Credit: Bob Townsend
Credit: Bob Townsend
Since the 2001 publication of “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal” by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser, there’s been a lot more debate about the role fast food chains play in our culture and economy.
For many people, Schlosser’s reporting linking fast food to the horrors of factory farming, the destruction of the environment, the epidemic of obesity, and even the possibility of addiction, was a wake-up call.
Still, Americans loved fast food to the sum of nearly $200 billion in sales in 2013, according to industry statistics.
That’s a lot of burgers, fried chicken, tacos and pizza.
Though I haven’t had a soft drink in nearly 20 years, and I’m pretty far from a junk food junkie, I will admit to the occasional craving for a Chick-fil-A sandwich, and when I’m in California, I always make a pilgrimage to In-N-Out Burger.
A few weeks ago, I tried out Cabana Grill, a new fast-casual concept that touts affordable Mexican food made from scratch with fresh ingredients.
And last week, I drove over to East Atlanta to eat at the first Atlanta location of Cook Out, a North Carolina burger and shake chain that enjoys a cult following for its brand of bargain-priced fast food.
Of the two places, I found Cook Out to be more of a guilty pleasure.
The char-grilled-to-order Big Double, with two patties stacked together, is a kind of poor man’s version of some of my favorite fine dining burgers, including the Meatstick at One Eared Stag.
And I can see The Cook Out Tray — $4.99, for a quarter-pound burger or other sandwich, two sides and a soft drink or iced tea — being a big hit with late night grubbers on the way back from the bars in East Atlanta.
What really struck me, though, was how crazy-busy both Cabana Grill and Cook Out were. We’re talking huge crowds, long lines and cars jamming the parking lots.
It left me thinking. What would Eric Schlosser make of this? In spite our worries about the kind of food we consume, we still seem to be a Fast Food Nation.
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