Fast Food Notion

They make the counter-monkeys wear uniforms with stars on - enough stars and they're in the burgers. Have you seen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd? Well if Sweeney Todd were running a food outlet it'd be fast.

If you have to sit down before you order food, not fast food. If you order then sit down, you got fast food there buddy.

(1) First and foremost, it must be "fast!"

I also personally think that to be considered fast food, it must also be (2) inexpensive and (3) unhealthy...

i.e. McDonald's is fast food, Qdoba is not.

I also agree that you should either (4) order your food before you sit down and/or have access to a drive-thru. (Sonic allows you to sit first, then order w/a phone and is considered fast food)

I work at Quizno's, lets put it to the test.

(1) Fast - Reasonably, 3 minutes from order till food.
(2) $$$ - Quite expensive for a sub shop.
(3) Bad for you - Yeah, its no Subway thats for sure.
(4) Order first - Yes, and bus your own table too (this is often neglected HINT HINT)

Therefore, NOT fast food?!?!

It must meet all criteria to qualify as fast food, notwithstanding the single exception above.

EAT UP!

It depends on how crappy the food is:

How much grease.

How fast the food gets cooked.

Is it served by teenagers in uniform?

Do you eat it on the move?

Would you take your significant other there on a classy date?

If your order comes wrapped in paper or cardboard and anything on the menu is served with a sauce so secretive it's ingredients cannot be listed (though it's obviously a mixture of ketchup and Thousand Island dressing) you're in a fast food joint. The easiest way to tell is to simply scan the clothing of the customers in the "restaurant" for anyone wearing a t-shirt depicting a NASCAR driver or anything alcohol-related (typically a @!$%#ty brand of domestic beer).

Production speed and methods make the primary determination. Also, if there is a counter where they ask you [when you place the order] whether you want it "to go" or not because your answer will decide how they package it (nearly) immediately thereafter, it is fast food.

1. Price - Do they offer meals at certain price points? Do they emphasize "combos" and "add-ons"?

2. Speed - Fast food can be served in a place with or without a place for customers to sit down. Usually, fast food establishments can produce an order from scratch within five minutes.

3. Quality vs. Quantity - Are meals prepared before they are even ordered? Does the preparation area resemble a set production line rather than a kitchen? Does the restaurant offer generally the same menu choices at all of its locations?

If the answer is yes to most of the questions above, it's fast-food.

A drive through window.

If the general population sees it as a place to sit down and eat, it is not fast food.

If the idea is to get the food and leave, it is fast food.

A Waiter/Waitress.

A RESTAURANT IS FAST FOOD IF:

1. The time between ordering and receiving substanance has gotta be under two minutes.

2. There's got to be something on the menu for .99 cents

3. You are able to order a drink, starch, and protein simply by saying "#3"

4. If you eat there for 100 days straight (breakfast, lunch dinner) and don't order salads half the time you will gain at least 50 lbs.

There's a drive through attached to the building.

"Fast" food does not necessarily mean that it's speedy. For instance, every Hardee's (Carl's Jr.) I've been to recently is most certainly not fast (or accurate for that matter). The quality of food may not be superior, but it's also not necessarily inferior. Extended hours are a cross-over as well (as I know some traditional restaurants that are 24--hour). Drive-up/pick-up windows and sit down are common, but these are both showing up at traditional "sit-down" restaurants.

So what could determine "fast food"?

• Your food is prepared on an assembly line. • You can items purchase à la cart, not just in a meal (e.g. fries) • Silverware and dining-ware, if present, is plastic, cardboard or some other disposable item. • While your food may be served, don't expect to be waited on.

It's all about perception, there's no one thing that defines it. As a rule you need to evaluate a few things.

• How quickly is the turnaround from entering the door to leaving the building?
• What emphasis is placed on presentation and food quality over ease of preparation and speed of delivery?
• How comfortable are the seats?

This last question is important. I worked at a restaurant and the chairs were designed to be comfortable for no longer than about 20 minutes. Maybe not fast food in the standard sense, but the little things designed to make your stay a little bit shorter are the important things in my opinion.

If the restaurant staff maintains a pimple-to-napkin ratio of at least 4:1, it is considered to be fast food.

Let's make this clear right off the bat, fast food is not necessarily served fast.

I'm not sure how it got its name. Perhaps at one time it was served fast, or perhaps the "fast" is in reference to how fast it comes out of you.

So what makes a food, a fast food?

There are quite a few factors, if you go through this checklist and answer yes to most of them, then you're probably eating fast food.

• Is the restaurant a franchise?
• Does the restaurant have a drive thru?
• Did you order from a counter?
• Is there a dollar/99cent menu?
• Do the employees where paper hats?
• The Simpsons Test: rub the food item on a solid object, does the grease from the item now make the solid object see thru?
• Do you feel a little dirty afterward, and that may not just be guilt, either.

I think that many of the definitions provided so far are off the mark. Food ordered at the counter and served in wax paper or cardboard, I've experienced that at non-fast food restaurants. This definition from allfoodbusiness.com seems to fit the best:

Operations that specialize in one or two main entrees such as hamburgers, pizza, or chicken. These operations may also provide salad and/or ice cream service. Preparation of food products is generally simple and involves one or two steps

Its fast food if you can eat it while driving.... fast

This is all so complex. My definition is very simple.

Is there a back-lit menu?

Honestly, I've never been to a place that I would consider "fast food" that didn't have such a menu. Ever.

Any establishment with a drive-thru window.

If you get your food without sitting down at a table and ordering it, I'd call it fast food. I know this includes things like Hometown Buffet, but I'd still call it fast food. To me, it has nothing to do with how greasy or unhealthy the food is - it's all about how quickly you get it.

What, specifically, determines whether a restaurant is considered "fast food" or not?

I do.

A simple test: Look around for bright primary colors. Is your chair plastic? Does your table have a Formica top? Is the menu paper or florescent backlit? Do all the employees but one go to high school; the only linen in the room is the material of your jacket. You ask your waiter a question, his response starts with, would you like that super sized.

Oddly I don't view Taco Bell as fast food.

It pretty much has to be Chicken, Fish, or Burgers for it to be "fast food" to me

It has to be cheap
It typically has to taste like crap
It has to be greasy

I don't think of Sub shops (subway, quiznos) or Taco Bell as fast food because they taste better than the other places (hamburger, chicken, and fish joints) to me.

Fast Food I guess is purely a state of mind.