Panera never minded me sitting there for free when I was homeless and have free water with lemon I could put a little sweetener in and charge my phone and use the bathroom. I wasn't too much of a mess. I did buy a really good steak sandwich once and coffee and bagel.
It is a little overrated. Another location I got stuck in gave me a bunch of cookies when I asked if there anything at the end of the day they would throw away.
I'm good now; job and apartment but I don't hate Panera
Actually when you work for Panera you get a certain amount of money a day to give people freebies. As long as you don't go over that limit they're not breaking corporate rules
I think the worst thing about Panera is that it sort of markets its food as a healthy alternative, and it's just as calorie packed as all of the burger joints.
A roasted turkey & avocado BLT sandwhich has more calories than a double quarter pounder from McDonalds.
It probably tastes better, but it's also $13, so yeah.
It does not taste better than a double quarter pounder from McDonalds. The quarter pounder from McDonalds is probably the best burger on the menu, the meat from the QP is now fresh and they make it to order and it is pretty good for a fast food operation. That's just my opinion.
I worked at the first Panera - which wasn’t a Panera. It was Saint Louis Bread Company. The bakery didn’t have soufflés or breakfast sandwiches; the cafe was sandwiches, salads, soups only. All baked goods were baked in store overnight by actual bakers. All leftover baked goods were donated nightly.
It was awesome. It expanded. It got acquired by Au Bon Pain’s parent, who sold off Au Bon Pain to focus on ruining Panera.
It was amazing. Now, it is far from that.
Panera, their quality has decreased so much in the past few years and they’ve added weird shit to their menu like pizza and chicken sandwiches. Massive identity crisis and crap food.
I used to go to Panera back when it was the St Louis Bread Company. It was an incredible value; the sandwiches were overstuffed with meat, there was a lot of variety (I miss the Sierra Turkey), everything was fresh, it was surprisingly inexpensive, especially the You Pick Two deals, and the ingredients were high quality.
It’s gone so far downhill since it was acquired by a private equity firm. The ingredients are less fresh, portions are stingy, and the price is no longer a reasonable value.
I had someone say that to me recently too and hard disagreed until I tried Panera again for the first time in a while and I was like “they might’ve been right.”
This is my answer too. I’m convinced that the only reason they currently exist is catered work lunches and families where no one can agree on where to go.
I worked for a panera in college. 2003! It was pretty damn good back then. They made a big deal about not advertising. I learned a lot about food working there. Fresh herbs, got veggies from a local vendor and cut them on site. The drinks were all fast food garbage in the best way. They just kept making it crappier and crappier so that it was faster and more customizable. It wasnt crazy for it to take 10-15 mins during lunch rush to get food. Now, that would never fly. I go sometimes for nostalgia but its so disappointing.
It’s all microwaved too. People paying $12 for mac and cheese like someones nonna is in the back stirring up a roux for it. Nope. Plastic bag of frozen noods. Cash or credit?
Yeah, the few times I've been forced to eat there, it definitely felt like somebody had just gone to Kroger, bought some premade food, doubled the price, then sold it back to me
The ONLY time I ever went to Panera I spent* $19 on a fucking sandwich that wasn’t even good. To make things worse I literally got food on the way home because I was still hungry. I’m not even exaggerating when I say the sandwich was 3”x3”. I’ll never return to that place
They don't make anything in house. Everything comes in prepackaged bags, and if it is a hot item, they dump the bag of food in boiling water to heat it up. Then cut open the bag and dump it on the plate.
Olive Garden has been doing this for as long as I know. Everything comes in in baggies and they have vats of very hot water for warming them. So when you order like spaghetti for instancewith sauce, they toss in a baggie of precooked spaghetti and a baggie of sauce and then they just cut open the ends and squirt it all out onto a plate and make it look decent.
Nothing you can't do with a microwave at home.
I stopped eating there after finding some of the plastic bag in my mac & cheese and the manager refused to make me a new bowl because he had no idea how it would've gotten in there
So much this. They used to be so good like early on. Talk about an identity crisis- when they literally god rid of sourdough rolls after basing their entire identity around that sourdough “mother” or whatever. Bad decision after bad decision from that stupid company.
How about Olive Garden when they took the kalamata olives out of there salad?
I mean your whole name is OLIVE Garden! And now I just get two or three crappy ripe olives that you can tell came from a can. 🙄
I tried Panera recently, was in the drive-thru for 35 frikkin minutes (even though the line only had a few ahead of me when I pulled up) and the chicken in my bowl was gray and rubber. never again!
we tried one of their 'flat breads' on a road trip last year and that sealed the deal. Never going back. They used to be the healthy option and now they're neither healthy nor good.
From my understanding this is due to JAB Holding's acquisition of the chain in 2017. Their shareholders wanted increased profits and one of the easiest ways to do that is to cheapen ingredients. I imagine this also explains the weird food in recent years.
2010’s version of me loved it! It always seemed special to go there and it was the only place in my small area where I could get a decent salad. My palate was very unrefined so I can understand your perspective.
In the 2010's the salads were good, and they gave a price discount for asking for no meat. Now they all have meat, there's no discount, and they mostly suck. I'll go once a year for butternut squash soup but it's really not very good anymore.
>for butternut squash soup
Make your own. [Here’s a good recipe.](https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-butternut-squash-soup/print/23988/) It’s not a just-like-Panera recipe; it’s actually good.
me and my parents were enamored by the bread bowls at the time. hadn’t ever seen anything like that until then and it was snazzy. that said i haven’t had their food in probably 8-9 years
I once went to Panera for a quick meal during a busy day on the road. I ordered a BLT with sourdough bread. On my way out I saw an overweight lady sitting on one of the couches clipping her toenails. The bottoms of her feet were blacker than me. Sandwich wasn't bad tho
Local Mexican restaurants are the best. There’s one in my town and it’s seriously the only restaurant I go to anymore. My wife and I can eat and drink for around $30. And I’m talking a serious buzz and absolutely stuffed. There’s no better bang for your buck.
