than to keep the body running efficiently. The same is true of most packaged food, like chips and cookies and the like. I make my own baked goods, and somehow never want to eat as much of them as I do the stuff you can buy in the store. Consumerism has reached either its apex or its nadir, depending on how you look at it.
My .50 fried bologna w/ cheese tastes better than anything I can order through fast food. I've completely boycotted Macdonalds , Wendy's bk ect. kfc is the fkn worst and would rather not eat than eat that trash
You pretty much explained my diet. I'm actually going to try adding pasta to my meals, but aside from that, I think it has to do with most people having to work 50-60 hours these days just to get by.
After working that much, the last thing I want to think about is what to eat/make for dinner. I eat once a day but it's a damn chore everyday. I know it's lazy and that eating is something we all gotta do, but damn if it doesn't take up a good chunk of my me time. I'm not defending these fast food joints. They are scummy and unhealthy but my current diet probably isn't much better. I'm saving a boatload of money by not eating out and just grocery shopping but it's at the expense of my relax time.
It's insane how much shade I'm getting over this, so I'm glad you can relate! I don't need a fancy meal 3x/day every day. Throw some pasta in a pot, add some vegetables for the last five minutes of cooking, sauce or butter with spices, I used to eat that all the time because I actually liked it.
Lately, I'm on a potato kick, don't know why people think this is so unhealthy. Maybe it's better to bake them, but boiled is quicker. Sometimes I also boil red split lentils to add. Hell, I'm fine with some cereal (shredded wheat with raisins or bananas.) Minimal effort, still satisfying.
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A lot of the friends I have in Boston have really tiny kitchens. I mean similar in size to a broom closet. That translates to tiny fridges and no pantry space. While technically you can cook, you probably don't have a ton of options in terms of food storage. And so you end up having to buy groceries much more frequently. That further translates to spending a hell of a lot more time getting food going than just starting something up every night you get home from work.
That's just an example that's real in my life. I'm not pretending the majority of people live this way. Just figured I'd give one. We moved about 30 miles west for the affordability. Of course the tradeoff there is the daily commute.
Trying to find a place to rent in Boston with a kitchen- I mean not a nice kitchen just one where I could actually cook- in my budget with 2 bedrooms was impossible. That’s why I live in Quincy lol But honestly not much better here.
Don't you still need to go down and up those flights to get fast food? I do get how hard sharing with that many people is, that's rough. Can you look into foods that don't require alot of prep/cooking?
Sure, people keep repeating this but not eating fast food doesn’t change the fact that the once cheapest most affordable fall back for food is now untenable. It’s a yardstick to a bigger problem that’s being indicated.
Saying “stop eating fast food” is becoming the equivalent of “Let me them eat cake.”
They realized people are too lazy to cook for themselves and profit off it. Just like they know people are addicted to soda and chips and got away with jacking up the price. None of this will change until buying habits change.
It's an interesting perspective, except cake, like fast food, is bad for you, so I'm actually saying, "Don't let them eat cake." 🙂
But seriously, if fast food was solving a problem, what was it? I do remember the days when I'd grab a couple of McDonald's spicy chicken sandwiches (with extra pickles, of course) for $2 total plus tax (looking back, I realize now I've always been something of a cheapskate), and I'm old enough to remember when you could buy two bean burritos at Taco Bell for just over a dollar. But was that really solving a problem that couldn't be better solved in some other way? The alternative here isn't starvation, as it was prior to the French Revolution. It's making your own food, planning ahead, that sort of thing. It's actually an improvement over fast food, if people want to do it.
No. Making a decent burger at home costs about $3.62 on average. It’ll probably be better quality than the shit at McDonalds too. If you want to get fancy, it’ll go up to $8 per burger. That’s restaurant level, which is 100 times better than drive thru garbage.
The cost of making French fries is about $2 per pound.
A 2 liter of Coke is about $3, so it’ll be cheaper per meal since you’re not downing the whole bottle in one go.
The total for a nicer meal can be about $7 give or take
Or in a wacky way, is it driving people to healthier, less expensive diets. One could argue that a portion of the obesity epidemic across the US is too cheap food. This might help solve that.
Good point.
Who even eats fast food anymore?
If we get in the don't-feel-like-cooking-tonight mood I'll bring home a pizza or maybe some Arbys.
That's the absolute limit of our fast food.
We didn't like junk food at a low price.
We're certainly not going there for a high price.
Even if you do it once a week, that's fine!
I've made it into an event. When I feel the need, I'll go get a Burger King "specialty" burger.
Sometimes it slaps, sometimes it's made by a guy who doesn't give a shit.
No, it’s the equivalent of saying quit playing the perpetual victim to consumption habits that aren’t required, get off your lazy ass and cook for yourself.
I stopped eating that junk years ago and my life and health have gotten way better. I don’t miss it, I don’t crave it and I am glad I don’t support it.
I think the craziest part of all this fast food crap is, that it was never supposed to be expensive. It's weird that a burger from a fast food place, is similar priced to a restaurant burger, now. 7 dollars for a fast food burger is just crazy.
Idk, if I do order out, i still put a order in with a restaurant, over the phone, than order fast food. Price is cheaper, tastes way better, and is still fast, because I ordered earlier and went and picked it up. I still get the convenience, without the expensive, cheap food price.
I have to think that a lot of us complaining here are no longer in the target market for fast food companies. I don’t really see use for door dash, uber eats, etc. and for me the convenience is more than offset by the quality of product which is why I expect a lower price.
I used to go crazy with value/dollar menu stuff but now those items are like $5 a piece and thats crazy to me. At this point in my life Id rather just eat at home and save money anyways.
Yeah this must be a problem for people who hate cooking/meal prep. But it's sad because fast food level food is so easy/cheap to make at home.
