I sold franchises for awhile in the 80s. Franchisees have to pay royalties to the franchisor. Usually in the neighborhood 5-10% of their gross. That's a lot of money adding to the franchisee's overhead and it's money that leaves your community. Patronize locally owned businesses who don't have to overcharge you to send royalty payments to some corporation.

Went bankrupt. McDonald's made them return their franchise and they went bankrupt. And the reason why they had to return the franchise was it didn't make the profit projected by HQ. And the reasons why they didn't hit that number were threefold: 1) Weather. That summer, it rained for the majority of the season. Not many people outside on the beach; 2) Roadwork. Same time period. Wildwood was doing major road work and cars had trouble pulling into McDonalds, so they kept on driving; and 3) Same time period. McDonalds and Burger King were having a war over their major burgers (Big Mac and Whopper). HQ demanded that Big Macs go for $1.00, obviously mandating a loss of profits for each one sold.

HQ wasn't interested in the specifics. It just demanded the franchise back arbitrarily.

No concern for people. Just show me the money.

all the people and skyscrapers and feeling homesick, goes to a McDonald's, is comforted. McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken are now sort of nostalgic Japanese food. Instant noodles are now sort of nostalgic American food.

Just curious cause I’m always looking for people to practice my Japanese with.

Moved from the city to his rural hometown in Gifu prefecture a couple years ago and I still feel a little weird about it. Just now the sensor light outside went on and I caught the chubby tanuki that roots around in the garden wandering around out there. It's not afraid of me anymore, just looks at me and rolls its eyes. Country life!

Sorry, I'm illiterate so can't help with Japanese, can barely handle English. Any questions about food, though, I can probably be helpful.

My cable provider just recently added it, but now it’s going away at the end of the month to be replaced by the JME app.

Mostly because our allergies and health issues made it a pain to navigate the options. Since COVID, the husband and I go out even less than we did before. It's been at least four months since we ate out, even for fast food.

The reality is that we eat better and far more cheaply at home. Example: The grocer ran a sale last week on salmon burgers, which we season ourselves and eat like croquettes. The tab ended up coming to less than $1.80 per serving. I don't know of too many entrees that run so cheap at Mickey D's, and I doubt any of them taste as good or are as healthy as that salmon. No worries about steering clear of allergens, either.

And never mind how much a salmon burger would cost at a sit-down restaurant.

It simply doesn't make sense anymore for us to eat out.

10-15 years ago, we ate out about three times a week on average. We might eat out three times a month now. I enjoy cooking and inflation has grown so ridiculous that even subpar food is pricey. I can cook healthier, tastier stuff at home for a fraction of the cost.

We often make meals that will feed us 2-3 days. When people complain about needing to cook everyday, I'm always gobsmacked because I don't get why they don't make use of meals that they can have the next day as well.

Some things of course don't lend themselves to reheating (especially not fish and seafood) but plenty of meals are just fine if you cook once then reheat. Some get even better after sitting in the fridge overnight. Chili and many stews are a good example of that--they will invariably be better on day 2.

I guess people don't learn the tricks of how to eat at home without killing yourself anymore. Then again, that I had a working mum in the 70s gave me a leg up in that department. I also had to learn how to cook young for that reason. Childcare in small towns during the 70s was pretty much nonexistent.

We like leftovers; they are really "PlannedOvers", and it is absolutely true that they are better the next day.

If I ask Mr YD what he might want to eat, chili and spaghetti are always on the list.

When I cook those fat chicken breasts from Costco, I cook them all at once. The two we don't eat go into salad the next day.

divvy them up into smaller bags and freeze. That way we only thaw a couple as we need them.

on the leading edge of the Gen X cohort. I'd rather do for myself.

And, yeah, chili is certainly better on the second day. So is dirty rice.

I got vegetarian yakisoba noodles with tofu and veggies. The serving was so large, I got 3.5 more meals out of it after I took the leftovers home! So that was an economically sound restaurant meal.

But mostly, my husband and I like to cook healthy meals ourselves.

Do like lettuce wrap sandwiches from Jimmy Johns and Subway protein bowls, but still prefer to cook my own food. Over two years on Keto, and I am not looking back. Had a huge romaine lettuce salad for my main meal yesterday. Better than any fast-food place can do.

