Food
10 Fast Food Chains that are by Far the WORST in the Country! (Part 3)
We can all agree that fast-food is one of the most comforting foods around. It just has that ability to instantly make you feel better. Well, that may be true for most fast-food joints, let’s just say that some are brilliant, and others leave much to be desired. Hopefully, your favorite didn’t make the list of these 10 Fast Food Chains That Are By Far The WORST In The Country – Part 3.
10. Dairy Queen
There’s nothing more satisfying than a good old familiar Blizzard on a hot summer night – heck, even on a cold night, there’s nothing like it. We’ve all driven down our local Dairy Queen in hopes of chilling our sweet tooth at some point or another. However, is delicious soft-serve also a sign of delicious savory food? Sadly, it looks like the answer might be a little disappointing. After all, it’s not like Dairy Queen called itself Burger Queen, right? Turns out there’s a reason for that. The chain knows very well that its strength lies in the ice cream biz – not the burger and fry biz. When it comes to its burgers especially, the reviews are less than favorable. Often described as flavorless, bland, and dry, they’re not exactly the picture of a good burger. The usually gray and limp beef patty does not reach unanimity with customers and has been deemed one of the worst fast-food burgers by a lot of critics. Restaurant reviewers have noted the peculiar texture, charred taste, and soggy bun – it’s probably because they spend way too long in the warming pan – according to former employees. But that’s not even the worst part. A bad-tasting burger is one thing, but a bad-tasting burger that could make you sick? That’s some bad luck. Once a man sued a Fort Worth Dairy Queen after a moldy burger sent him to the ER and cost him over $20,000 in medical bills. So, maybe just stick to the Blizzards – you know you can’t go wrong with those.
9. Subway
In the last couple of years, people have become more and more aware of their eating habits, and eating more healthy has been at the center of many fast-food discussions. With the rise in healthy eating, it would then only make sense for a place like Subway to boom in popularity, seeing as it advertised its ability to slim people down. But, now it seems like if people want to “eat fresh,” many will go just about anywhere besides Subway. It’s is one of the biggest fast-food franchises in America, which makes this all the more confusing as to why people have slowly stopped visiting the restaurant. Even after closing down over 1,000 locations in 2018 to remodel and refresh their brand, it was all in vain. There’s been a lot of complaints from customers about the quality of the meats and the freshness of their produce. Soggy tomatoes, brown lettuce, and slimy cold cuts have all been the talk of the town, as Subway tries to save their brand. Customers who responded to a Consumer Reports survey also reported that the chain’s sandwiches were bland and boring, and they weren’t what they used to be. Subway even used to be bigger than McDonald’s with an almost unthinkable 44,702 restaurants worldwide, so what happened? Maybe mushy and rotten ingredients in your $5 sub deal, isn’t the best way to bring people back!
8. Boston Market
If you’re looking for a place where they serve just about everything your stomach desires, then Boston Market is the way to go. However, if you want that food to be served to you in a timely manner, then you should probably take your chances elsewhere. Boston Market – formerly known as Boston Chicken – is known to offer a really huge selection of dishes. From rotisserie chicken to macaroni and cheese to cinnamon apples, you’ll most likely find something that suits your taste. But, the food at Boston Market isn’t the problem – while it would not necessarily get a five-stars review – it’s the waiting time. The painfully long, unnecessary interminable waiting time it takes before you receive your food, is reason enough for an appearance on this list. In November of 2020, a customer revealed to have waited up to three hours to pick up preordered Thanksgiving meals. Just imagine those who hadn’t preordered. Boston Market’s whole business was built on the concept of “home cooking,” you know, the kinds of meals you have on Sunday’s at your grandma’s house. And while this type of cooking might have a certain homey comfort, it’s not usually what modern-day consumers are looking for when choosing to eat out at a restaurant. Some people have also commented on how disorganized and muddled some of the employees at Boston Market seem to be. If your order isn’t placed correctly, no wonder it takes forever to get your food. Nevertheless, even though Boston Market has shrunk considerably over the years, it’s still here – for now.