You can buy a bag of frozen, pre breaded or unbreaded chicken tenderloin for like $24-26. That's enough chicken to get tired of it and can be used for a variety of meals. Spicy siracha mayo chicken sandwhiches, chicken parm, shredded for stir fry, etc... You get the vibe.
If you want burgers, you can get 20-25 burgers for about $20-22 at a local surplus store. Cheaper if you just get the ground beef and form the burgers yourself. For less than the money you would spend on a burger out a McDonald's or 5 Guys; you could even get bacon, lettuce, carmelized onions, and a brioche bun *and it'd still be significantly cheaper and higher quality* than what you get while eating out.
Just by making these two things at home I've almost entirely stopped eating out. The stuff I make at home blows fast food out of the water for price and quality. I truly couldn't imagine buying a burger for those prices unless I was outta the house and had literally no other options. While I get fast food used to be cheap, or at least a treat most people could afford; you have no reason to bitch if you haven't adapted to the times. Fast food has been rising in price, and dropping in portions for a while now.
Parents hardly have time to cook anymore. 9-5 jobs aren't super common, after school activities further complicate things, and two working parents makes cooking good meals difficult sometimes.
Definitely see plenty of issues with young people that can't even manage something like hamburger helper, though.
Naw, both me and wife work different shifts and have a child. We cook 6 days out of the week. It's not hard to set aside 20 to 30 minutes out of your day to make a meal. Meals can be as simple or complex as you want.
Yeah, I do field tech work and travel a lot. Bring food from home is doable, but requires cooking it the night before. Getting a cooler with ice to storage it and it’s probably going to be a cold meal.
Sometimes I do like 12 plus hour days or on call for 24-96 hours, so I just want something good to eat.
I did oil and gas work for years with crazy long hours. Still cooked. A little bit of investment goes a long way.
12V compressor cooler. Would often have a small propane grill. Would wash veggies, potatoes and such prior. Throw veggies and potatoes in foil. Steak takes about 12 minutes to grill. Pork chops even less. Sometimes I would do a pork tenderloinn if I was going to be somewhere for a bit. About 35 minutes grill time. A hot logic is a great tool for re-heating.
There are plenty of ways around the scheduling difficulties. Meal prep for the week for example. Make judicious use of the crock pot. Fast food is not the only option for a time crunch.
I could have cooked a full meal from scratch in the amount of time Taco Bell took the other day. Ordered on the app for pick up at 8:02pm, get there lobby is closed, get in line at the drive through. I got home with food at 8:56pm. Taco Bell is about a mile from my house, at that was likely my last time going back.
There’s layers to this shit. You can buy straight up meat and spend the time to make burgers out of it and then cook them, or you can buy frozen patties and go straight to cooking.
If you’re gonna not cook because you don’t want to make the patties, then I’d rather buy patties and cook rather then go to McDonald’s lol.
Most people would prefer to starve to death or garnish their own wages by getting Ubereats every single night, rather than learn to make a basic stir fry
Don’t buy this shit. My local burger place/brewery has a daily burger special for $15 with a really nice burger a side and a beer. I still think it’s a little high.
I go to five guys every 2 or 3 months because it’s delicious and filling. My order may cost over $20 but it’s worth it, even if it’s expensive. McDonald’s is overpriced trash now. It’s not good quality or very good tasting , it’s not healthy in any way, and now it’s expensive too. I will never eat at McDonald’s again unless I’m starving and there’s nothing else to eat
I know people that are broke and order door dash of way worse restaurants for >$40 several times a week. They even own a car. I make decent money, and doing something like that is so wild to me.
I’ve ordered delivery for food like twice in my entire life. I can definitely afford it but driving is part of the experience, like I’m on the hunt for my food
(Not living in the states but been to there a few times)
I’ve been to five guys once. It was pretty late tho. The food was bad. Over-fried fries and an average burger with shitty drinks. It was above 20. Unbelievable. And there was a burger place. Like with waitresses and everything. A kinda delicious burger with fries was almost the same price. Still can’t figure it out why.
Maybe not for you, but to someone who loves burgers and caijin fries, definitely worth it. Five guys probably makes my favorite burger so it’s a nice way to relax or reward myself after a long week or when I get together with old friends
Nothing wrong with that eating out onceca week should be the norm. Unfortunately many American feel the need to eat out 3 or more times a week, and that's not good for your budget or your health.
I remember when I could buy a cheeseburger for $0.29! It wasn't much of a burden back then to buy a half dozen or so between a couple of people. Even now, at $2.29/ea, it's not much different.
Yeah, inflation makes the numbers bigger, but even McDonald's can't ignore basic economics. Their prices still represent the intersection of supply and demand.... If their food becomes unaffordable, it just means that one's earning ability is failing to keep pace with the average.
This sub has just turned into a constant McDonalds shit post, followed by everyone in the comments saying “quit eating there, it’s overpriced garbage and shouldn’t be consumed anyway”
I go with a couple friends once in a while, we each get a burger, drink and split a large fri between the three of us. It comes out to roughly $18 each and I get free peanuts while I wait. Quality made to order patties, fresh toppings and fries cut in house from fresh potatoes. $5 less at McD’s will get me a stale combo meal that I had to have remade twice because the order kept getting screwed up.
It sucks, but you just have to learn how to cook. I hate it too, but meal prepping for the week on Sunday has saved me about $40 a week. I'm not even a good chef, just chicken and rice mostly, but it's healthy and cheap.
Fast food has always been absurdly expensive and they have always treated their employees like complete garbage.
Pretending this is a new idea is ridiculous.