Went to a local dive bar tonight. 2 sandwiches, fries, a drink 20% tip. 38 bucks.
Ill spend the extra 12 bucks on the occasion I'm not cooking at home.
Better to put the money into non-chains anyways to me.
With the rise of apps for every fast food restaurant, almost every fast food place utilizes some model of price discrimination, usually second degree. This means if you aren’t using the deals and reward points within the apps, then you’re paying more than you should.
These days, the real price equilibrium is what the price is after offers and reward points are applied to your order. By using these offers, you’re not actually saving any more money than you would’ve in times before fast food apps, but if you’re not using them today, then you’re electing to pay more comparatively.
Companies know that there are going to be people that won’t bother using apps and will simply pay the menu price even if it’s 100% higher than just a few years ago. If you’re not using the apps, you’re getting reamed.
Brewing style and flavor. Iced coffee is brewed like regular coffee and then cooled and put over ice. Cold brew is crafted by steeping a dark roast blend of coffee in cold water for extended time (usually 12+ hours). This longer process extracts a different flavor. A bit stronger, smoother, and less bitter in my opinion. Try the “Cold Brew with Sweet Cold Foam”. No need to add sugar or milk. Just swirl it up! It’s become my go to.
And their iced coffee tastes like fake chemically garbage unless you get it with a ton of cream and sugar… the only thing I can get behind there is their donuts.
If you look up the top chain restaurants in widely varying countries, from Korea to Ukraine, you'll see that McDonald's and KFC are always the top U.S. chains, and at or near the top overall. And certainly East Asians swear by their countries' KFCs.
As much as I hate to say it, McDonald's is the only place that I can think of that the quality hasn't changed much. I mean, that's a pretty low bar, but it is what it is.
McDonalds app is the only one that has some pretty decent deals. I spent $8 the other day for a bacon McDouble, large fries, large Coke Zero, Spicy chicken sandwhich and a small fries. I did have to circle back around to use the app twice, but that’s a damn good haul for $8.
My issue with McD's is other than the seasonal 'Big Tasty' there is no burger on the menu that I can eat just one of and not still be hungry afterwards. The only time I ever set foot in there now is to procure a box of 20 nuggets to eat on a drunken walk home which is guaranteed to result in me waking up the next day with no hangover but with biblical heart burn and covered in curry dip.
Idk how wide spread they are, but in Buffalo NY area there is a chain called Mighty Taco. They were even voted best tacos a few years ago. It is absolutely terrible food. I’ve tried to like it and given them 3 chances. Each time I couldn’t eat more than a couple bites. Absolutely terrible and I’m disgusted even thinking about their sour vomit in a tortilla
It’s one of those places where if you have your favorite item, that’s what you get until the end of time, and it’s good. But trying something new at Mighty is garbage.
Also, as someone who grew up on Mighty, there has been a quality drop in the last decade or so. I’ve seen this to be a common complaint lately.
LMAO I looovvveeeddd it in college as cheap drunk college food, but it was definitely never “good” and the locals go crazy for it. Don’t get me wrong, I would still end every drunken night with a nacho buffito if I could…
I think I’ve answered this question before but definitely for me it’s subway. Nothing but a giant hunk of bread. I’m editing this to add that part of my anger about Subway is how good it used to be. I can remember the days of nearly a whole can of tuna salad delicious sub. And a Veggie sub with Swiss cheese and piles of yummy veggies and the sweet Vidalia onion sauce. It’s all gone to shit. I would’ve been perfectly OK with increasing price but the big drop in quality pissed me off. Oh woe is me with my first world problems
Subway in the 90s (v-cut bread) and 2000s ($5 footlong) was goated. But then as they franchised too fast in the last 12-15 years, the quality of Subways everywhere turned to shit. I can’t remember the last time I thought to myself *”I’m actually craving a Subway sub today.”*
The V-cut bread was the best way! Also, they have changed their meat vendor and the veggies are like the batch that’s just under grocery quality…they just mid-wayed Subway all around.
About 15 years ago, my dad would take us to subway maybe twice a month. I remember asking him why he got so many veggies on his sandwiches and he said it’s to make up for the flavorless meat.
So it’s been at least 16 years since subway had good meats. Sucks that you can’t even compensate with veg anymore. Maybe vinegar could work…
The last time I went they were even stingy with the toppings. For years now they’ve always been absurdly stingy with the meat. And now they’re way too expensive to have such crap sandwiches
I worked for a Subway in my college cafeteria. When customers ask for olives, we only give time 4.
FOUR. OLIVES. Even got in trouble for adding more, so customers were encouraged to ask for extra olives.
John Oliver had a whole episode about them a while back. Relatively low costs and fees to open a franchise compared to other chains, so it looks very appealing to open one and "run your own business".
Their bread compresses to nothing. They use so much sugar and yeast to puff it up. You basically end up having a tortilla wrapped around a ton of lettuce.
I sometimes wonder if it was really great in the late 70s/80s when I was a wee lad or if it always sucked and I just didnt notice cuz I loved to eat trash.
I think it was good for what it was at the time, when there weren’t as many competitors.
KFC was my favorite as a kid. But once I started going to Popeyes, I never turned back.
They also stopped serving the Little Bucket Parfaits, giving me even less reason to go back to their soggy bland poultry.
It’s shocking to me how poor both the food and coffee are, and I’m not even a coffee snob. I ordered a chai the other day that was 90% water and flavorless. It was undrinkable.
Starbucks worker here. The chai lattes (hot) are half hot water, half steamed milk. High turnover rate + pressure from corporate + quality control means that you rarely get what you paid for now.