Last edited Thu Mar 14, 2024, 07:54 AM - Edit history (1)

because it makes it much easier to keep my carbs low. I lost weight on keto (40 pounds) and at age 71 I weigh what I did in high school and have kept the weight off easily without cutting calories or starving myself. Keto and carnivore are not diets but are dietary lifestyles meaning this is how I will continue to eat to remain healthy.

Going to borrow/steal that one, great description of something like keto.

"Proper Human Diet". Most people use "diet" as a calorie cutting, exercise regimen to lose weight and after they lose the weight they go back to the way of eating that made them lose the weight. Remember Oprah walking across the stage in her skinny jeans, pulling a wagon containing the equivalent amount of fat she had lost and then a year later having regained all of it and more after going off her diet, resuming how she ate before.
The ketogenic dietary lifestyle is in no way like the recommended food pyramid which has resulted in this country with its SAD (Standard American Diet) resulting in a nation with an obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemic with all of its associated illnesses.

So keto is a dietary lifestyle where you very likely will lose weight on it, but that is not the sole point. And to maintain its health benefits you need to adopt it as your dietary lifestyle and not just a diet for weight loss.

Today is Pi day at work (free pie). I have absolutely no interest in it. I probably get a bit more carbs than the recommended Keto because I eat so many vegetables (all are Keto approved but still do contain enough carbs to push be over in large quantities). I also eat more than I should of Greek Yogurt (working on cutting that back). Again Greek Yogurt is Keto approved but still should be limited in consumption.

Still I eat no grains, beans, starchy vegetables (corn, potatoes), or fruit besides berries and one Roma tomato a day.

The exercise is also a big part of my weight loss and maintenance. I walk an average of 25K steps/day and try to do resistance training at least 2x/week (3x/week is my goal with another 2x/week of 30 minute rowing).

Also I eat a bit more protein than the recommended Keto amount, but given the amount of exercise I do and my age (60). I feel that this important.

I doubt I have done that many since I was early 20's. WTG!!!!!

Always have loved walking especially with audiobooks to listen to. 30 minutes in the morning , 1 to 2 hours after work, and another hour before bed.

Don't get much TV time. Fortunately I live a five minute drive from the office.

so we need something quick and I do not have any good leftovers.

In past years I have stopped at La Madeline and grabbed a couple of their mini tarts. (they are divine). I get chocolate and lemon, we cut them in half and we each get a bite of both.

Although I am a good cook and love to bake, I never got the hang of good piecrust!!! My mom's was amazing and she could make it in her sleep. Of course we could get a frozen cherry pie from Braums' but our local one is undergoing extensive remodeling and the others are too far for convenience

Healthy food choices are the way

Also Five Guys but they are more expensive than other burger places.

We have three excellent family owned burger places here. All three are heavily entrenched Fort Worth institutions. (one of them is owned by a Democratic couple; they host Stonewall's meetings and a Liberal Ladies Who Lunch group)
All 3 of these use excellent fresh beef, fries are made from fresh potatoes and one offers a 'bunless burger salad' which is always my choice.

but maybe they'll losing that to remote work, but are they cooking from scratch or just microwaving frozen TV dinners

You have to remember how many people swing through there on their way home from work.

Mid-morning and mid-afternoon seem to be universal slow times there. If they're open late/24 hrs then they'll be busy from 12-3am, but slow from 9-12 and then 3-7. The exceptions to that will be if they're near cinemas, which our nearest McD's is. Then they'll have a pretty steady run in the evenings between the working families and until at least 11 as the various films let out.

That's been the pattern at nearly all of them I've driven past over the years, and at various hours, something I had to know because either I, my husband, or both of us until recently had jobs with 24/7/365 hours. I especially know the pattern of our local franchise, only a mile or so away. Back when I had to drive the husband to work across town, we went past it often enough at varied hours to know when it would be an aggro to get past it.

because I eat a mostly carnivore diet of little processed, single ingredient foods that I prepare myself and I am much healthier as a result at age 71. I'm responsible for the food that goes into my body.

FWIW, if you DO travel, look for local restaurants. They'll usually customize a meal to your needs. I'm keto, not carnivore, but they'll usually do subs or modify the dish. Some chains will too, but the success rate (them actually doing what you want) is lower.