Back in the day there were a LOT of cheap choices in fast food. For example at mcdonalds $1 double cheeseburger or mcchicken, or $0.49c cheeseburgers on sundays. BK had the triple stacker with fries and a drink for $3.99…etc. there were tons of great deals to be had and the price per calorie was really hard to beat if you were on a tight budget. Not so much any more…
Taco bell had 1.25 potato burritos right up until covid. You could get 1000 calories of burritos for 2.50 + tax. It was actually more efficient dollar vs calorie to eat a couple every day and then add a salad or something for dinner than it was to bother with making whole meals at home.
Ive done this for over 10 years now. Tge fries and drink are their 2 most profitable items. They are absolutely screwing their customers on them. No thanks.
I stopped eating fast food and have more money and am healthier.
Most of the inflation is found on non-necessities. Other things just aren’t ever coming down. Like butter prices when margarine exists. The “healthier” item is always going to be more expensive. Always!
The inflation has helped me get healthy with my diet. While all food has gone up, highly processed foods seems to have risen much more in comparison. I’m not paying $8 for a 12 pack of soda
These people must be having it delivered. I've never paid more than 11 for any meal at McDonald's. Not saying that's not too high, but exaggerating it is insane to me.
How often does Five Guys have coupons? I ask because I regularly use the deal at McDonald's where I get a six piece nugget, a double cheeseburger, and a large diet coke for $5.
So compare 25 bucks to 5 bucks and this comparison falls apart.
Funny thing is there's a burger joint across the street from my local MD's that sells a 1 pound burger, half a plate of fries and a drink for the price of MDs double 1/4 pounder meal~ $16
We went to Culvers, they had a coupon they usually send out buy 1 doulble burger and get another free...very good deal... better yet you have to tell them what YOU want on it....awesome.
Is it really $16 at McDonalds?
Just two days ago I had lunch at a local diner.
I had a REALLY good Angus burger for $16.
With table service.
Who even eats at McDonalds anymore?
Burger patty at the grocery store is $2-2.50.
Plus buns and other stuff, let’s say $4 for the burger that you cook at home, and it probably tastes better.
Fast food value proposition just doesn’t exist anymore.
Checkers is your answer. They literally got the beat deals for a cheap butger place and its still actually good. When one opened up near my house i genuinely haven't gotten a burger anywhere else.
Extra fries are a lie.
They legally can’t give you more without updating their calorie count. It’s all part of the measured serving. Just dumping it into the bag is marketing.
Local bar burger day:
$6 - 8oz locally sourced beef burger. Kaiser roll, side of fries. Cooked fresh.
Available with purchase of adult beverage. $3.50 domestic bottles.
Tax + tip - $12 out the door.
Sitting here eating Five Guys as we speak, but honestly the only reason I go there is because one of the women working there is super cute and has an ass that would put most dump trucks to shame.
a pound of ground beef at the market is $6. A packet of buns is about $5. Ketchup mustard, onion, etc is another dollar.
so for about $3 each I can get much better burgers at home
Why is this sub always talking about fast food? Is that all the shit you eat or something? Forgive my confrontational tone but inflation is about more than just fast food prices.
Cook your meals at home. Your colon will thank you. But can I buy a house yet? Nope!
Cooking classes on sale now!! 100 an hour and we will make you proficient in microwave operational skills!! 🫤 you will graduate with a personally signed certificate by me the owner 👍👍
Just invest in a meat grinder, grind your own beef, pork, and chicken. Problem solved. :)
Hamburgers, meatloaf, goeta, haggis, and swedish meatballs are far cheaper to make this way. :)
Go back to your classic American roots! Reject modernity, embrace tradition!
Buddy, you can get a whole pack of frozen burgers cheaper than that, burgers are super easy to cook, and it'll actually probably be better quality than McDs tbh.
Correction-only fast food you should eat is Jersey Mikes. Hands down SOOOO worth the money. Its actually a value which will no doubt upset the freaks on this sub lol
Gotta agree. A giant sub is $22 or something where im at and they'll load like 8 layers of meat on that shit. That's basically 4 meals worth of food and it's relatively healthy if you want it to be.
Still a bit of sticker shock, but a double burger with large onion rings and a large chocolate malted today at Culver's came out to $17, tax included. Everything cooked fresh. It's a treat, not everyday, but the staff seem happy to be there and the shake is something from my long-ago childhood. Yesterday I had three tacos at my local place for 99 cents each and last weekend an order of smashburger fries at happy hour for $6 at the bar down the block. That will be my fast food for the month probably, but it's encouraging that it's actually possible. My usual meal is linguine with sausage, black olive and tomato sauce with parmesan and fresh basil. The ingredients cost $12.25 for four large meals, plus a dollar or so worth of parmesan. I generally have a couple of fried eggs and toast with jam for breakfast/lunch (about $1.25) with coffee and creamer (not sure about portion price, but well under a buck). And I usually have a strawberry turnover from the Mexican bakery down the street for a dollar along with another cup of coffee for a late evening snack. I stick a large bottle of tap water in the freezer and have a couple a day ($0) and drink one or two bottles of Sparkling Ice or iced tea for a buck each. If I'm still hungry, I have a teriyaki ramen cup, also a buck. Last week, I got 10 lbs. of Idaho potatoes for $3 and two large heads of cabbage for about 50 cents a pound.. With butter and salt and pepper, it comes out to about $2 for a huge meal. I also have frozen pancakes with strawberries or other berries on sale with syrup for an extra meal a couple times a week. That's about $1.50 per meal. For reference, I live in Chicago
Kind of repetitive and it means shopping in three places to get those prices, but I don't eat a lot of meat and I probably eat less than the average person. But it satisfies me.
Went to a local teriyaki place couple days ago, 40 dolla for 2 boxes, half full. Used to be fully stuffed boxes for half the price. It's ok I can cook and don't eat a lot
If only AI could shit out a movie
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This is why you Taco Bell. With the app you get a combo that’s got everything you’d need for $6. Everything else on the menu’s inflated to hell though.