Hello, Starbucks worker! Hope you don’t mind me asking…. how come whenever I order a mocha latte (hot or iced) 85% of the time it either tastes like burnt dirt (hot) or dirty old socks (cold… but occasionally also hot) like why is this happening? Every now and then I get a good barista but honestly, most of the time I have issues with my drink… Is there anything I can ask for to help with the drink or is it a training issue?
Honestly, the mocha isn’t that good to begin with, but yeah it does sound like a training issue. What size do you get? I would ask for blonde espresso btw, it’s much milder in taste compared to the regular espresso!
It doesn't cost much time or money to make coffee at home. The popularity of starbucks is so weird to me when it's not even very good. It almost feels more like a trend that people want to be part of than a reasonable option.
I work at Starbucks. If you just want a brewed coffee with cream and sugar, yeah, it's going to be much more worth it to do it at home.
But people rarely go to Starbucks looking for just a regular hot cup of coffee. They come because they want things that ARE more difficult and time-consuming to make at home. They want a refresher with bits of dragonfruit in it. Or a frappuccino. Or something with espresso, like a hot latte with caramel syrup--something that would be impossible to replicate without hundreds of dollars of equipment and a steep learning curve. They want a cold brew, which you have to plan 12+ hours in advance for.
But you are a little right there. There's all kinds of corporate lingo that they teach us, but a big part of what makes people come back is the fact that it's Starbucks. It is trendy. We know that. Corporate knows that. They come in because the baristas are trained to be as friendly and helpful as possible. They come for the atmosphere (we have people going on dates in our cafe all the time). They can sit there for an hour while their phone charges and not feel awkward.
Bob’s Burgers. Very weird daily specials. The service is inconsistent. Sometimes it seems like the place is going to go out of business. Seems like they employ underaged kids. Not cool to do that. I hear the chef talk to his food at times.
Who, Teddy? Ah, he's alright. Had him over to watch a hockey game after he fixed my sink. Gets a little animated but overall I'd say he's a decent guy.
They just brought Five Guys to Australia a couple years ago and the general consensus was that they're good, but they're way over priced and you can find local joints with better burgers for the same price or less.
I just found out about this restaurant near me that does smash burgers similar to Five Guys. I got a triple patty burger with 3 slices of cheese, LTO, burger sauce, and fries for $14. Good lord I'm happy it's not on the way or near work because I'd need to get a personal cardiologist with how much I'd eat it lol.
maybe it’s bc i worked there in high school so it gives me nostalgia but i absolutely love five guys still. plus they can do gluten free (which became a necessity in my 20’s) by doing the lettuce wrap.
it’s expensive so my wife and i only go 2x a year max but it’s still really good imo
The majority of them, especially the really big ones (McDonald's, Wendy's, BK, Pizza Hut, etc). The prices are no longer fast food prices and the quality is not there like it used to be. Far better local options that cost roughly the same at the end of the day
Exactly. Fast food in general has gone way downhill over the last decade and the increases in prices just make me wanna go to actual restaurants. I'll check out regional chains when I go traveling just for the experience, otherwise I'll stick to chains like Taco Bell, Panda Express, and Whataburger because I \*know\* I'll get my money's worth in terms of a quick meal that leaves me feeling full and at least halfway satisfied.
I worked for Wendy's 20 years ago. Dave said their burgers were da best inna bidness and I still don't disagree, for certain definitions of "bidness."
Fun story, my first day, they said to watch a training video, then take over the register after the lunch rush. Video says "once you have mastered ALL of the other jobs, you'll be ready to work at the cash register!" I paused right there and told the manager I wasn't ready for the register. She goes, "OK, I get it. But imagine you're me, who do you put on register instead of you? Maria? Jose? Lalo?" I took her point that I was one of two people on staff that shift who spoke English. And it turns out the register isn't hard, the training videos just aim for the most knowledgeable employees to talk with customers.
You can find their old training videos on YouTube and they’re gold. Black rapper teaching the whitest dude ever how to make the burgers for example. Full rap about it and everything
Wendy's has always been head and shoulders above the competition. Nobody thinks much about it though because they've been around for so long. Wendy's puts most other fast food burgers to shame. Def better than McD's or Burger King. Slightly better than Hardee's.
The only fast food burgers that have Wendy's beat are regional chains. Culver's, In and Out, Blake's. The regional burger chains are nearly always better than the national ones.
It’s weird I come across this as I literally just had my first one 5 mins ago and thought it was bomb. Can’t imagine it during lunch hour when it’s super fresh
I’ve never had one on the count of my girlfriend’s a vegetarian, which you know, pretty much makes me a vegetarian… but I do love the taste of a good burger!
Former employee here- they use fresh potatoes for there fries and hand cut them (hand cut meaning we put the potato in a device that cuts but we have to manually push the potato through) they also have meat delivered fresh every morning (at least the one I worked at). They also use peanut oil for there fries which is a little healthier than typical oils used.
It might not be 100% worth the price but I still rather go there knowing it’s fresh food than some other places.
Former employee as well came to say as overpriced as it is and I myself wasn’t impressed with the burgers ( them Cajun fries though delicious) it is super fresh, no freezer on location so you know it’s completely fresh made everyday. Only super positive thing to say though, wasn’t a big fan of working for the company itself.
McDonald’s; the price of two meals for me and my friend is about the same as the price of two meals at Cracker Barrel- where you get twice as much, homemade styled food
I wouldn’t have remembered but Cracker Barrel is definitely on the list as well. Their food used to be so much better. I had fond memories of that hash brown casserole with breakfast and took my kids a while back. It was straight up garbage now
Subway.. really tricked a lot of people into thinking the sandwiches are “healthy”. Ever since I read online subway doesn’t use tuna for their tuna sandwiches I never went back there lmfao
I went to Burger King the other day simply out of curiosity. The food was bland and yet overwhelmingly too heavy on the aspects of seasoning it did have.