Eating out is an expense that I can neither afford nor justify since what I eat either comes from my SNAP EBT card or from the healthy benefits I use to buy food with my Advantage program which is more per month than my SNAP.

What do you suppose those without access to home cooking do to eat? There are millions of homeless who do not have access to a kitchen, or the raw ingredients to make a healthy meal for themselves and their family. While I agree fast food isn't the best option, for some people who are living hand to mouth it's the ONLY option. I do not celebrate higher fast food prices.

out. I used to buy meals for the homeless while waiting for my daughter to finish classes and walk in with them and double dog dare any of the Mac folks to say one word to me. They didn't but they would have tossed them out if I wasn't there. When I was a kid, one person froze to death on the Capitol stairs or the White House stairs...it was a big deal. My parents were horrified...and Dad was GOP. He later switched parties during Clinton's term-angered at how the GOP behaved but I digress...it was a terrible thing then, but now many don't care and have become hardened towards suffering...how many states have pulled school lunches? These people are sick...perfect description of them in It's a Wonderful life.

The homeless population are few in number, and many of them can't afford fast food, either.

The article's focus is on people who aren't homeless and are the usual consumers of fast food. We can have articles about them with no intention of slamming anyone without access to a kitchen or a home at all.

I was on the road and had to grab something quick, it was the only fast food place available.
I had not had a McD's hamburger in years.

It was shocking to me how bad the hamburger was. I took a couple of bites and then
threw the rest away. It was not edible.

For a long time, I didn't have their burgers at all, and would pop in only for the chicken nuggets, fish sandwich or something on the breakfast menu. Then one day I thought, huh, I'll give a quarter pounder a go.

Not sure if the quality has gone down or if it's changes in my taste buds over the years, but I found that last burger as inedible as yours. It tasted gamey and with a decided chemical edge to it. Horrible stuff. I've never had another.

I also know from hard experience of working there in my youth to do custom orders of the fish sandwich and nuggets. Back in the 80s, they cooked ahead during slow times and kept them in bins until ordered. That was gross enough, but could it get worse? Oh, most definitely. Nowadays, they'll grab the meat out of their pre-cooked bin and microwave it.

Nothing nastier than nuked fried food.

Chemical and gamey, and odd texture.

It was bad, and I was hungry, on the road with no other options.
I still threw it away.

Certainly this can not be our tastebuds having changed over the years.

But whenever I did I got the fish sandwich. Their burgers are awful, inedible. My youngest son cooked there in high school and even he wouldn’t eat them.

That said, working at McD’s enabled him to save up enough $ to buy a used 1997 Honda Civic that he drove to college for 4 years and to his first job for one year, so I can’t complain about them too much.

If I go to McD's I will stick with the hash browns.

I've seen how they 'cook' now. It's a lot of microwaving. Seems like unly the fried stuff is actually cooked on site anymore.

I do commend my old restaurant for having separate vats for frying: Potatoes/pies in one, chicken in another, fish in its own. Too many places cook them in one vat, and the food winds up tasting nasty from the flavors mingling. A fish-flavored apple pie would be gross beyond words. Our location had a manager who was also fanatical about changing the oil often and keeping the vats and traps clean. Makes a tremendous difference in the final product's flavour.

These days, I wouldn't consume any drink from a fountain, or any of the ice cream/shakes. Most of the restaurants do not clean them well enough or often enough. If they clean them.

They are dirty. Yikes.

Interesting about the frying issue.
Nope On the fish flavored apple turnover.

And I can tell you that the overall quality of the food is entirely predicated on who is back there on the grills when you order.

It's not bragging to say that I made very high-quality food. I could do it as rapidly as the situation (and the "fast-food" label) dictated. There were many times when I clocked in for a shift, and found the grills and prep area in complete disarray, dirty, disorganized, and the drone worker I was taking over for just kind of warming the air around them until it was time for them to clock out.

Working at McDonald's can be soul-sucking, and just plain sucking. But I kept the prep area spotless, well-organized, well-supplied, and I sent up tasty, appetizing-looking food. It just took a little effort.

I would have hoped that the fast food companies now having to pay a living wage might encourage a better work ethic in their employees. Time will tell, I guess.

