Defining fast food

I would look for a menu board with a counter in front to
order, pay, and pick up. Lots of times baskets or disposable plates and silverware. No bussing, waitstaff or tips, other than maybe in the jar by the register.
I don’t eat at chains- look for the informality and passion for what they’re doing from the proprietors. Tasty food will follow.

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To me, Five Guys is definitely fast food. Yes, you are correct that there is a gray area between causal dining vs fast food – which is known as fast causal. For example, is “Steak n’ Shake” fast food?

To me neither of those is “fast food.” Cause it’s not fast. It’s cooked to order, right?

When I visited Rome about 45 years ago, there was a Wimpy Burger (on the Via Veneto, I believe), doing a brisk business. It was part of an international chain that has its origins in America.

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I’m betting you’d see the same thing all over Europe…and most of the world.

I don’t know quite how to respond to these. I thought it was clear from my post and the links I provided (but I’ll try to explain again) that the Slow Food movement in Italy was created directly in response to the opening of a McDonald’s in Rome, and that the name was chosen as a direct rejection of American fast food culture, which has penetrated every part of the globe.

I suspect if you asked most Italians, they’d identify “fast food” as relating to American-style eateries that have set up shop in Italy, the vast majority of whch are foreign owned.

But this thread is about “defining fast food.”

What is your problem? Everyone else in this thread has offered definitions of fast food and only you keep treating them as if they were posting off topic. If you want to be spoon fed an answer you want to hear, why don’t you post it, and then maybe someone else will repost it, and then you can say: Thank you. But otherwise this is getting quite tedious.

From the Italian wikipedia for “fast food” (I pasted this from Google translate):

This kitchen consists mainly of burgers , hot dogs , french fries , sandwiches but also from other foods derived from ethnic cuisines such as fried onion and kebabs , and suggests the massive use of different sauces like mustard , mayonnaise and ketchup . Fast food is typically characterized by a relatively modest cost, by the uniformity of the service offered and the wide distribution of outlets.

The food model proposed by fast food involves mainly the younger age groups, but also an increasing proportion of adults, for reasons mainly related to working rhythms, increasingly used to this type of restaurant. In Latin countries, traditionally associated with Meticulous preparations and flavors and genuine products, fast food is often considered synonymous with poor diet, both because consists of meals eaten quickly, even by foot or car, both for the bad quality and variety of ingredients and the abundance of elements fried , fatty , salty and sugary.

The foods usually fall in fast food, such as burgers, fries, fried chicken, are classified among those high in fat and / or refined sugars and / or low in fiber and as such, especially when consumed frequently or in portions abundant, increase the risk of obesity, which increases the risk of cancer [1] . High consumption of fast food are predictors of high cholesterol levels [2] , an important risk factor for heart attack, stroke and diseases of the cardiovascular system.

The foods offered at fast food restaurants, and especially the burgers and french fries, contain high amounts of trans fatty acids, which are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, the reduction of the concentration of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol ), increased low density lipoprotein, triglycerides increased, disturbance of prostaglandin and promote insulin resistance, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes [3] . In an effort to respond to these nutritional imbalances, the managers of the best known chains offer in their menu also meals with less calories as salads and fruit salads .

If you walk up to the counter and order your food . It’s fast food . No sit down and have a waiter or waitress take your order . You get a number they call it out you take your food and walk away or take it to the table inside to eat . You just want to fill your pie hole as quick as possible and get back to what you were doing . This question is whatever you believe fast food is .Same as I believe a hot dog is a sandwich .

I guess they are not super fast and they are cook to order in a way. That being said, my understanding is that In and Out, and Five Guys actually start cooking the burgers before the order. That is another topic.

I also don’t know if “speed” and “cook to order” are the only criteria. If so, any salad bar, Chinese Dim Sum or Southern BBQ …etc would be considered fast food. These foods are prepared well ahead of orders and the foods can be served right away.

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To me, fast food is a bit of a misnomer.

I don’t know that the prep of the food is technically “fast” at all the places I’d call fast food. To me, the following applies: no real table service, you are required to order yourself,nobody clears your plates, etc. The meal is designed to “eat it and beat it” meaning, unless you are really trying to loiter, the atmosphere is such that you don’t want to linger over your meal.

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Don’t go. There are people on this board who seem to enjoy winding-up others. Ignore them - pretend they don’t exist. They really are not worth your spit.

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I am consistently in awe at how fucking cranky some of you posters get over the most mundane topics.

Perhaps eat something tasty and get that bitter taste out of your collective mouths. Nobody is interested in watching your little pissing contests. Or at least take it to PM (which is thankfully an option on this site) and spare the rest of us.

JFC.

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That is easier say than done.

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I guess this entirely depends how we view/define “Fast food”. Should fast food be defined by its namesake -fast? That is being fast vs slow. Should fast food be identified by its lack of service? Or should fast food be classified based on the type of food?

I asked myself and I think each of them has their own limitation. If it is merely about fast vs slow, then many high quality foods will be classified as fast food and I am not ready to embrace that. High quality cantonese dim sum and southern barbecue can be served very quickly. Sushi as well. If it is about lack of service, then same problem here. In a few sushi restaurants I have been to, I would go up to the sushi bar and order my food to the sushi chef. Waitresses often do not take my orders. If it is the type of foods, then are all burgers fast food, disregarding McDonald burgers vs high end restaurant burgers?

On another board I use (completely different subject), there’s an “ignore” facility. Hit the button on some arsehole and you never need to see their posts again. It’s a wonderful tool - not least as they never know if you are just ignoring them, or “ignoring” them!.

I tell this story, though - to at least keep it vaguely food related. There was a guy who just irritated the fuck out of me, so I put the “ignore” on him. All was happy. Then I found myself sat next to him at a dinner where, of course, we recognised each other from the name badges. But, because we are stiff upper lip Brits, no mention was made of the previous upsets. Turned out he was quite a nice bloke - I had a tolerable evening.

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Great story. I was thinking more about “it is difficult to ignore even if you tell yourself to do just that”

Not related to people being annoying, but the common advise for giving public speech is to ignore the audience and pretend they are not there. Well, that is easier to say than done. When you walk up on stage and see 100+ people cheering and sometime interpret your speech with a questions, I think it is damn difficult to pretend they are not there. :slight_smile:

I do some public speaking and I just can’t ignore the audience. I constantly look round to see if people are nodding when they should be nodding - and not nodding off when they shouldnt be nodding off.

That sounds about the same as my approach too.