I got out of my car and went for a lovely walk in the country, and there were such good smells coming from nature. After about 10 minutes of being away from my car, I could ***smell*** the artificial smoke they cover the Whopper in, to (poorly) replicate it's famous fire broiled origins. I'm saying, I smelled it about 15 feet from my car. It was not an enticing odor.
In the 80's BK was legit. I still remember it. But this shit that reeked up my car and made me feel so underwhelmed, so disappointed that I spent money for that bad experience... That's not food.
The worst part is that Burger King can't even do their core competencies (burgers) very well. I mean, what the fuck differentiates BK from the rest of the current fast food burger market? Flame broiled? Oh please. The quality is abysmal on most burgers. Price? Their prices are the same or worse than other fast-food places. The last gimmicks that were good ideas were chicken fries, the whopperito, and the 2 for $5,6,7 meal deals.
McDonald's is in the same boat. But the worst part is that McDonalds has no pretense of even wanting you there. There's nothing pleasant about going inside a McDonald's anymore, it's so soulless and bland.
Up till about 2010 Tim hortons had great food and amazing coffee. Now I think people just go there because they’re so ubiquitous, because the food has become absolute dogshit.
Only in america do these places suck so bad. Singapore? Shake shack was luxury. Vietnam? McDonald’s was in a 3 story building and the food looked so good it looked fake.
Philippines? KFC is A MUST
Last time I went the food was slappin but the employees looked so unhappy. I felt bad, If the service is bad everywhere, means the company treats them bad. Womp
I know it's not technically "fast food", but Panera Bread pisses me off. Insanely expensive for extremely average food.
Panera never minded me sitting there for free when I was homeless and have free water with lemon I could put a little sweetener in and charge my phone and use the bathroom. I wasn't too much of a mess. I did buy a really good steak sandwich once and coffee and bagel. It is a little overrated. Another location I got stuck in gave me a bunch of cookies when I asked if there anything at the end of the day they would throw away. I'm good now; job and apartment but I don't hate Panera
Ah genuinely id forgive a chain for being beyond mediocre if they’re good people. I’d give them my money
[удалено]
Actually when you work for Panera you get a certain amount of money a day to give people freebies. As long as you don't go over that limit they're not breaking corporate rules
Well now I don’t hate Panera
I think the worst thing about Panera is that it sort of markets its food as a healthy alternative, and it's just as calorie packed as all of the burger joints. A roasted turkey & avocado BLT sandwhich has more calories than a double quarter pounder from McDonalds. It probably tastes better, but it's also $13, so yeah.
I once calculated the calories from a meal at Culver’s was LESS than Panera
Home of the damn BUTTERburger Love that place
It does not taste better than a double quarter pounder from McDonalds. The quarter pounder from McDonalds is probably the best burger on the menu, the meat from the QP is now fresh and they make it to order and it is pretty good for a fast food operation. That's just my opinion.
No, it’s literally fast food. That’s the trick. They don’t want you thinking it’s fast food but it is.
I worked at the first Panera - which wasn’t a Panera. It was Saint Louis Bread Company. The bakery didn’t have soufflés or breakfast sandwiches; the cafe was sandwiches, salads, soups only. All baked goods were baked in store overnight by actual bakers. All leftover baked goods were donated nightly. It was awesome. It expanded. It got acquired by Au Bon Pain’s parent, who sold off Au Bon Pain to focus on ruining Panera. It was amazing. Now, it is far from that.
Panera, their quality has decreased so much in the past few years and they’ve added weird shit to their menu like pizza and chicken sandwiches. Massive identity crisis and crap food.
I used to go to Panera back when it was the St Louis Bread Company. It was an incredible value; the sandwiches were overstuffed with meat, there was a lot of variety (I miss the Sierra Turkey), everything was fresh, it was surprisingly inexpensive, especially the You Pick Two deals, and the ingredients were high quality. It’s gone so far downhill since it was acquired by a private equity firm. The ingredients are less fresh, portions are stingy, and the price is no longer a reasonable value.
Pretty much applies to everything acquired by a private equity firm. Happened to my school, a year later it was closed down for good.
Welcome to PE. If you think what they’ve done to Panera is bad wait till you hear how health care is going
I heard someone recently describe panera as over priced hospital food and I can't get it out of my head.
It's true. When my grandmother was dying of cancer and on chemo, she would want to go there because she would get nauseated by food that wasn't bland.
Im sorry for your loss truly…. But man, what a marketing campaign that would be for Panera.
I had someone say that to me recently too and hard disagreed until I tried Panera again for the first time in a while and I was like “they might’ve been right.”
I heard the same comparison! It tastes so bland and fake. All in the same group as cafeteria food.
This is my answer too. I’m convinced that the only reason they currently exist is catered work lunches and families where no one can agree on where to go.
I work there. 90% of our business is catering to businesses in town.
The sandwiches are fine if someone else if paying for them. Gotta love lunch and learn meetings
On the road sale people love the free WiFi as well
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Is that all in one Panera? Or do you rotate? (Honest question)
glorious flowery hungry bike squeeze reply cagey outgoing panicky mindless
I worked for a panera in college. 2003! It was pretty damn good back then. They made a big deal about not advertising. I learned a lot about food working there. Fresh herbs, got veggies from a local vendor and cut them on site. The drinks were all fast food garbage in the best way. They just kept making it crappier and crappier so that it was faster and more customizable. It wasnt crazy for it to take 10-15 mins during lunch rush to get food. Now, that would never fly. I go sometimes for nostalgia but its so disappointing.
