What is your fast food "go to"

[aimo]

OK, gotta tell my Chick-fil-A story.

Two weeks ago, I finally was able to visit my godmother who is in an assisted living facility in Fayetteville. We got there during lunchtime, and while we brought her a homemade treat, we also planned to grab something and eat lunch with her. She said she would love a Chick-fil-A. I drove to the nearby one on Raeford Rd. Line was wrapped around the building twice it seemed. I came in a back way and parked, thinking going inside would be faster not realizing the reason the line was so long was that there WAS no inside service. By that time, my car was totally blocked in. The INSANELY nice employee working the traffic flow, coming in from the back and the main entrance off Raeford, waved me into the line, causing me to cut in front of others. He assured me they would not kill me for doing so. I explained to him my mission, a sandwich for 92 year old that we had not seen in a year and a half. When I got to place my order, he told the other worker that my godmother's sandwich was free. I was through the line in maybe 15 minutes or so, the line was very fast. And they were incredibly nice.

And, yes, it WAS their pleasure!

[wilson]

A Five Way beats a burger...

This is blasphemous.

[thedukeman]

Biscuitville's country ham and egg biscuit is a great first meal of the day. Especially a Saturday when you're out running errands all morning.

I cannot believe someone said Chick-fil-A is not filling. The last one I had was huge! With extra pickles, please!

And Firehouse is good, but you have to eat it right then. It will get soggy quick. Even a few blocks walk back to the office will leave you with a soggy bun in some spots. Love their Engineer (turkey, swiss, mushrooms).

I'll definitely try it. Biscuitville impressed me. Super long line just like you see at chick fil a but I was also able to get through almost just as fast.

[thedukeman]

I am a big fan of sandwiches. Unfortunately no Firehouse near me. I love Jersey Mike's (I'm from Jersey) but they also aren't near me and they are very expensive. I like Jimmy John's too. Big Blimpie's fan. Subway is significantly below these - they don't use real meat and I don't like the smell of their bread which is often overwhelming. That being said, I ate way too much Subway during my time at Duke as they delivered on the meal plan.

For places like Jersey Mike's, Jimmy John's and Blimpie's, I like oil and vinegar on my sandwich. I have found that if you stick it in the fridge for an hour or so, the oil and vinegar soaks in really well without it feeling soggy.

I took the kids to Zaxby's a few years ago when we were down south (only the finest for my family) and we liked it a lot. They were advertising a lot on sports this winter which was frustrating as their nearest location is 200+ miles from me.

Potbelly's is pretty good, as was Quizno's (not sure if they exist anymore).

I also need to give a shout out to Nathan's. Obviously the hot dogs are great, but their fries are also really good. We did a pilgrimage earlier this year to the original one (where they do the hot dog eating contest).

Im glad to see all the subway critics. I worked there when I was younger and while I was there all their bread was frozen in addition to what you said about them using bad meat. I also worked at Jimmy Johns where the bread is made fresh morning and you can actually buy a loaf for 25 cents I believe. Much better quality in my opinion. The jimmy johns brand name cookies and chips are also good I thought.

[wilson]

I like Biscuitville too. I like to hit it up when I'm passing through NC at the appropriate hours (which isn't often at all these days).

[rthomas]

I visited Pittsburgh with my wife almost 5 years ago for the 2016 US Open at Oakmont Country Club. Everyone told me I had to try Primanti Brothers for sandwiches. It was a cool atmosphere but I must say I wasn’t as impressed as folks had hyped it up! Decent but not great food!

I don't like French fries on my sandwich! (Primanti's style)

[LasVegas]

I don't like French fries on my sandwich! (Primanti's style)

Primanti’s is my favorite sandwich place but I wouldn’t consider it fast food.

[acdevil]

I like Biscuitville too. I like to hit it up when I'm passing through NC at the appropriate hours (which isn't often at all these days).

Haven’t had Biscuitville since my undergrad days. We used to host a Biscuitville breakfast for the housekeeping staff each semester.

[aimo]

Haven’t had Biscuitville since my undergrad days. We used to host a Biscuitville breakfast for the housekeeping staff each semester.

They closed the one on Club Blvd. Northgate Mall is being torn down, and lot of the other businesses have gone, too. The one on Hillsborough Rd has been renovated, I believe. the last time I drove by, it looked bigger and newer. there is a huge one on Hwy 55 in Cary.

Oh, and they are locally sourced. Country ham, eggs, grits, honey - all NC or very nearby Virginia or SC.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

And it must be made by a ... overweight man wearing an apron that hasn't been washed in years who throws it at you while cursing like a drunken sailor.


Ah, good times...

Now you've got me thinking about Bats!

[Billy Dat]

On the sandwich front, any nostalgia for the old Erwin Road sub shop, Lil Dinos?

[aimo]

On the sandwich front, any nostalgia for the old Erwin Road sub shop, Lil Dinos?

I was trying to remember where that was. I saw a mention that it became Francesca's (the Italian restaurant, not the gelato place on 9th), but I remember THAT being Bull City Subs, not L'il Dinos. It's all a big restaurant strip/office space/apartments now.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

On the sandwich front, any nostalgia for the old Erwin Road sub shop, Lil Dinos?

Good call. They were in the East Campus Union in the mid-90s. I ate there constantly my freshman year to the point where I could no longer look at L'il Dinos. Their sandwiches were pretty good.

On Hillsborough Road there was Miami Subs, which had pretty good sandwiches and for some reason always had a bottle of Dom Perignon for sale. Because nothing goes with a sub better than a bottle of Dom.

My favorite Durham "fast food" dining place during my time at Duke was LaFonte, which had an incredible chicken parm sub and was on the meal plan. I was 6-1, 155 pounds and couldn't put on weight if I tried, so all of this was fair game. The good old days...

