Psuedo-Fast Food
 

The talk on In-n-Out Burger brought up another location I love, Five Guys Burgers.

Which brought to mind all the places around here that are "that style" (akin to Five Guys.)

They're not fast food. There's no window. I wouldn't say they're deli style, but they're sort of like a production line. The closest national chain I can think of that has "that style" would be Subway. Not knowing what to call it, i have named it psuedo-fast food. You can get it quickly to go, just not in a car ;)

That all explained and said - what's your favorite or favorites?

Five Guys - Awesome burgers and fries. An order of fries fills a whole bag though.

Chipotle - Yummy burritos, tacos, etc.., but not my fave of this style and food-type, that goes to...

Qdoba - Best burritos and tacos. I prefer their salsa selections to Chipotle. Again, a very yummy quick bite.

Anyone else have lots of experience with these sorts of places? They surround my college (and many colleges around the US in my experience) and seem to cater to students and staff who don't want another fast food meal, but who aren't about to sit and dine with a waiter.

Fuddruckers is pretty good and of a similar style.
Although they usually have a drive-through, I would consider Fazoli's to be in the between-space as well.
Same for Boston Market.
Several smaller "fresh-mex" style places fall into this category. Salsa Fresh is one of my favs.

btw, I think its interesting that Chipotle is owned by McDonalds.

Moe's is good for that type of food (aka near-fast-food-mexican)

HTSC

Five Guys is restaurant crack. I love it on every level, which is rare (I'm a picky SOB and always find flaws, it seems).

+ It is a superbly run business operation. Cost is driven out in every facet of the business, while still focusing on quality. (Cheaper to pay a kid $7.50/hr to cut fries than it is to buy pre-cuts from Cavendish) No ugly duratrans, no stupid promotions, no dumb coupons and sales, no flashy bag -- plain napkins, plain lunch bag, styro cup to keep the fries warm. I think the only place they are "spendy" in the operation is the cup (which I bet Coke helps them with) and the pre-cut foil sheets, but the savings to have someone cut sheets of foil all day are minimal anyways.

+ They retain focus on what their operation is about: burgers and fries. The hot dog isn't bad (too kosher-beef for my taste, I like a porkier dog, but this is a nit, it's a burger joint), but the burgers are done quite well. Excellent selection of toppings.

+ The fries are the best "fast" food fries, bar none, in the nation. Skin on fries get me warm in special places; Using a russet gets me even warmer. All the would need to do is blanch, par-fry at 300F for 10 minutes, and then finish in 380F oil for 2-3 minutes and I'd be in heaven (the Belgian Way Of Doing Things).

+ The service speed is exceptional for the product you get.

+ Best of all: Value. $7, Coke, Fries, and a Little Cheese, made just the way I want it.

#@$@#%@#$ I'm hungry now.

Cheers,

-Andrew

I would add Nations to the list. Not slow, not fast, not half-fast. Mostly I like the pies. Haven't been in one a 4-5 years. Not worth a trip to the bay area just to eat there, but if I was close to one, I'd stop in for lunch.

Quiznos
 

They have a foot long for $5.00 which my DD loves, as well as the Subway for $5.00. I don't east subs...

She says the Quiznos is much better.

Are these kinds of places any better than fast food health-wise? For five guys I'd assume not -- is the same true of qdoba, or boston market (that stuff is slathered in so much butter, even the vegetables can't be healthy)

The industry name for these places, IIRC, is "fast casual" and as of a couple of years ago, it was the fastest growing segment of the restaurant industry.

Around these parts (DFW), my favorites are Texadelphia (cheesesteaks w/ a southwestern twist), La Madeleine (French bistro, cafeteria style), and Pei Wei (Chinese take-out owned by PF Changs).

La Salsa is like that and the other place very similar to it whose name I never remember, you order and your food is assembled from mostly cooked stuff to order.

I was thinking some more about this, and there are really sort of two different categories here... sandwich shops - which have had a pretty significant market presence for a long time, and "everybody else". In the latter category, there are the "near-fast" mexican places, pei wei, wow bao (popular in Chicago), La Madeleine, etc.

Another sandwich place I love is Potbelly; yummy sandwiches there. Jersey Mikes is in that category, but I do not care as much for them. Used to love Blimpie, but they seem to be getting run out of business by subway. I count Scholtski's Deli in this category as well; though they always struck me as a wanna-be Quiznos.

Then there are the delis: love Murphys Deli mufalettas, Jason's Deli, and McAllister's Deli. For my money, Carneghie Deli in NYC is the best - their hot pastrami on rye is to-die-for.

Panera Bread (free wifi ^ ^), Au Bon Pain, and Atlanta Bread Company are sort of cross-overs somewhere between sandwich shop and deli.

You mean Baja Fresh? (YRF is consuming a Baja Ensalada with grilled chicken at the mo . . .)

+1 to Moe's. Five Guys I have heard about and not been, but there is one opening near me soon.

I actually prefer La Salsa to Baja Fresh. I ate there last night, actually. I had the Tacos La Salsa with steak. Not a bad dinner for $7.50.

I'm also a fan of Panera Bread.

Sierra Grille is the other one in this area besides La Salsa

I just went to Five Guys and it took almost 30 minutes to get my burger and fries. Of course, it was in the airport, but is it always that slow?

Mike