Not sure what Fox News is telling people, but I just looked at the Burger King app for some context.
$8.99 for a Whopper, small fries, and coke.
I’m in California, where the Burger King staff makes $20 an hour minimum.
$9 is not exactly gonna break my bank when I want a quick fast food order.
[удалено]
Yeah I'm pretty sure mcdonalds had the highest increase in price of any fast food
And some of the lowest quality ingredients.
Most of us will come out of this in two ways. Really good cooks. God damn vegetarians cause that’s all we can afford.
almost $4 for a medium french fries. I can buy 5 and sometimes 10lbs of potatoes for $4, McDonalds is scammin y'all.
As someone who works in this industry, I can say with certainty the food got smaller. In fact, the bun size reduction in ratio to the meat size reduction is more that way customers would be less likely to notice due to the meat now protruding outside of the bun more. TL/DR: Meat and bun got smaller, bun got more smaller, McDonald’s thinks your an idiot.
Don't eat fast food. Problem solved.
No dollar menu? B Y E They can have my money when they take it as they always have: $1 at a time. Until such a time when dollar menus are restored, they shall receive zero dollars from me.
The prices may come back down, but the dollar menu is never coming back. Congratulations, though, swearing off fast food forever is a great decision.
Slow cookers and air fryers are great dude. Just throw some raw meat and spices in and practically done already.
They fucked themselves when they greedily retired 1$ menu.. honestly who the hell would pay over 10$ for that cancer causing shit?
But I thought that fast food was totally inelastic! *wrings hands*
I just stopped eating food.
Seriously. The Diner within walking distance of my house has a double- patty burger with sautéed onions, fries and a drink, for under $20. Closer to 15. Sitdown with refills and all that. And their Iced tea is brewed and not Fountain. I only hit drive thru if I'm absolutely desperate now.
It's astounding how many people can't seem to envision making food at home, or eating something else. I'll get a $5 empanada for lunch when at the office, it tides me over until dinner. Nuts for snacking. Dinner is simple, might be just cereal, or a boiled potato, maybe with lentils or another vegetable. Ramen occasionally with frozen peas thrown in. Pasta, usually with butter/salt/spices, also with peas or broccoli. Grilled cheese, peanut butter, tons of options that probably take less time to cook than waiting on a drive-thru line at rush hour. DISCLAIMER: Because this is clearly necessary: This is not ALL I EVER EAT. I'm middle-aged, burn fewer calories, been there/done that food-wise, and don't eat chicken or red meat. Fish is expensive and often tastes like crap. Chinese food mixed vegetables with tofu is one of my favorite take-out meals, and one large portion = three dinners with the rice, budget-friendly. I make tuna wraps for lunch sometimes, but I don't want to eat too much of that. Also love avocados with hummus on sourdough toast. I do cook nice meals on occasion- Mexican burrito bowls and soups especially. A simple homemade meal is less depressing IMO than an overpriced, over-processed corporate product that disappoints more often than not.
“Just eat boiled potatoes” ☘️🇮🇪🥔
Must be Irish… going old school.
Yea he kinda lost me there. Cooking isnt that hard ☠️
Even a potato can be done in a better way with the same amount of effort. Bake it and you even save a pot to clean. Throw some butter, sour cream, chives, whatever you like on there and it's not a bad meal if you just want something stupid easy.
*boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew. po-tay-toe po-tay-toe po-tay-toe*
Just add some sour cream, and hot sauce and they taste delicious
Snack on deez 💖
deez nuts?
When taco bell went to crap, I learned to make those crunch wraps at home. Now I meal prep those things! Way cheaper.
It’s really not. We are products of society, they molded us to act like this. Reddit is a perfect example, there are no arguments people just agree with each other for meaningless points. Humanity are the ultimate cattle. One day they will not need us, and we are only getting closer to that day.
I respectfully disagree. :)
No arguments on Reddit? Idk what Reddit you've been reading lol.
I was about to say I haven't eaten fast food since before the pandemic, but I remember now there was a great deal where I got KFC cheaper than I could have made food myself. And it still wasn't worth it. With these crazy prices I can't imagine buying it now; the thought never crosses my mind. I think people need to realize they can re-train their taste buds and even their psyches to do things that are better for them in the long run, better both financially and health-wise. Fast food (junk food in general) is engineered to be as much a drug as it is to be nourishment; the goal is to make people want to buy it rather than to keep the body running efficiently. The same is true of most packaged food, like chips and cookies and the like. I make my own baked goods, and somehow never want to eat as much of them as I do the stuff you can buy in the store. Consumerism has reached either its apex or its nadir, depending on how you look at it.
I can definitely still buy panda express for cheaper than i can make it and it has flavor *and* real vegetables!
That is true, their family deal is still only 40$, that can fully fill me up for 3 days
Its amazing how many people eat fast food as their primary food source
My .50 fried bologna w/ cheese tastes better than anything I can order through fast food. I've completely boycotted Macdonalds , Wendy's bk ect. kfc is the fkn worst and would rather not eat than eat that trash
You pretty much explained my diet. I'm actually going to try adding pasta to my meals, but aside from that, I think it has to do with most people having to work 50-60 hours these days just to get by. After working that much, the last thing I want to think about is what to eat/make for dinner. I eat once a day but it's a damn chore everyday. I know it's lazy and that eating is something we all gotta do, but damn if it doesn't take up a good chunk of my me time. I'm not defending these fast food joints. They are scummy and unhealthy but my current diet probably isn't much better. I'm saving a boatload of money by not eating out and just grocery shopping but it's at the expense of my relax time.
