Episode 1.7 Fast Food Places Ranked - The Middle School Mind

On this podcast episode, Son ranks his favorite fast food restaurants that kids can relate to.

Many kids love fast food. It’s relatively inexpensive, readily available and tastes oh so good. If you’re a kid and especially if you live in the United States like us, you already know what fast food is. In case you need a refresher, QSR Magazine ranked the top 50 fast food restaurants in America in this article.

On this episode, Son ranks his top 13 fast food restaurants from least favorite to his favorite in the list below:

#13 Chipotle

Image of Chipotle's tortilla chips with guacamole — Chips with lime. Who wants to eat sour chips? Image courtesy of USA Today.

#12 Papa John’s

Image of Papa John's pizza offerings featuring sausage, peppers, pepperoni and cheese — Tastes great for fast food pizza, but does not sit well with Son’s tummy. He may be lactose intolerant. We should probably get that checked out. Image courtesy of Papa Johns.

#11 McDonald’s

Coming in at #11, this may be pretty controversial for Mickey D’s. Son prefers the chicken nuggets and Dad loves breakfast all day. Dad falls for the McRib marketing every year.

#10 Subway

Image of Subway's club sandwich with ham, turkey and fresh veggies on fresh baked bread — The Subway Club sandwich. Wish it tasted as good as this looks. Image courtesy of Subway.

The good: customizable to your tastes. The bad: their sandwiches.

#9 Domino’s

Close up image of Domino's garlic bread twists side — Domino’s garlic bread twists. Image courtesy of Business Insider article comparing Pizza Hut and Domino’s.

Decent pizza option and the breadsticks are a favorite. Garlic knots are tasty and they have come out with dessert type knots with cinnamon dipping sauce.

#8 Jimmy John’s

Image of Jimmy John's Ultimate Porker sandwich with ham, bacon, lettuce and mayonnaise — Son’s go-to is the #17, the Ultimate Porker ham, bacon, lettuce tomato and mayo. Minus the lettuce and tomato. Image courtesy of Jimmy Johns.

Better ingredients and better tasting than Subway. Son gets the Ultimate Porker and Dad gets the Beach Club.

#7 Panera Bread

Image of Panera Bread's famous mac and cheese now available in single serve cups at your grocer's freezer — Did you know that Panera’s amazing mac and cheese is now sold in your grocer’s freezer in single servings? We get ours at Costco when we don’t want to make the trip out to Panera. Image courtesy of Costco.

Son loves the mac and cheese and the bread. He can’t have a lot of other items at Panera because of his food allergies. Take a listen to our previous episode on why Food Allergies Bite!

#6 Culver’s

Image of Culver's famous offering of butter burgers, cheese curds and delicious custard desserts — If we had a say in the five major food groups, this Culver’s menu offering has it covered: Butterburgers, french fries, cheese curds, onion rings and amazing frozen custard. Image courtesy of Winston-Salem journalnow.com.

This is our go-to spot since we have one so close to home. Burgers are great and son loves the real chicken in their chicken tenders. We all agree that the cheese curds and frozen custard make this a family favorite.

Culver’s gets an A+ since both kids can get their custard if you ask for a “fresh scoop” as they are great at accommodating their food allergies.

#5 Wendy’s

Image of Wendy's breakfast offering of breakfast sandwiches and breakfast potatoes — Wendy’s breakfast offering has been a hit since it was launched in 2020. Image courtesy of CNN.com.

More flavorful nuggets than McDonald’s. Son also likes their new breakfast offering Wendy’s launched in the last few years. Fresh never frozen beef is amazing.

#4 Taco Bell

Image of Taco Bell's famouse Doritos Locos Tacos — Image courtesy of LA Times.

Nachos and soft beef tacos are Son’s go-to. The Doritos Locos tacos sound interesting and something Son wants to try in the future. The Bell’s Freeze frozen drink selection is also a favorite in the summertime.

#3 Popeye’s

Image of a proper three piece bone-in chicken meal at Popeye's complete with buttermilk biscuit and French fries — Image courtesy of Popeye’s.

Son hasn’t been here frequently, but his one-time experience with the fried chicken was memorable.

We talk about the Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich and the craziness it created when it was first introduced.

#2 Boston Market

Image of rotisserie chicken meal at Boston Market with mac and cheese, roasted vegetables and corn bread — According to Son, the good stuff is Boston Market chicken, corn bread and mac and cheese. Image courtesy of Boston Market.

According to Son, Boston Market is everything you want. The good stuff. Rotisserie chicken, corn bread and mac and cheese are his favorites.

#1 Portillo’s

Tops on this list, Midwest chain, Portillo's, serves char-broiled burgers, Italian beef sandwiches, and an amazing chocolate cake and shakes — Char-Broiled burgers make this place a winner for Son. Image courtesy of Portillo’s.

This is a big chain in the Chicago area and is expanding outside the region to California, Phoenix, Florida, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana and Detroit.

For people who aren’t near those locations, there’s also one in Orlando, Florida that opened in 2021 if you happen to be visiting Disney World, Universal Orlando and other parks in the Orlando area. Many families with kids visit the Orlando area and Portillo’s would be a great kid-friendly, fast food option if you are in the are!

Son loves the char-broiled burgers, cheese fries and the chocolate eclair cake. Portillo’s has amazing chocolate cake and the chocolate cake shake. During the summer months, Portillos’s brings back their lemon cake which is so refreshing.

Portillo's amazing dessert and shake offerings on display — Finish off your Portillo’s experience with any of their amazing desserts. Son loves the chocolate eclair cake while the chocolate cake is a fan favorite. Image courtesy of Portillo’s.

Do you agree or disagree with Son’s list? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Please visit our Contact Us page, our Facebook page or leave a review where ever you listen to your favorite podcasts!

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If you want to listen to more episodes talking about life in school, take a listen to our episode on The School Resource Officer and all the information they have to keep kids safe on-line and in real life!

Special Thanks

MyInstants.com “sad trombone” and “applause” sound effects used during our Restaurant Slogan Quiz segment
“One Day Soon” by Smith the Mister is the opening and ending song for The Middle School Mind podcast

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