7. Cinnabon
Here’s one restaurant that has built its reputation on one thing and one thing only; cinnamon rolls. Now, as much as cinnamon rolls are tasty and the perfect dessert, they’re also very, very specific. And when you’re building your brand on something specific, you better make sure that it’s perfect. Sure, the smell of a Cinnabon location is unmistakable and bound to make your mouth water just thinking about it, but it doesn’t mean that the taste is just as good. Since Cinnabon doesn’t serve burgers or pizza like most fast food places, everything is based on their gooey, warm cinnamon buns that contain a whopping 880 calories each. While the majority of the buns are usually “gooey and warm”, it doesn’t take away the fact that sometimes, the results are nothing like that. Many people have complained that they had been served reheated, old cinnamon buns, resulting in a hard, unpleasant dessert. And, those who do enjoy their Cinnabon rolls, they often don’t have a very positive experience with the workers. Let’s just say that the customer service at Cinnabon isn’t always the most admirable. The servers are often described as rude and dismissive, but that always depends on the location you go to. Overall, the real joy might just be in the smell of things and not actually in the pastry itself.
6. Taco John’s
If you live in the Midwest or the mountain states, then chances are, you’ve heard about or eaten at Taco John’s before. Founded in 1969, the founders of Taco John’s were on a mission to make the fast-food joint the go-to stop for “West-Mex” food. With over 400 locations, you could say that they were somewhat successful – but that doesn’t mean that the food is super good. While fast-food never claimed to be a saint in terms of calories and health benefits, Taco John’s definitely breaks some new records. Even by fast-food standards, the restaurant chain is quite unhealthy. So unhealthy, in fact, that it’s been ranked as one of the most unhealthy fast food joints in the entire country by The Travel, a food and destination site. The meals offered are a major source of saturated fats – even their signature Potato Olés scrambler with regular sausage has a whopping 1,190 calories. It would be one thing for the food to be unhealthy, but at least if it tasted good, it could kind of compensate to a certain level. Sadly, Taco John’s also breaks new records in terms of disappointment. Dry salads, badly wrapped and weak burritos, overly salted food, and a neglected menu have led to a large number of past customers to say that they wouldn’t set foot in a Taco John’s again. The restaurants have even been reviewed online as “absolutely appalling.” Not exactly encouraging for anyone looking to try it out for the first time, that’s for sure.
5. Domino’s
When it comes to pizza, the possibilities are endless. Whether it’s picking your toppings or the place you get it from, everything is up to you. Domino’s is undoubtedly one of the most well-known and popular pizza joints – possibly in the world – and has been around for what seems like forever. However, just because something is popular, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best place to go. Domino’s is the perfect example of this phenomena. This global pizza chain landed on this list because of its typically poor customer reviews and scores on basic good-pizza criteria. For instance, it has fared poorly when it comes to the quality of the food, with many people complaining about how the tomato sauce tastes like ketchup. The value of the food has not been top-notch either. More complaints have rolled in saying the vegetables aren’t fresh enough to justify the high price of the pies. This, mixed with supposedly slow service and questionable cleanliness of the dining areas – well, it doesn’t bode very well for the chain. Probably the only thing they have going for them is a cool tracker app and a relatively high mark for politeness from the staff – which is more than we can say for other fast-food chains. While there are way worse pizza joints out there, Domino’s definitely deserves its spot on this list.