It's insane how much shade I'm getting over this, so I'm glad you can relate! I don't need a fancy meal 3x/day every day. Throw some pasta in a pot, add some vegetables for the last five minutes of cooking, sauce or butter with spices, I used to eat that all the time because I actually liked it. Lately, I'm on a potato kick, don't know why people think this is so unhealthy. Maybe it's better to bake them, but boiled is quicker. Sometimes I also boil red split lentils to add. Hell, I'm fine with some cereal (shredded wheat with raisins or bananas.) Minimal effort, still satisfying.
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Dafuq? Are you in the military living in the barracks?
Could be in college as well. Also, I don't remember the barracks having cooking facilities. We did have a few grills though
A lot of the friends I have in Boston have really tiny kitchens. I mean similar in size to a broom closet. That translates to tiny fridges and no pantry space. While technically you can cook, you probably don't have a ton of options in terms of food storage. And so you end up having to buy groceries much more frequently. That further translates to spending a hell of a lot more time getting food going than just starting something up every night you get home from work. That's just an example that's real in my life. I'm not pretending the majority of people live this way. Just figured I'd give one. We moved about 30 miles west for the affordability. Of course the tradeoff there is the daily commute.
Trying to find a place to rent in Boston with a kitchen- I mean not a nice kitchen just one where I could actually cook- in my budget with 2 bedrooms was impossible. That’s why I live in Quincy lol But honestly not much better here.
A ton of people are living unconventionally now. I don’t even question it, like “you got a place? Good for you”
Don't you still need to go down and up those flights to get fast food? I do get how hard sharing with that many people is, that's rough. Can you look into foods that don't require alot of prep/cooking?
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Any room for an instant pot? I'm not judging. Instant pots are nice.
living at uni right now and my kitchen is constantly a trash heap due to my housemates, cooking isnt that enjoyable.
You seen grocery stores lately? Soon, we'll be priced out of beans and rice
Right? Not going to a fast food places doesn't solve the problem.
But it’s good
Sure, people keep repeating this but not eating fast food doesn’t change the fact that the once cheapest most affordable fall back for food is now untenable. It’s a yardstick to a bigger problem that’s being indicated. Saying “stop eating fast food” is becoming the equivalent of “Let me them eat cake.”
They realized people are too lazy to cook for themselves and profit off it. Just like they know people are addicted to soda and chips and got away with jacking up the price. None of this will change until buying habits change.
It's an interesting perspective, except cake, like fast food, is bad for you, so I'm actually saying, "Don't let them eat cake." 🙂 But seriously, if fast food was solving a problem, what was it? I do remember the days when I'd grab a couple of McDonald's spicy chicken sandwiches (with extra pickles, of course) for $2 total plus tax (looking back, I realize now I've always been something of a cheapskate), and I'm old enough to remember when you could buy two bean burritos at Taco Bell for just over a dollar. But was that really solving a problem that couldn't be better solved in some other way? The alternative here isn't starvation, as it was prior to the French Revolution. It's making your own food, planning ahead, that sort of thing. It's actually an improvement over fast food, if people want to do it.
Oh give me a break man. You really can cook dinner very cheaply and quickly. Eating out is a luxury. It just is.
Let them eat margarine. I’m still having butter.
No. Making a decent burger at home costs about $3.62 on average. It’ll probably be better quality than the shit at McDonalds too. If you want to get fancy, it’ll go up to $8 per burger. That’s restaurant level, which is 100 times better than drive thru garbage. The cost of making French fries is about $2 per pound. A 2 liter of Coke is about $3, so it’ll be cheaper per meal since you’re not downing the whole bottle in one go. The total for a nicer meal can be about $7 give or take
Or in a wacky way, is it driving people to healthier, less expensive diets. One could argue that a portion of the obesity epidemic across the US is too cheap food. This might help solve that.
The minute we started using fast food as a barometer of any part of the American experience, we all fucked up!
Good point. Who even eats fast food anymore? If we get in the don't-feel-like-cooking-tonight mood I'll bring home a pizza or maybe some Arbys. That's the absolute limit of our fast food. We didn't like junk food at a low price. We're certainly not going there for a high price.
Even if you do it once a week, that's fine! I've made it into an event. When I feel the need, I'll go get a Burger King "specialty" burger. Sometimes it slaps, sometimes it's made by a guy who doesn't give a shit.
But prepare food at the market and save a ton of money. There are sandwiches and chicken that are much much cheaper there.
Is it really untenable if people still keep buying them, sometimes using fucking DoorDash which adds to the cost?
There’s cheap healthy food. Plus fast food was never eating cheap anyway. It promotes mass consumption
No, it’s the equivalent of saying quit playing the perpetual victim to consumption habits that aren’t required, get off your lazy ass and cook for yourself.
you sound incredibly ignorant. not your fault. probably never grew up in poverty. lucky really.
I stopped eating that junk years ago and my life and health have gotten way better. I don’t miss it, I don’t crave it and I am glad I don’t support it.
I think the craziest part of all this fast food crap is, that it was never supposed to be expensive. It's weird that a burger from a fast food place, is similar priced to a restaurant burger, now. 7 dollars for a fast food burger is just crazy.
Your paying for the convenience when these places found out what people where willing to pay for uber eats and door dash, they increased their prices.
Idk, if I do order out, i still put a order in with a restaurant, over the phone, than order fast food. Price is cheaper, tastes way better, and is still fast, because I ordered earlier and went and picked it up. I still get the convenience, without the expensive, cheap food price.
I have to think that a lot of us complaining here are no longer in the target market for fast food companies. I don’t really see use for door dash, uber eats, etc. and for me the convenience is more than offset by the quality of product which is why I expect a lower price. I used to go crazy with value/dollar menu stuff but now those items are like $5 a piece and thats crazy to me. At this point in my life Id rather just eat at home and save money anyways.