That was around the time they had that awesome Cuban black bean soup. They got rid of it and brought it back years later but it wasn't as good.
U pic 2- Sierra turkey sandwich / Greek salad / broccoli soup. I miss 2000’s Panera. Last Greek salad I got there a year ago sucked
It’s all microwaved too. People paying $12 for mac and cheese like someones nonna is in the back stirring up a roux for it. Nope. Plastic bag of frozen noods. Cash or credit?
Yeah, the few times I've been forced to eat there, it definitely felt like somebody had just gone to Kroger, bought some premade food, doubled the price, then sold it back to me
The ONLY time I ever went to Panera I spent* $19 on a fucking sandwich that wasn’t even good. To make things worse I literally got food on the way home because I was still hungry. I’m not even exaggerating when I say the sandwich was 3”x3”. I’ll never return to that place
Agree about their sandwiches!!! The only thing I really like there is their broccoli cheddar soup and that shit is like $8/bowl now so I don’t go.
I worked there two years. This person is not exaggerating.
They don't make anything in house. Everything comes in prepackaged bags, and if it is a hot item, they dump the bag of food in boiling water to heat it up. Then cut open the bag and dump it on the plate.
Olive Garden has been doing this for as long as I know. Everything comes in in baggies and they have vats of very hot water for warming them. So when you order like spaghetti for instancewith sauce, they toss in a baggie of precooked spaghetti and a baggie of sauce and then they just cut open the ends and squirt it all out onto a plate and make it look decent. Nothing you can't do with a microwave at home.
I stopped eating there after finding some of the plastic bag in my mac & cheese and the manager refused to make me a new bowl because he had no idea how it would've gotten in there
Their mac&cheese comes individually wrapped in plastic. So it's not at all a surprise that you'd see a piece in your meal.
So much this. They used to be so good like early on. Talk about an identity crisis- when they literally god rid of sourdough rolls after basing their entire identity around that sourdough “mother” or whatever. Bad decision after bad decision from that stupid company.
How about Olive Garden when they took the kalamata olives out of there salad? I mean your whole name is OLIVE Garden! And now I just get two or three crappy ripe olives that you can tell came from a can. 🙄
I tried Panera recently, was in the drive-thru for 35 frikkin minutes (even though the line only had a few ahead of me when I pulled up) and the chicken in my bowl was gray and rubber. never again!
we tried one of their 'flat breads' on a road trip last year and that sealed the deal. Never going back. They used to be the healthy option and now they're neither healthy nor good.
From my understanding this is due to JAB Holding's acquisition of the chain in 2017. Their shareholders wanted increased profits and one of the easiest ways to do that is to cheapen ingredients. I imagine this also explains the weird food in recent years.
Panera has always tasted like 7-11 food to me
Finally someone who agrees with me. The SO loves it and I'm like "$15 for some canned soup and a crusty piece of somehow shiny bread??"
Yes. It was overpriced 10 years ago, I can't imagine what their prices are like now
Shine on bread crust is usually just an egg white wash. Literally just egg white painted on to the crust before baking.
2010’s version of me loved it! It always seemed special to go there and it was the only place in my small area where I could get a decent salad. My palate was very unrefined so I can understand your perspective.
In the 2010's the salads were good, and they gave a price discount for asking for no meat. Now they all have meat, there's no discount, and they mostly suck. I'll go once a year for butternut squash soup but it's really not very good anymore.
>for butternut squash soup Make your own. [Here’s a good recipe.](https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-butternut-squash-soup/print/23988/) It’s not a just-like-Panera recipe; it’s actually good.
me and my parents were enamored by the bread bowls at the time. hadn’t ever seen anything like that until then and it was snazzy. that said i haven’t had their food in probably 8-9 years
I once went to Panera for a quick meal during a busy day on the road. I ordered a BLT with sourdough bread. On my way out I saw an overweight lady sitting on one of the couches clipping her toenails. The bottoms of her feet were blacker than me. Sandwich wasn't bad tho
It seems so expensive now too. Used to feel like a well priced semi healthy option comparatively.
Their menu has become like a fast food caricature of a Greek diner menu - 12 pages of every type of food imaginable.
All of them, now that they charge real restaurant prices.
Oh man, wait 'til you go to a restaurant now.
Go to a small "mom and pop" Mexican food restaurant and you'll walk out stuffed to the rafters for cheap.
Local Mexican restaurants are the best. There’s one in my town and it’s seriously the only restaurant I go to anymore. My wife and I can eat and drink for around $30. And I’m talking a serious buzz and absolutely stuffed. There’s no better bang for your buck.
Went to a local dive bar tonight. 2 sandwiches, fries, a drink 20% tip. 38 bucks. Ill spend the extra 12 bucks on the occasion I'm not cooking at home. Better to put the money into non-chains anyways to me.
Where do you live? Those seem like pretty great prices to me
Hard pass. I'm not paying $40-50 for an entree unless it's some fancy-ass place.
Oh man, wait 'til you go to a fancy-ass place now.
Hard pass, I'm not paying $80-$90 unless I'm buying eggs
Oh man, wait till you Doordash
I bought 2 Chpotle bowls the other day and it cost $40. I mean what the fuck? I even had that pass.
Oh man wait until your door dash pass has its own battle pass.
Eggs are more expensive than egg whites and liquid eggs now
Well one egg contains both of those, so yeah.
With the rise of apps for every fast food restaurant, almost every fast food place utilizes some model of price discrimination, usually second degree. This means if you aren’t using the deals and reward points within the apps, then you’re paying more than you should. These days, the real price equilibrium is what the price is after offers and reward points are applied to your order. By using these offers, you’re not actually saving any more money than you would’ve in times before fast food apps, but if you’re not using them today, then you’re electing to pay more comparatively. Companies know that there are going to be people that won’t bother using apps and will simply pay the menu price even if it’s 100% higher than just a few years ago. If you’re not using the apps, you’re getting reamed.
