The best fast food
Recently, I put a call out on Table Talk blog for readers to tell me what restaurants they'd like to see me review in the AJC.
I plan to put the same call out, and each month, I plan to review a suggested restaurant by a reader. This month, commenter "Stan" suggested I rate fast food fair and square. Fries and shake in hand, I found I was up to the challenge. Stan, a self-professed "avid home cook," lives in Winder with his wife and two beagles. Thanks for the idea, Stan!
Best meal: The Varsity
61 North Ave., Atlanta. 404-881-1706 (other locations in metro area and Athens)
If it's good enough for former president Bill Clinton and former Georgia governor Zell Miller, then dang it — the Varsity is good enough for me. Of course, it's hard to find someone who doesn't love the largest drive-in and the world's onion rings, hot dogs (I like mine with the V's chili and mustard) and a big "frosted orange" shake, which tastes a little like orange sherbet mixed with children's aspirin. Don't get me started on the fried peach pies.
Best dish: Chipotle (various locations)
What I love most about this eco-friendly chain is that for fast food, the options are super fresh. And the fact that founder Steve Ells strives to be a part of the solution, not the problem, practicing as often as possible a sustainable process for Chipotle's ingredients and business operations. That says something about the burrito bowl, which is my favorite dish here. I love Chipotle's light rice laced with cilantro, then mixed with frijoles negro and topped with a messy mix of lettuce, guac and salsa. It's big enough for two, and perfect with tortilla chips. You can have a cervesa, too.
Best fries: McDonald's (area locations)
Rock and roll, McDonald's. Since 1955, you've been cranking out the best-tasting fast food fries ever. They're thin, but not too thin, unlike matchstick fries (which are so skinny they should be renamed "why bother" fries). Yet they're not too fat, either. Fat fast food fries = mushy fast food fries. They're perfectly salted and always hot — and let's face it — they never make it home. You, me — we always finish them in the car on the way, don't we?
Best Sandwich: Chik-fil-A (area locations)
I hate the cow advertisements. And I hate that this chain, founded in Georgia (with the first to open at the Greenbriar Mall in 1967), is closed on Sundays. Sometimes we want a chicken sandwich seven days a week, right? But I love the pickle. I love the fried chicken. I love no condiments (unless you want to add them). And I love how the bun gets sort of sticky from steam before you pull the sandwich from its foil-lined fast food pocket.
Best side: Church's Chicken (area locations)
I was satisfying my once-a-year fast food fried chicken craving (it's a holdover from my pregnancy, which was 13 years ago) when I realized for the first time that Church's offers fried okra. Fried okra. Is there anything that hearkens me back to childhood faster than a crusty crunch of this weirdly snotty vegetable? No. And Church's fries it up with no mess. And change from a five.