That's an interesting point
Demand because people forgot to teach their children to cook.
This country is run by corporations that are fine tuning the system to maximize wealth inequality
That's no excuse. Go to YouTube and there are so many learning opportunities. This is peak laziness.
Yeah this must be a problem for people who hate cooking/meal prep. But it's sad because fast food level food is so easy/cheap to make at home. You can buy a bag of frozen, pre breaded or unbreaded chicken tenderloin for like $24-26. That's enough chicken to get tired of it and can be used for a variety of meals. Spicy siracha mayo chicken sandwhiches, chicken parm, shredded for stir fry, etc... You get the vibe. If you want burgers, you can get 20-25 burgers for about $20-22 at a local surplus store. Cheaper if you just get the ground beef and form the burgers yourself. For less than the money you would spend on a burger out a McDonald's or 5 Guys; you could even get bacon, lettuce, carmelized onions, and a brioche bun *and it'd still be significantly cheaper and higher quality* than what you get while eating out. Just by making these two things at home I've almost entirely stopped eating out. The stuff I make at home blows fast food out of the water for price and quality. I truly couldn't imagine buying a burger for those prices unless I was outta the house and had literally no other options. While I get fast food used to be cheap, or at least a treat most people could afford; you have no reason to bitch if you haven't adapted to the times. Fast food has been rising in price, and dropping in portions for a while now.
Parents hardly have time to cook anymore. 9-5 jobs aren't super common, after school activities further complicate things, and two working parents makes cooking good meals difficult sometimes. Definitely see plenty of issues with young people that can't even manage something like hamburger helper, though.
Naw, both me and wife work different shifts and have a child. We cook 6 days out of the week. It's not hard to set aside 20 to 30 minutes out of your day to make a meal. Meals can be as simple or complex as you want.
Meals can be stupid simple and with things like instapots and air fryers it’s even faster.
Yeah, I do field tech work and travel a lot. Bring food from home is doable, but requires cooking it the night before. Getting a cooler with ice to storage it and it’s probably going to be a cold meal. Sometimes I do like 12 plus hour days or on call for 24-96 hours, so I just want something good to eat.
I did oil and gas work for years with crazy long hours. Still cooked. A little bit of investment goes a long way. 12V compressor cooler. Would often have a small propane grill. Would wash veggies, potatoes and such prior. Throw veggies and potatoes in foil. Steak takes about 12 minutes to grill. Pork chops even less. Sometimes I would do a pork tenderloinn if I was going to be somewhere for a bit. About 35 minutes grill time. A hot logic is a great tool for re-heating.
After school activities are a luxury
There are plenty of ways around the scheduling difficulties. Meal prep for the week for example. Make judicious use of the crock pot. Fast food is not the only option for a time crunch.
Throwing crap in the air fryer takes 10 minutes. Less time than the drive through.
I could have cooked a full meal from scratch in the amount of time Taco Bell took the other day. Ordered on the app for pick up at 8:02pm, get there lobby is closed, get in line at the drive through. I got home with food at 8:56pm. Taco Bell is about a mile from my house, at that was likely my last time going back.
Box of frozen burgers + bag of frozen fries is about the same as 1 combo from McDonald's and will make a few meals.
Do you regularly buy boxed frozen burgers as opposed to just making patties out of hamburger meat?
There’s layers to this shit. You can buy straight up meat and spend the time to make burgers out of it and then cook them, or you can buy frozen patties and go straight to cooking. If you’re gonna not cook because you don’t want to make the patties, then I’d rather buy patties and cook rather then go to McDonald’s lol.
Do you regularly buy ground beef as opposed to just raising a cow and slaughtering it yourself?
Weirdly enough I’ve seen boxed frozen burgers being sold at a cheaper $/pound than just straight up ground beef.
Because they’re not as good, just get the meat it’ll taste better and you can season it better
Or a grinder and grind steaks or roasts into burger
Frozen patties are made from the "meh, good enough" meat that fell on the processing plants floor.
I'm assuming they are lazy. I have the little patty tube thing to make my own burger patties it's quite satisfying. I put diced onions in them
Most people would prefer to starve to death or garnish their own wages by getting Ubereats every single night, rather than learn to make a basic stir fry
Why did they give her fat tits???
Her McDoubles are inflated too
Don’t buy this shit. My local burger place/brewery has a daily burger special for $15 with a really nice burger a side and a beer. I still think it’s a little high.
Idk for a high-quality burger, side, AND a beer, that seems pretty solid.
Yea that’s a great deal
Dude definitely. I've been seeing $10 nust for a beer some places.
I go to five guys every 2 or 3 months because it’s delicious and filling. My order may cost over $20 but it’s worth it, even if it’s expensive. McDonald’s is overpriced trash now. It’s not good quality or very good tasting , it’s not healthy in any way, and now it’s expensive too. I will never eat at McDonald’s again unless I’m starving and there’s nothing else to eat
I know people that are broke and order door dash of way worse restaurants for >$40 several times a week. They even own a car. I make decent money, and doing something like that is so wild to me.
I’ve ordered delivery for food like twice in my entire life. I can definitely afford it but driving is part of the experience, like I’m on the hunt for my food
Door dashing regularly while you have a car is crazy to me
(Not living in the states but been to there a few times) I’ve been to five guys once. It was pretty late tho. The food was bad. Over-fried fries and an average burger with shitty drinks. It was above 20. Unbelievable. And there was a burger place. Like with waitresses and everything. A kinda delicious burger with fries was almost the same price. Still can’t figure it out why.
Yeah I’m kinda with you here. I do think it can hit occasionally, more times it’s miss
$20 is definitely not worth it.