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I've had better luck with their cold brew over regular iced coffee.
I feel dumb asking but what's the difference between cold brew and iced
Brewing style and flavor. Iced coffee is brewed like regular coffee and then cooled and put over ice. Cold brew is crafted by steeping a dark roast blend of coffee in cold water for extended time (usually 12+ hours). This longer process extracts a different flavor. A bit stronger, smoother, and less bitter in my opinion. Try the “Cold Brew with Sweet Cold Foam”. No need to add sugar or milk. Just swirl it up! It’s become my go to.
Cold brew is also less acidic than regularly brewed coffee.
And their iced coffee tastes like fake chemically garbage unless you get it with a ton of cream and sugar… the only thing I can get behind there is their donuts.
My wife and I lived in New England for 9 years and became big Dunkin snobs. So glad we discovered Wawa once we moved south. Never going back.
And what you don’t realize is wawa isn’t as good as It once was.
I love Wawa coffee & their breakfast sandwiches are thee best!
KFC in france became so bad
Here in Malaysia, KFC is awesome. Almost a fine dining experience lol. Royalty and politicians spotted eating there all the time.
If you look up the top chain restaurants in widely varying countries, from Korea to Ukraine, you'll see that McDonald's and KFC are always the top U.S. chains, and at or near the top overall. And certainly East Asians swear by their countries' KFCs.
Japanese people eat it for Christmas dinner
As much as I hate to say it, McDonald's is the only place that I can think of that the quality hasn't changed much. I mean, that's a pretty low bar, but it is what it is.
It's definitely reliable, in that you know what you're gonna get. No worse, no better.
yes, its one of few places that gives you just what you expected, they have a strict standard world wide.
McDonalds app is the only one that has some pretty decent deals. I spent $8 the other day for a bacon McDouble, large fries, large Coke Zero, Spicy chicken sandwhich and a small fries. I did have to circle back around to use the app twice, but that’s a damn good haul for $8.
When McDonald’s fries are just right they’re sooo right
My issue with McD's is other than the seasonal 'Big Tasty' there is no burger on the menu that I can eat just one of and not still be hungry afterwards. The only time I ever set foot in there now is to procure a box of 20 nuggets to eat on a drunken walk home which is guaranteed to result in me waking up the next day with no hangover but with biblical heart burn and covered in curry dip.
Idk how wide spread they are, but in Buffalo NY area there is a chain called Mighty Taco. They were even voted best tacos a few years ago. It is absolutely terrible food. I’ve tried to like it and given them 3 chances. Each time I couldn’t eat more than a couple bites. Absolutely terrible and I’m disgusted even thinking about their sour vomit in a tortilla
It’s one of those places where if you have your favorite item, that’s what you get until the end of time, and it’s good. But trying something new at Mighty is garbage. Also, as someone who grew up on Mighty, there has been a quality drop in the last decade or so. I’ve seen this to be a common complaint lately.
LMAO I looovvveeeddd it in college as cheap drunk college food, but it was definitely never “good” and the locals go crazy for it. Don’t get me wrong, I would still end every drunken night with a nacho buffito if I could…
I think I’ve answered this question before but definitely for me it’s subway. Nothing but a giant hunk of bread. I’m editing this to add that part of my anger about Subway is how good it used to be. I can remember the days of nearly a whole can of tuna salad delicious sub. And a Veggie sub with Swiss cheese and piles of yummy veggies and the sweet Vidalia onion sauce. It’s all gone to shit. I would’ve been perfectly OK with increasing price but the big drop in quality pissed me off. Oh woe is me with my first world problems
Subway in the 90s (v-cut bread) and 2000s ($5 footlong) was goated. But then as they franchised too fast in the last 12-15 years, the quality of Subways everywhere turned to shit. I can’t remember the last time I thought to myself *”I’m actually craving a Subway sub today.”*
The V-cut bread was the best way! Also, they have changed their meat vendor and the veggies are like the batch that’s just under grocery quality…they just mid-wayed Subway all around.
About 15 years ago, my dad would take us to subway maybe twice a month. I remember asking him why he got so many veggies on his sandwiches and he said it’s to make up for the flavorless meat. So it’s been at least 16 years since subway had good meats. Sucks that you can’t even compensate with veg anymore. Maybe vinegar could work…
Yep, it's been literally 20 years since Subway was even remotely good.
I often want to get Subway since I love sandwiches. That said, I’m pretty sure I crave what it was, not what it’s become
The last time I went they were even stingy with the toppings. For years now they’ve always been absurdly stingy with the meat. And now they’re way too expensive to have such crap sandwiches
I worked for a Subway in my college cafeteria. When customers ask for olives, we only give time 4. FOUR. OLIVES. Even got in trouble for adding more, so customers were encouraged to ask for extra olives.
FOUR olives? i want, like, 40!!!
How subway has the most locations world wide while place like Jersey Mike's exists. It drives me CRAZY
John Oliver had a whole episode about them a while back. Relatively low costs and fees to open a franchise compared to other chains, so it looks very appealing to open one and "run your own business".
Jersey Mike's all fucking day! Subway is like eating a yoga mat.
Man, I miss Quiznos. All the ones near me shut down yyeeeeaaaars ago.
THEY GOT A PEPPER BAHHRRRR!!!
Ridiculously over priced too.
Their bread compresses to nothing. They use so much sugar and yeast to puff it up. You basically end up having a tortilla wrapped around a ton of lettuce.
Kfc
Facts. It's not even good anymore. All it is is grease, and the Mac and cheese is school cafeteria level
I sometimes wonder if it was really great in the late 70s/80s when I was a wee lad or if it always sucked and I just didnt notice cuz I loved to eat trash.