I am gluten-free and watching my carbs too so I order a quarter pounder with cheese-no bun and small fries...drink water. I do this about once every six months or so. It is like when many of us were kids.

It's a pain in the ass. I have to locate the pans, turn on the stove, locate the eggs, crack the eggs, find the bread, toast the bread, get out some plateware and cutlery, monitor the eggs, put the remainder of the eggs and bread away.... and then clean up.

I don't think people appreciate how many steps go into cooking one's own meals.

Still I have a tough time justifying the $6 in my mind on $2 in ingredients (if that).

Fresh jalapeno, spinach, onion, mushroom, tomato, and pepper though. McD has nothing that can compete with that. I love the fact that is ala carte, and I don't have to pay for the obligatory potatoes and bread in the $15 meal at IHOP (of course they can put some sad looking tomatoes out to replace the potato and bread or the fresh fruit which only has a few berries).

She is a master chef, and here in Europe, we get most of our food fresh from the 3 times a week farmers market in town. It’s no accident that any time she/we invite people over to eat, the invitation is always accepted. The many ingredients and spices she uses mean there is stuff all over the place, but I eat better at home than anywhere else, and people often judge us as ten to fifteen years younger than we are (especially her). Believe me, with my crazy work schedule, often with four or less hours of sleep every night, it’s not my “healthy” job that’s keeping me afloat.

I worked for a local chef who was the messiest, filthiest cook I've ever encountered. Far more than was necessary -- how fo you get chocolate sauce on the ceiling, for God's sake? -- and after wreaking havoc, he would simply drop everything and expect others to clean up his mess, mostly due to his overstuffed ego.

Working for him cured me of that. I learned to clean as I went, as much as possible and became terribly averse to telling others to do things I wouldn't be willing to do myself.

This afternoon, for instance, I hand-roasted poblanos on the stove, peeled then stuffed them, dredged with flour, eggwash and breaded them in preparation for the oven. By the time I put the cookie sheet of prepped peppers in the refrigerator, there was no cleaning left to do in the kitchen solely because I tackled it as I went through the process.

Than having to get dressed, find your keys, get in your car, drive to a restaurant, wait in a huge line (always at Mickey D's in the morning), place your order through a speaker, hope the people get it right, creep up to the drive through, pay, still hoping they get the order right, creep through more of the drive thru to the pick up window, get your order, check it, argue with the clerk when they invariably get something wrong, have to pull up or park to the side, because now they need to re-do your order, and if--a big if--they get it right at last, then go home to eat it?

By the time you do all of that, the person having breakast at home has already cooked it, eaten it and probably cleaned up from it as well. And they didn't pay nearly as much for it as you paid for your breakfast.

So who's been inconvenienced the most again?

bacon...all with minimal mess.

However, I realize that cooking from scratch seems overwhelming to many people because no one ever taught them how important organizational skills are to cooking in a timely manner. They don't know how to gather together what they need before they start a meal at all. They don't understand the order for preparing what when. They don't understand cleaning up as they go while food is cooking.

It's a skill set that even a child can learn, but the opportunity for learning it the right way seems to be a vanishing one these days. That's why I'm all for bringing back Home Economics classes, but only as a requirement for all students, not merely the girls. I was shocked in the 80s when I was in basic training with young women who didn't know how to sweep/mop/Hoover a floor or make a bed. Because mummy had always done everything domestic for them.

Every kid needs to know how to cook a meal, make a bed, keep a floor clean, wash dishes, and so on, before they're 18. They need to know how to do domestic tasks in a way that saves them money, time and effort. We need those classes, more than ever, because not every parent is a good housekeeper, and more than a few parents coddle their children rather than having them learn essential domestic skills to live on their own.

basic cooking growing up. I even got my Boy Scout cooking merit badge. Cooking is an acquired skill and it takes a little bit of thought and some practice to be able to prepare simple tasty food.

Like posters #5 and #9, I'm also on Keto with intermittent fasting.


I make my own fathead dough pizza which I keep meaning to post in the weight management group but haven't done so yet. I make an abundance of my own stuff and I like doing it when I have the time.


I've lost 40 lbs so far. I hit a snag and fell off the Keto wagon from Thanksgiving to January. I'm just now getting back into my groove. I'm not sweating the small stuff.