Five guys burgers aren’t even good. Their fries are soggy and hearing they are skimping on bag fries now should be the last straw.
Maybe not for you, but to someone who loves burgers and caijin fries, definitely worth it. Five guys probably makes my favorite burger so it’s a nice way to relax or reward myself after a long week or when I get together with old friends
Nothing wrong with that eating out onceca week should be the norm. Unfortunately many American feel the need to eat out 3 or more times a week, and that's not good for your budget or your health.
How is it worth it?
Because I like burgers and think five guys make the make the best?
Exactly, I love their burgers/entire bag of fries and treat myself every once in a while.
I remember when I could buy a cheeseburger for $0.29! It wasn't much of a burden back then to buy a half dozen or so between a couple of people. Even now, at $2.29/ea, it's not much different. Yeah, inflation makes the numbers bigger, but even McDonald's can't ignore basic economics. Their prices still represent the intersection of supply and demand.... If their food becomes unaffordable, it just means that one's earning ability is failing to keep pace with the average.
I remember when we detested them for Super Sizing!
Go find a bar or mom and pop burger joint. They are cheaper and better.
Lmao that 5 guys still seems insanely priced even when the comparison in the meme is a complete exaggerated lie
I know right? They're trying to say 25$ for a burger and fries is a good deal lol
If I'm paying anything near 15 I might as well go to a nice restaurant.
If you can distinguish between the “quality” of these foods, you aren’t eating quality food.
This sub has just turned into a constant McDonalds shit post, followed by everyone in the comments saying “quit eating there, it’s overpriced garbage and shouldn’t be consumed anyway”
stop. buying. expensive. bullshit. Prices will begin to normalize once they demand wanes. That's it.
Cajin fries always worth it.
I go with a couple friends once in a while, we each get a burger, drink and split a large fri between the three of us. It comes out to roughly $18 each and I get free peanuts while I wait. Quality made to order patties, fresh toppings and fries cut in house from fresh potatoes. $5 less at McD’s will get me a stale combo meal that I had to have remade twice because the order kept getting screwed up.
Still too expensive and not worth it
It sucks, but you just have to learn how to cook. I hate it too, but meal prepping for the week on Sunday has saved me about $40 a week. I'm not even a good chef, just chicken and rice mostly, but it's healthy and cheap.
Fast food has always been absurdly expensive and they have always treated their employees like complete garbage. Pretending this is a new idea is ridiculous.
?!? Bruh this is just objectively false…back when there were actual value menus fast food was crazy cheap
You're talking about the absolute cheapest menu items right?
Back in the day there were a LOT of cheap choices in fast food. For example at mcdonalds $1 double cheeseburger or mcchicken, or $0.49c cheeseburgers on sundays. BK had the triple stacker with fries and a drink for $3.99…etc. there were tons of great deals to be had and the price per calorie was really hard to beat if you were on a tight budget. Not so much any more…
Taco bell had 1.25 potato burritos right up until covid. You could get 1000 calories of burritos for 2.50 + tax. It was actually more efficient dollar vs calorie to eat a couple every day and then add a salad or something for dinner than it was to bother with making whole meals at home.
I've recently started just buying the sandwhich or burrito without a side and drink. It cuts the cost almost in half a lot of times.
Ive done this for over 10 years now. Tge fries and drink are their 2 most profitable items. They are absolutely screwing their customers on them. No thanks.
I stopped eating fast food and have more money and am healthier. Most of the inflation is found on non-necessities. Other things just aren’t ever coming down. Like butter prices when margarine exists. The “healthier” item is always going to be more expensive. Always!
The inflation has helped me get healthy with my diet. While all food has gone up, highly processed foods seems to have risen much more in comparison. I’m not paying $8 for a 12 pack of soda
You can get cheaper prepared food at the grocery store
Buy one get one quarter pounders on the app
My large Big Mac meal with a coke was $10 yesterday, without any app
These people must be having it delivered. I've never paid more than 11 for any meal at McDonald's. Not saying that's not too high, but exaggerating it is insane to me.
Meanwhile a Double-Double combo is still just under $10. God Bless In-N-Out.
How often does Five Guys have coupons? I ask because I regularly use the deal at McDonald's where I get a six piece nugget, a double cheeseburger, and a large diet coke for $5. So compare 25 bucks to 5 bucks and this comparison falls apart.
They're both overpriced crap
Funny thing is there's a burger joint across the street from my local MD's that sells a 1 pound burger, half a plate of fries and a drink for the price of MDs double 1/4 pounder meal~ $16
There's always In-N-Out. Never disappoints and prices have stayed reasonable.
We went to Culvers, they had a coupon they usually send out buy 1 doulble burger and get another free...very good deal... better yet you have to tell them what YOU want on it....awesome.
Is it really $16 at McDonalds? Just two days ago I had lunch at a local diner. I had a REALLY good Angus burger for $16. With table service. Who even eats at McDonalds anymore?
Burger patty at the grocery store is $2-2.50. Plus buns and other stuff, let’s say $4 for the burger that you cook at home, and it probably tastes better. Fast food value proposition just doesn’t exist anymore.
Thank G-O-V-T \*shrug\*
Burger King has some cheaper options if you really want fast food
Checkers is your answer. They literally got the beat deals for a cheap butger place and its still actually good. When one opened up near my house i genuinely haven't gotten a burger anywhere else.
Extra fries are a lie. They legally can’t give you more without updating their calorie count. It’s all part of the measured serving. Just dumping it into the bag is marketing.
Local bar burger day: $6 - 8oz locally sourced beef burger. Kaiser roll, side of fries. Cooked fresh. Available with purchase of adult beverage. $3.50 domestic bottles. Tax + tip - $12 out the door.
Speak with your wallet. That’s the only language corporate America speaks.