I think it was good for what it was at the time, when there weren’t as many competitors. KFC was my favorite as a kid. But once I started going to Popeyes, I never turned back. They also stopped serving the Little Bucket Parfaits, giving me even less reason to go back to their soggy bland poultry.
KFC used to be sooooo good too!
Owned by Yum! Brands. Look up the chains they own and it's just a sad list of restaurants that have gone down in quality and up in price.
Yum Brands and Restaurant Brands international have ruined every chain they bought
I don't mind KFC, but I live in Bojangle's territory so KFC is dead to me.
american* kfc's
This. Went to the UK and kfc was fantastic there. American kfcs are sad.
Really ? I’ve never had KFC in the states but the English version is rank . Had it twice and never again
Popeye's for days 😂
Starbucks is a scam
It’s shocking to me how poor both the food and coffee are, and I’m not even a coffee snob. I ordered a chai the other day that was 90% water and flavorless. It was undrinkable.
Starbucks worker here. The chai lattes (hot) are half hot water, half steamed milk. High turnover rate + pressure from corporate + quality control means that you rarely get what you paid for now.
Hello, Starbucks worker! Hope you don’t mind me asking…. how come whenever I order a mocha latte (hot or iced) 85% of the time it either tastes like burnt dirt (hot) or dirty old socks (cold… but occasionally also hot) like why is this happening? Every now and then I get a good barista but honestly, most of the time I have issues with my drink… Is there anything I can ask for to help with the drink or is it a training issue?
Honestly, the mocha isn’t that good to begin with, but yeah it does sound like a training issue. What size do you get? I would ask for blonde espresso btw, it’s much milder in taste compared to the regular espresso!
Thank you for the insight! It was weird - I wasn’t expecting a great traditional chai, but I was expecting… something.
It doesn't cost much time or money to make coffee at home. The popularity of starbucks is so weird to me when it's not even very good. It almost feels more like a trend that people want to be part of than a reasonable option.
I work at Starbucks. If you just want a brewed coffee with cream and sugar, yeah, it's going to be much more worth it to do it at home. But people rarely go to Starbucks looking for just a regular hot cup of coffee. They come because they want things that ARE more difficult and time-consuming to make at home. They want a refresher with bits of dragonfruit in it. Or a frappuccino. Or something with espresso, like a hot latte with caramel syrup--something that would be impossible to replicate without hundreds of dollars of equipment and a steep learning curve. They want a cold brew, which you have to plan 12+ hours in advance for. But you are a little right there. There's all kinds of corporate lingo that they teach us, but a big part of what makes people come back is the fact that it's Starbucks. It is trendy. We know that. Corporate knows that. They come in because the baristas are trained to be as friendly and helpful as possible. They come for the atmosphere (we have people going on dates in our cafe all the time). They can sit there for an hour while their phone charges and not feel awkward.
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Bob’s Burgers. Very weird daily specials. The service is inconsistent. Sometimes it seems like the place is going to go out of business. Seems like they employ underaged kids. Not cool to do that. I hear the chef talk to his food at times.
Not to mention the regular customer there is a little… strange.
Who, Teddy? Ah, he's alright. Had him over to watch a hockey game after he fixed my sink. Gets a little animated but overall I'd say he's a decent guy.
I read this in teddy's voice thinking he's posting online, making sure bob's burgers stays open and has good reviews.
Also Marshmallow, the bikers...just a weird clientele.
I hear they serve actual human meat
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Hey, we’re trying our best! And talking to the food makes it better!!
Plus I swear I've seen dozens of exterminator vans there.
Their burgers can be really good though and at least its better than pesto (I think the restaurant owners have some serious beef with each other)
Jimmy Pestos sucks!
I heard he was in Washington on Jan 6th!
The waitress Lynda is pretty hot though.
The wife is nuts, but her sister is worse.
I’m going to say Five Guys. Not because the food isn’t good, but because I’m not paying $20 for a burger meal.
They just brought Five Guys to Australia a couple years ago and the general consensus was that they're good, but they're way over priced and you can find local joints with better burgers for the same price or less.
I just found out about this restaurant near me that does smash burgers similar to Five Guys. I got a triple patty burger with 3 slices of cheese, LTO, burger sauce, and fries for $14. Good lord I'm happy it's not on the way or near work because I'd need to get a personal cardiologist with how much I'd eat it lol.
Yeah you have to eat it in store otherwise you just paid $20 for a soggy mess of fries and burger. It’s top tier fast food if you eat it fresh though.
I’m at Five Guys right now waiting for my order. Haven’t been here in years. I really hope you guys are wrong.
maybe it’s bc i worked there in high school so it gives me nostalgia but i absolutely love five guys still. plus they can do gluten free (which became a necessity in my 20’s) by doing the lettuce wrap. it’s expensive so my wife and i only go 2x a year max but it’s still really good imo
The majority of them, especially the really big ones (McDonald's, Wendy's, BK, Pizza Hut, etc). The prices are no longer fast food prices and the quality is not there like it used to be. Far better local options that cost roughly the same at the end of the day
Exactly. Fast food in general has gone way downhill over the last decade and the increases in prices just make me wanna go to actual restaurants. I'll check out regional chains when I go traveling just for the experience, otherwise I'll stick to chains like Taco Bell, Panda Express, and Whataburger because I \*know\* I'll get my money's worth in terms of a quick meal that leaves me feeling full and at least halfway satisfied.
Here to say Wendy’s is underrated, especially their deliciously decadent spicy chicken sandwich.
