Chick-fil-A, Arby’s among nominees for Thrillist’s first ‘Fastie’ awards

Which fast food restaurant has the best fries? What about the best taco?

Next week, Thrillist will name the winners of its first Fast Food Awards.

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"Think glitzy TV and movie award show, but to honor the best things that came out of fast food restaurants in 2019, and uh, decidedly shorter," Thrillist's Tony Merevick wrote introducing the nominees.

The 16 categories include everything from best sauce to chain of the year. Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A is a nominee in eight categories, and Atlanta-based Arby’s is a nominee in one.

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Although Thrillist will pick most of the winners, there are five "people's choice" categories where you can vote for your favorite. They are: best breakfast sandwich, best coffee, best fries, best taco and best dessert. Chick-fil-A is a nominee in three of the categories. You'll have to go to Thrillist's site to vote.

All winners will be announced noon Wednesday, Feb. 19, on Thrillist's YouTube channel and on Thrillist.com.

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Here are all the nominees.

Best fried chicken sandwich

• Popeyes - Chicken Sandwich
• Chick-fil-A - Chicken Sandwich
• McDonald's - Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich
• Carl's Jr. - Big Fillet Chicken Sandwich
• KFC - Crispy Colonel Sandwich

Best burger

• Culver's - ButterBurger Cheese
• In-N-Out Burger - Double Double
• McDonald's - Quarter Pounder With Cheese
• Whataburger - Double Meat Whataburger
• Wendy's - Dave's Double

Best plant-based burger 

• White Castle - Impossible Slider
• Carl's Jr. - Beyond BBQ Star
• Carl's Jr. - Beyond Famous Star With Cheese
• A&W - Beyond Burger
• Burger King - Impossible Whopper

Best fries 

• Arby's - Curly Fries
• McDonald's - Fries
• Chick-fil-A - Waffle Potato Fries
• Taco Bell - Nacho Fries
• Checkers/Rally's - Famous Seasoned Fries

Best taco 

• Del Taco - The Del Taco
• Taco Bell - Crunchy Taco
• El Pollo Loco - Chicken Taco Al Carbon
• Jack in the Box - Taco
• Taco John's - Crispy Taco

Best dessert 

• Yoshinoya - Cheesecake
• Taco Bell - Cinnamon Sticks
• Wendy's - Frosty
• Culver's - Vanilla Custard
• Jollibee - Peach Mango Pie

Best chicken tenders 

• Raising Cane's - Chicken Fingers
• Popeyes - Tenders
• Culver's - Original Chicken Tenders
• Chick-fil-A - Chick-n-Strips
• Long John Silver's - Chicken Tenders

Best breakfast sandwich 

• Subway - Bacon, Egg, and Cheese
• Chick-fil-A - Chicken Biscuit
• Wendy's - Breakfast Baconator
• Taco Bell - Breakfast Crunchwrap with Bacon
• McDonald's - Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle

Best sauce 

• Culver's - Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Sauce
• Chick-fil-A - Chick-fil-A Sauce
• Raising Cane's - Cane's Sauce
• McDonald's - Honey Mustard
• Whataburger - Spicy Ketchup

Best new menu item of the year 

• Popeyes - Chicken Sandwich
• Burger King - Impossible Whopper
• KFC Kentucky - Fried Wings
• Taco Bell - Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme
• Chick-fil-A - Mac & Cheese

Best coffee 

• Culver's
• Chick-fil-A
• McDonald's
• Sonic Drive-In
• Jack in the Box

Regional chain of the year 

• Culver's
• In-N-Out Burger
• Del Taco
• Whataburger
• Bojangles'

Chain of the year

• Popeyes
• Burger King
• Chick-fil-A
• Wendy's
• White Castle

Menu item of the decade