It's definitely a lifestyle change that's been beneficial for self-care and self-improvement.

information on food and recipes for things like small budgets and less time.

And the images of the food are very appealing.

when you compare to the utter sh_t they serve our kids in the US. I can't eat the rice, but fish and vegetables look so much more appealing than the fried fish sticks and fries in the standard US kids lunch.

Serve better food to their kids than the US. Just look at how the US compares to 11 other countries:

https://www.amieducation.com/news/what-school-lunches-look-like-around-the-world

That Italian meal looks like restaurant food.

But maybe once a year I am in a rush and will order a Big Mac. My digestive system knows immediately I am eating something wrong. Bloating and gut pain, gas, and unhealthy BMs follow. I just don't know if you could make something unhealthier if you were trying.

Fast food is basically poison in my opinion, they should be required to have large lettered signs out side telling everyone who drives through how the food they're about to eat isn't really food.

do yourself a favor and get a protein bowl or Unwich from those places instead. Your stomach will thank you. I know the meat can be a little suspect, but still better than the Golden Arches and their little brothers.

We were almost in a panic after going to an out of town concert (we were staying the night) when the Jimmy Johns closed right before we got there. We drove around and found a Subway. As we walked in the counter woman told us she couldn't help us because they were out of bread. No problem we said - you still have the fixings for a salad/protein bowl. Not sure what we would have done for meal that night if they had been closed.

The coldcuts are so full of preservatives and sodium your liver practically wants to leave your body when you eat them. Jimmy John's is awful too.

The founder (and now consultant to the chain) is a big MAGA supporter.

I wouldn't let even my shadow set foot into one of those dumps.

Once we realized we can make it at home, we never went back. Chik Fil A really is just toss some boneless skinless breasts in pickle juice for awhile, then bread and cook them. Easy peasy. We use an air fryer to make the waffle fries. And if we want their sauce, I cast Summon Nephew and have him pick some up on his back and forth from school.

The cheapness was the whole point. Now it's like, "I'm not spending the same amount on McDonald's as what I spend to get good Indian food from a local joint." Our fast food choices are Taco Bell dollar menu once in a blue moon (I love Taco Bell), Panda Express when my partner has a work stipend to blow through, and Costco things once a month or so.

I was pretty well loaded up with all kinds stuff for making soups and baking before the hoards came. When the stores were still wiped out, it really saved my ass. I would have had a hard time if my diet was what it had been a couple years before.

Now it's saving me a fortune. It takes time and work though. I couldn't have done it when I was still working.

Healthy, delicious, inexpensive, good for using up various bits of veggies to avoid waste, hard to mess up. I could seriously eat it for two meals a day, every day. I make a lot of soups with white beans, black beans, lentils, split peas, etc. I love legumes -- so tasty and diverse and affordable (and good for my vegetarian/vegan diet).

We saw Starbucks, KFC, Subway, and McDonalds.

I looked at my husband and said. "We did not travel across an ocean to eat at a McDonals or KFC!" We ddin't. The various cuisines in London whetted the taste buds just fine. Whoever said that British food was bland never had a Steak & Ale Pie or a Shepard's Pie with Lamb Shank. Kebab places run by Turks were the BEST. We ate at one twice and it was FABULOUS!

But when it comes to Fast Food on ocassion, I prefer Popeyes. I do not make Shrimp like that at home.

... times a week, then came Pandemic. We are now eating better than ever and and even though our grocery bill is higher, we are net savers by not eating out more than two or three times a month.

All this is a great thing. We've almost cut beef out of our diet, maybe twice a month. We eat some pork, but mostly poultry and fish with at least three vegetarian dinners a week. I bake bread weekly and cook. We try to eat in season, try to use foods that aren't flown in from other nations, try to use farmer's markets as much as we can. Gardening is tough but we do have hydroponics in our home and we get peppers and tomatoes, greens and basil from them as well as some flowers.

Cutting out fast food and cutting down on restaurant meals made it all possible and we have more money in the bank,

I think they had a bargain with Filet o Fish. (Like $1.50 or something like that)

I went back about two weeks ago because of Friday Lent. Good gosh. No more bargains. A single Filet o Fish was $4.45. They must be struggling.

McDonald's eliminated all their salads and 24 hour breakfast. Their food is poor quality and salty.