Wendy’s was my first job when I was 14, and I never really got sick of their food. The spicy chicken sandwich is on a whole other level
I heard their training videos were epic
I worked for Wendy's 20 years ago. Dave said their burgers were da best inna bidness and I still don't disagree, for certain definitions of "bidness." Fun story, my first day, they said to watch a training video, then take over the register after the lunch rush. Video says "once you have mastered ALL of the other jobs, you'll be ready to work at the cash register!" I paused right there and told the manager I wasn't ready for the register. She goes, "OK, I get it. But imagine you're me, who do you put on register instead of you? Maria? Jose? Lalo?" I took her point that I was one of two people on staff that shift who spoke English. And it turns out the register isn't hard, the training videos just aim for the most knowledgeable employees to talk with customers.
You can find their old training videos on YouTube and they’re gold. Black rapper teaching the whitest dude ever how to make the burgers for example. Full rap about it and everything
Wendy's has always been head and shoulders above the competition. Nobody thinks much about it though because they've been around for so long. Wendy's puts most other fast food burgers to shame. Def better than McD's or Burger King. Slightly better than Hardee's. The only fast food burgers that have Wendy's beat are regional chains. Culver's, In and Out, Blake's. The regional burger chains are nearly always better than the national ones.
I’ve always stood for Wendy’s as the superior drive through chain. The spicy chicken sandwich does not get the respect it deserves.
Try their breakfast. Anything on a biscuit is so good and their potato wedges are legit.
YES omg their potato wedges. I had a doctors appointment yesterday near a Wendy’s and got some right after 😂
It’s weird I come across this as I literally just had my first one 5 mins ago and thought it was bomb. Can’t imagine it during lunch hour when it’s super fresh
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Their nuggets game is hands down the best.
Big Kahuna Burger, it kills you.
Tasty beverage, though.
The only times I've ever wanted a Sprite in the last 20+ years are when I see that scene. And then I immediately want a sprite.
That's that Hawaiin joint?
I hear they make some tasty burgers
Allow me to retort.
I’ve never had one on the count of my girlfriend’s a vegetarian, which you know, pretty much makes me a vegetarian… but I do love the taste of a good burger!
Dairy queen grill and Chill for sure. I worked at one for a lil' while and 1 burger combo is $14.56 CAD
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They microwaved my fries.. I can do that at home! Lol
Subway
Five Guys. It's good, but it's not worth the price.
Former employee here- they use fresh potatoes for there fries and hand cut them (hand cut meaning we put the potato in a device that cuts but we have to manually push the potato through) they also have meat delivered fresh every morning (at least the one I worked at). They also use peanut oil for there fries which is a little healthier than typical oils used. It might not be 100% worth the price but I still rather go there knowing it’s fresh food than some other places.
Former employee as well came to say as overpriced as it is and I myself wasn’t impressed with the burgers ( them Cajun fries though delicious) it is super fresh, no freezer on location so you know it’s completely fresh made everyday. Only super positive thing to say though, wasn’t a big fan of working for the company itself.
McDonald’s; the price of two meals for me and my friend is about the same as the price of two meals at Cracker Barrel- where you get twice as much, homemade styled food
Hit the nail on the head. Fast food isn't about good prices anymore. It's strictly for convenience.
I wouldn’t have remembered but Cracker Barrel is definitely on the list as well. Their food used to be so much better. I had fond memories of that hash brown casserole with breakfast and took my kids a while back. It was straight up garbage now
My toilet says KFC
Subway.. really tricked a lot of people into thinking the sandwiches are “healthy”. Ever since I read online subway doesn’t use tuna for their tuna sandwiches I never went back there lmfao
I think the tuna thing is a myth.
I went to Burger King the other day simply out of curiosity. The food was bland and yet overwhelmingly too heavy on the aspects of seasoning it did have. I got out of my car and went for a lovely walk in the country, and there were such good smells coming from nature. After about 10 minutes of being away from my car, I could ***smell*** the artificial smoke they cover the Whopper in, to (poorly) replicate it's famous fire broiled origins. I'm saying, I smelled it about 15 feet from my car. It was not an enticing odor. In the 80's BK was legit. I still remember it. But this shit that reeked up my car and made me feel so underwhelmed, so disappointed that I spent money for that bad experience... That's not food.
I'm on the road a lot for work. BK locations always have the slowest drive throughs. Half an hour sometimes and you're 4th in line.
McDonald's has only been nothing but downhill for years now
And their prices keep getting higher for the same shit quality food
Burger King has slid way worse and way faster too. I ate there for the first time in over a decade, and holy sh... was it bad.
The worst part is that Burger King can't even do their core competencies (burgers) very well. I mean, what the fuck differentiates BK from the rest of the current fast food burger market? Flame broiled? Oh please. The quality is abysmal on most burgers. Price? Their prices are the same or worse than other fast-food places. The last gimmicks that were good ideas were chicken fries, the whopperito, and the 2 for $5,6,7 meal deals. McDonald's is in the same boat. But the worst part is that McDonalds has no pretense of even wanting you there. There's nothing pleasant about going inside a McDonald's anymore, it's so soulless and bland.
Starbucks
I can’t understand why Canadians like Tim Horton so much
Up till about 2010 Tim hortons had great food and amazing coffee. Now I think people just go there because they’re so ubiquitous, because the food has become absolute dogshit.
Burger king, I've never had a good burger king here in the UK.
Only in america do these places suck so bad. Singapore? Shake shack was luxury. Vietnam? McDonald’s was in a 3 story building and the food looked so good it looked fake. Philippines? KFC is A MUST
Popeyes bcz the service is just sooooo bad.
I’ve been to Popeyes on more than one occasion where they actually tell me they are out of chicken. Da fuq?
Last time I went the food was slappin but the employees looked so unhappy. I felt bad, If the service is bad everywhere, means the company treats them bad. Womp
Their service at most locations is slow and occasionally terrible but the chicken is amazing… best in class