4. Church’s Chicken
In America, there is nothing more sacred than fried chicken. And there’s definitely no shortage of fast-food chicken chains whatsoever, and it doesn’t look there will be anytime soon. With so many different outlets serving fried chicken, it can be hard to pick your favorite. But, one thing that’s not so hard? Picking your least favorite. Church’s Chicken was established in the 1950s and serves up a lot of different dishes, including chicken (duh) as well as fish, honey-butter biscuits, and even popcorn shrimp. It’s not the menu selections that come up short, it’s the quality. It turns out that the establishment doesn’t do any of them very well – according to reviews, at least. Some online complaints describe a very filthy and dirty dining area, along with finding expired food, poor management, and burnt fried chicken. Again, not off to a great start. Dry chicken, hard-as-rock biscuits, and soggy shrimp have also been used to characterize the experience at Church’s Chicken. Others have simply said that the chicken had a “funny taste to it,” which isn’t exactly the reputation you want your chicken to have. With more than 1,600 locations worldwide – and despite some rather harsh critiques, Church’s Chicken is still going strong – well, sort of – and doesn’t show signs of slowing down. We can’t really say if that’s a good thing or not.
3. Taco Bell
This one will probably make a lot of people angry – and it’s okay. After all, Taco Bell is an icon in the world of Tex-Mex fast-food – but it doesn’t take away the numerous bad reviews and complaints the chain has received across the country. The best-known Mexican fast-food chain in the country has also, ironically enough, ranked as the worst Mexican fast-food chain in America due to some particularly bad grades for its mediocre food quality and freshness. From soggy tacos to gastrointestinal issues following visits to Taco Bell, the negative feedback just keeps on coming. Some people say that the food is never filling enough, while others claim that it’s almost too filling; no one seems to really agree on the real value of Taco Bell’s food. The restaurant has also been accused of a bad ratio between meat and salad in their burritos and tacos, serving rubbery cheese, and using very low-quality ingredients. Considering that a good portion of customers go to Taco Bell after a night out, it makes sense as to why they keep coming back – they don’t care about the quality, they just want some grub. But, if it’s daylight and you’re looking for some real Mexican food, maybe you should think “outside the tortilla” and head over to another restaurant.
2. Arby’s
You can get a burger at practically every fast-food chain. It’s one of the most common menu items and one of the most popular. However, it’s not everywhere you can find a delicious roast beef sandwich. Well, at Arby’s, you can definitely find a roast beef sandwich; we’re just not sure about the “delicious” part. The signature sandwich does seem to have a dedicated fanbase, but as the years pass, so does the craving. And, even though Arby’s has “got the meats,” it’s not always the best quality meats. A lot of first-time customers have been greeted with a bun too hard and rubbery slices of meat. Plus, many feel like a sandwich without some kind of vegetable – even a token handful of lettuce – feels like a health hazard. And they’re kind of right. But health should be the least of the chain’s concerns when they’ve had other kinds of problems involving human limbs being found in their famous sandwich. This happened not once but twice. The first time an unappetizing discovery was made, it was a finger. An Arby’s employee had cut her finger on a meat slicer, and the little wayward limb found its way into the sandwich of a 14-year-old. This happened again when a piece of flesh was found after another employee had sliced a chunk of skin off his thumb while shredding lettuce. Maybe a little more training is needed before using the slicer.
1. Wienerschnitzel
Despite hot dogs being a food staple in America, there aren’t that many fast-food chains specializing in hot dogs. You just kind of find them here and there, always at random places. As one of the only hotdog chains in the United States, Wienerschnitzel should be paving the way for future chains, right? Alas, it doesn’t exactly live up to the task. Wienerschnitzel claims to be the world’s largest hot dog chain, and yet, the 60-year-old establishment doesn’t make much of an effort when it comes to supplying good quality meat in its meals. By serving over 120 million hot dogs every year, you would think that they would know how to prepare one properly. Apparently, according to many online reviewers, the food at Wienerschnitzel tends to lack flavor and is served in locations that are extremely dirty. Others say that the customer service is simply terrible and that the burnt hot dogs are not even worth a penny. Well, obviously, when you mix poor-quality meat with questionable service, you’re bound to have your share of negative comments. Hopefully, it’s not all of the 358 locations that are the same – maybe some are better than others.
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