Who Makes the Best Fast Food? The Worst?
By Warren Boroson
The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.
That’s what the Bible says, and Ben Graham, the value
investor, agreed. His advice: Buy out-of-favor stocks.
The same inversion seems to be the case with fast-food
restaurants – at least according to readers of Consumer Reports magazine.
Coming in dead last in recent rankings of hamburger joints was
McDonald’s, with a score of 5.8.
Higher-rated were Smashburger (7.9), Fuddruckers (7.8),
Steak ‘n Shake (7.5), and Hardee’s (7.5). At the top: The Habit Burger Grill.
(I’ve never seen one.)
For heaven’s sake, even White Castle (7.0) beat out Wendy’s
(5.8) and Burger King (6.6). (They should be ashamed.)
Chicken chains also saw big surprises. Dead last was KFC
(7.1). Chick-fil-A was first (8.0), and Boston Market was in the middle (7.7).
As for sandwiches and subs, Au bon pain was last (7.0), beat
out by Jersey Mike’s Subs (7.8) and Panera Bread (7.8). (Consumer Reports
doesn’t seem to realize that Panera is the new name for Au bon pain.) Next to
last: another surprise, Subway (7.2).
As for burritos,
tops was Chipotle Mexican Grill (7.8), and at the bottom was Taco Bell (6.9).
Cleanliness? The
bottom ranks were occupied by CiCi’s Pizza and KFC.
Healthful choices?
Tops was Subway (96%) and last, with 22%, was White Castle.
Most for your money:
Del Taco, Little Caesar’s, and Papa Murphy’s Take ‘n’ Bake Pizza. Least: Burger
King, Church’s, KFC Panda Express, and Sbarro.
The worst burger
chains: McDonald’s and Burger King (scores: 71). The worst pizza chain: Sbarro
(65). The worst sandwich chain: Au bon pain (76). The worst chicken chain: KFC
(69). The worst Mexican chain: Taco Bell (73). The worst Asian chain: Panda
Express (71).
The ratings came
from 32,405 Consumer Reports subscribers. A score of 80 means well satisfied;
60 means fairly well satisfied. The ratings were based on how each chain
compared with others in teams of food quality, value, staff politeness, and
speed of service.
***
In the same issue of
Consumer Reports: ratings of hospitals for heart surgery. Two New Jersey
hospitals earned top scores for heart bypass surgery: Morristown Medical Center
and Valley Hospital.
No comments:
Post a Comment