[rsvman]

Smashburger is really good, too, especially the tots that have the rosemary on them. Holy crap, they are delicious. The buns are really good, too.

Buns make a huge difference to the taste of a burger. On certain burgers Hardees has fresh baked buns that are pretty good; maybe a bit too sweet, though.

Last year for the 4th of July I made hamburger buns from scratch. I used a recipe from Josh Weissmann, who is a genius YouTube chef (silly, to be sure, but genius, especially in baking). I had never made any kind of bread from scratch before. The hamburger buns were not the easiest way to start! But they turned out GREAT, and my 4th of July burger on those homemade buns was absolutely KILLER!

I think fast-food joints generally need to up their burger bun game.



There is a local sit-down joint here in Chesapeake called Bad Habits. When they first opened, they used buns that were baked fresh in a great bakery that was located in an adjacent strip mall. Those were some of the best burgers I ever tasted. At least half the game was those amazing buns.


Yes, I'm going to make homemade burger buns again this summer. Hopefully more than once. Since that time I have started baking sandwich bread (again, using a Josh Weissmann recipe) so I feel a lot more comfortable about making bread. I think I'll have no problem making amazing "to-die-for" hamburger buns again.

[Billy Dat]

I was trying to remember where that was. I saw a mention that it became Francesca's (the Italian restaurant, not the gelato place on 9th), but I remember THAT being Bull City Subs, not L'il Dinos. It's all a big restaurant strip/office space/apartments now.

Bull City Subs was off East Campus, on the other side of W. Main Street from Brightleaf Square. It looks like maybe there is a hotel there now. That place was pretty good.

Good call. They were in the East Campus Union in the mid-90s. I ate there constantly my freshman year to the point where I could no longer look at L'il Dinos. Their sandwiches were pretty good.

On Hillsborough Road there was Miami Subs, which had pretty good sandwiches and for some reason always had a bottle of Dom Perignon for sale. Because nothing goes with a sub better than a bottle of Dom.

My favorite Durham "fast food" dining place during my time at Duke was LaFonte, which had an incredible chicken parm sub and was on the meal plan. I was 6-1, 155 pounds and couldn't put on weight if I tried, so all of this was fair game. The good old days...

Dinos was on the meal plan/points. I delivered for them for many years. At the time, the delivery service was actually a student run business that was started by SPE brothers who bought and sold little ownership stakes, much the same way the on-campus bar, the Hideaway, had student owners. That was the first wave of outside vendors on points, it was Dominos, Lil Dinos and Wild Bulls Pizza (home of the famous breakfast pie and Bull Pocket - a calzone-eqsue concoction with steak, cheese and mustard among other things). Subway came next and then I think they must have diversified. Wild Bulls took orders until around 2AM and I remember many times that pizza arriving at 2:30 and trying to fend off the hordes was like something out of "The Walking Dead"

I very much remember La Fonte. The problem with them was that it never took less than an hour for the delivery to arrive, sometime much longer.

How about that little burger shack off East Campus, Hazels, on W. Markham between 9th street and Broad Street?

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Bull City Subs was off East Campus, on the other side of W. Main Street from Brightleaf Square. It looks like maybe there is a hotel there now. That place was pretty good.



Dinos was on the meal plan/points. I delivered for them for many years. At the time, the delivery service was actually a student run business that was started by SPE brothers who bought and sold little ownership stakes, much the same way the on-campus bar, the Hideaway, had student owners. That was the first wave of outside vendors on points, it was Dominos, Lil Dinos and Wild Bulls Pizza (home of the famous breakfast pie and Bull Pocket - a calzone-eqsue concoction with steak, cheese and mustard among other things). Subway came next and then I think they must have diversified. Wild Bulls took orders until around 2AM and I remember many times that pizza arriving at 2:30 and trying to fend off the hordes was like something out of "The Walking Dead"

I very much remember La Fonte. The problem with them was that it never took less than an hour for the delivery to arrive, sometime much longer.

How about that little burger shack off East Campus, Hazels, on W. Markham between 9th street and Broad Street?

I never ordered from Dino's since I had more than enough in person at the East Union. Rumor had it that the Domino's off East that served Duke was one of the most profitable Domino's locations in America since it was on the Duke meal plan (and I assume they also handled all the pizzas at sporting events). I think Duke was one of the early adopters of the points system as well as having food delivery on points.

I recall Wild Bulls for the bull whips, which were like Cinnamon Sticks. I don't like cinnamon but they were extremely popular with my friends.

I think Sat's came onto the meal plan at some point, though I'm not sure.

[aimo]

Bull City Subs was off East Campus, on the other side of W. Main Street from Brightleaf Square. It looks like maybe there is a hotel there now. That place was pretty good.

There was definitely a Bull City Subs on Erwin in the 90s b/c my cousin worked there and I was at the VA right down the road. It became Francesca's, which we thought was a stupid name since there was a gelato place by that name just on 9th St.

Wild Bull's Pizza was the best. Especially their veggie. I think the sign is still there.

will bulls.jpg

[wilson]

...Wild Bull's Pizza was the best. Especially their veggie. I think the sign is still there.

will bulls.jpg

Oh man, I ate a lot of Wild Bull's as an undergrad. Their pizza was indeed good, and they also had very good chicken tenders (especially the buffalo style ones). And cinnamon bull whips were amazing. They delivered until 4am...an undergrad's dream (especially since they were on food points). 386-0590.
Memories.

[bundabergdevil]

Is armadillo grill still a thing?

[OldPhiKap]

Now you've got me thinking about Bats!

Best Spag-n-Balls this side of NYC.