The price of fresh fruits and veggies has skyrocketed also. A loaf of french bread is still $1.00, but not much healthier than McDonald's.

when I was on the way back from visiting my Mom. This restaurant was displaying a banner reading two filet-o-fish for $6. I didn't partake. I like them every now and again, but not enough to gobble down two of them at once.

1. they always have real Coke (not Pepsi fans here)
2. coffee is good and they will brew a fresh pot
3. they have iced coffee and good iced tea
4. useful for a bathroom break when on a road trip
5. we have made use of their wifi when traveling to locate and book our next hotel. We just went in with a laptop, ordered a beverage, found what we wanted, used the restroom and left.

Notice none of these things involve food. In a pinch if on the road, I will get a bacon egg and cheese biscuit but other places make better ones.

On a road trip. Stop for breakfast and wifi. Sausage and egg biscuit. Big soda to drink in the car. Final visit to the bathroom. Haven't done this since covid.

Said you would be appalled at how much sugar they put in their Sweet Tea. A whole 5-lb. bag in every batch made in the machine. And people would come in and order it with extra sugar!

brew at home, and really enjoy the flavor of that variety! Other than the McMuffin, which is a solid option when I'm on the road and nothing else is convenient, I haven't touched a food item at McDonald's since 2006.

but on a road trip, we'll get McDonald's or some other fast food...usually what's closest to the highway, which is almost always McD's.

As a kid, when traveling, we'd get "road sandwiches"....a whole loaf of the cheapest bread possible. with bologna or peanut butter sandwiches, sometimes alternating, so everything kind of mingled in a horrific stench. I have nightmares about how awful that was.

I'll take my occasional mediocre burger or breakfast sandwich over that.

I can't imagine my day without this place.

I'm not a fan of some of these businesses. Most wanted on my list of exploiters is Neal Aronson, founder of the Roark Group, named after Howard Roark the protagonist in Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. As the second-largest food service company in the U.S. the Roark Group employs literally hundreds of thousands of Americans at poverty-level wages. Roark also spends millions to lobby against minimum wage increases. The private equity firm controls Subway, Arby's, Carls Jr., Jimmy Johns, Dunkin Donuts, Baskin & Robbins, Sonic, Cheesecake Factory, and more.

I don't patronize any of these businesses.

I've eaten that trash more than I'd like to admit and it's probably taken years off my life.

French fries and sugary fountain drinks are. The liver converts sugar to fat in your body. This is scientific fact. Potatoes are empty calories, and yet are often the main vegetable most people consume.

You're far better off eating the Egg McMuffin than the hash brown on the side.

It saves enormous sums of money and will always result in more nutritious food.

Something else, whether or not you're into cooking. Don't drink soft drinks. Just don't. They are incredibly bad for you.

When I'm in a grocery store I'm often shocked seeing cars full of those huge soft drink things (how many cans are in them, anyway?), several of them, often occupying more space than the other food in the cart. WTF?

I honestly think that things like copious soft drink consumption is a huge part of other health issues in this country.

All day, every day.

Now I'll admit that I have one fizzy drink per day, sweetened with stevia, not sugar. That's a daily 'treat' for me.

The lack of sugar means I could technically drink more of them, but I don't, because these stevia-sweetened drinks are a niche/specialty item and thus quite expensive. But even if they were cheaper, I simply prefer my cuppa in the morning and then water the rest of the time. Sometimes in the summer I switch up the usual with iced tea (unsweetened). But I'm mostly on Team Water, the cheapest and healthiest drink of all.

I almost never consume fizzy drinks. One or two times a year on a road trip I'll have a fizzy drink, always a 7-Up or its equivalent. Otherwise, nope, no such drinks.

I honestly would love to research connecting drinking various fizzy drinks to health out comes.

Nearly 40 years ago now, I gave up drinking soft drinks. The underlying reason was that my younger son would consume soft drinks to the exclusion of anything else. I recognized that wasn't a very good thing, and stopped consuming soft drinks, or having them in the home. One thing led to another, I simply don't consume soft drinks, and I'm astonished, when I'm in a grocery store, at the numbers of patrons who have several of those large containers of soft drinks. Honestly, I don't even know how many cans are included in those things..

But no. . .I make a better burgers comatose than McD.