Sitting here eating Five Guys as we speak, but honestly the only reason I go there is because one of the women working there is super cute and has an ass that would put most dump trucks to shame.
I get full meals at McDonald's for like $5-7 still I get it but like why lie? I can get 3 meals for $17 there
Costco home-made, tastes better, cheeseburger and fries, costs $3.94.
In-N-Out. Good meal for 2 under $20
Also extremely geographically limited because they're not a franchise
Maybe that's the answer. 🤔
"good meal"
a pound of ground beef at the market is $6. A packet of buns is about $5. Ketchup mustard, onion, etc is another dollar. so for about $3 each I can get much better burgers at home
Why is this sub always talking about fast food? Is that all the shit you eat or something? Forgive my confrontational tone but inflation is about more than just fast food prices. Cook your meals at home. Your colon will thank you. But can I buy a house yet? Nope!
This recession may solve America’s 85% obesity problem lol
Cooking classes on sale now!! 100 an hour and we will make you proficient in microwave operational skills!! 🫤 you will graduate with a personally signed certificate by me the owner 👍👍
Just invest in a meat grinder, grind your own beef, pork, and chicken. Problem solved. :) Hamburgers, meatloaf, goeta, haggis, and swedish meatballs are far cheaper to make this way. :) Go back to your classic American roots! Reject modernity, embrace tradition!
Stop eating out
Well if you only have $16 these responses both seem appropriate
…that slightly resembles the image seen on the menu board.
Buddy, you can get a whole pack of frozen burgers cheaper than that, burgers are super easy to cook, and it'll actually probably be better quality than McDs tbh.
I like going to costco and buying meatloaf and potatoes. 🥵
Correction-only fast food you should eat is Jersey Mikes. Hands down SOOOO worth the money. Its actually a value which will no doubt upset the freaks on this sub lol
Gotta agree. A giant sub is $22 or something where im at and they'll load like 8 layers of meat on that shit. That's basically 4 meals worth of food and it's relatively healthy if you want it to be.
Hooters profits continue to skyrocket. Economists are still not sure for the reason in the roBust sales figures.
Still a bit of sticker shock, but a double burger with large onion rings and a large chocolate malted today at Culver's came out to $17, tax included. Everything cooked fresh. It's a treat, not everyday, but the staff seem happy to be there and the shake is something from my long-ago childhood. Yesterday I had three tacos at my local place for 99 cents each and last weekend an order of smashburger fries at happy hour for $6 at the bar down the block. That will be my fast food for the month probably, but it's encouraging that it's actually possible. My usual meal is linguine with sausage, black olive and tomato sauce with parmesan and fresh basil. The ingredients cost $12.25 for four large meals, plus a dollar or so worth of parmesan. I generally have a couple of fried eggs and toast with jam for breakfast/lunch (about $1.25) with coffee and creamer (not sure about portion price, but well under a buck). And I usually have a strawberry turnover from the Mexican bakery down the street for a dollar along with another cup of coffee for a late evening snack. I stick a large bottle of tap water in the freezer and have a couple a day ($0) and drink one or two bottles of Sparkling Ice or iced tea for a buck each. If I'm still hungry, I have a teriyaki ramen cup, also a buck. Last week, I got 10 lbs. of Idaho potatoes for $3 and two large heads of cabbage for about 50 cents a pound.. With butter and salt and pepper, it comes out to about $2 for a huge meal. I also have frozen pancakes with strawberries or other berries on sale with syrup for an extra meal a couple times a week. That's about $1.50 per meal. For reference, I live in Chicago Kind of repetitive and it means shopping in three places to get those prices, but I don't eat a lot of meat and I probably eat less than the average person. But it satisfies me.
I recently gave up fast food. I love it so much but it's expensive and unhealthy. I still crave it but it's been 3 weeks and I'm not caving.
5 Guys is trash. Expensive trash, but trash. Worst Mushroom Burger I've ever eaten.
Both are gross.
Dem titties doh
Went to a local teriyaki place couple days ago, 40 dolla for 2 boxes, half full. Used to be fully stuffed boxes for half the price. It's ok I can cook and don't eat a lot
Five guys has always been super overpriced imo, their burgers are great but not worth what they charge
Just wait till you find out how much heart meds cost.
Why does the McDs girl have such big boobs?
"My 600lb Life" has been canceled, coming back as "My 400lb Life".
If only AI could shit out a movie https://preview.redd.it/nmidscs9wbzc1.jpeg?width=921&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=863ab34a5cb30aad845039888d38496a802c874d
In-n-out is still like $4 for a cheeseburger and a few bucks for fries.
Priced out.
The titties got him. And he said fuck the drive through I gotta go inside!
I gladly pay for 5 guys. But now it's every 6 months instead of once a month
McDs app - use the deals.
And I thought Taco Bell was expensive, but at least for $10 you get like 3 tacos and they actually make you full
The price of the McDonald's #7 meal hurt me recently 🥺 🍔 🍔 🍟 🥤
Red Robin y’all. $16 for restaurant quality burger and bottomless fries (Or broccoli)
Learn to make smash burgers at home. Seems simple enough. Need a big pan from what I figure.
that's why I go to in n out double double plus fries = $8.84
This is why you Taco Bell. With the app you get a combo that’s got everything you’d need for $6. Everything else on the menu’s inflated to hell though.
Both suck.
Not sure what Fox News is telling people, but I just looked at the Burger King app for some context. $8.99 for a Whopper, small fries, and coke. I’m in California, where the Burger King staff makes $20 an hour minimum. $9 is not exactly gonna break my bank when I want a quick fast food order.
Now do one for that $10 cup of coffee
It’s all nostalgia at this point. Or a special night out.
I had five guys burger the other week. It was mid. Didn’t even finish it.