Ten/fifteen years ago, the easy answer would be “food made fast”, and that’d be any number of chains or bodega type places. But with the rise of spots like Chipotle, Panera, etc. that get you food quickly, there’s been all these new categories popping up (outlined up-thread).
Conversationally, when I talk about “getting fast food” with friends these days, we’re referring to cheap quickservice chains: burgers, fries, fried chicken, tacos, and hot dogs. Fast food involves french fries, grease, and a dinner that costs less than $5-$8.
They are often not that cheap, but they are on the lower end. If you are around an ethnic neighborhood, then you will find many Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, India restaurants offer similar prices as McDonald or Burger King. Even many mom and pop stores have the same price range as well. When I lived in Georgia, the local BBQ joints are no more expensive than the big chain BBQ restaurants.
For me - fast food is more than just the denotative meanings of those words - there is an inherent mass produced, lowest common denominator meaning for me. So yes for me I think it has to be a chain.
There’s a McDonalds in the Syntagma in Athens that I used to drop into from time to time. It’s huge - three stories because no matter the restaurant the Greeks linger (a couple hours) over dinner. And you can get a beer there.
FF can be a chain, or a single restaurant, or a mom-and-pop. I wasn’t “limiting” anything. I was just saying that in casual conversation, “fast food” typically means a well-known chain. But it can just as easily be a burger stand, a hot dog joint, a taco truck, etc. And, almost always, inexpensive. The idea of expensive fast food makes no sense and goes against the whole point of it.
In the Los Angeles area, we have a restaurant that touts “Slow Fast Food”; from their website:
Who says a great meal needs to be a formal affair?
The Oinkster, a fast-casual concept from acclaimed fine-dining chef Andre Guerrero, invites diners to kick back and enjoy high-quality American classics in a relaxed, modern and fun environment.
Occupying the former site of Jim’s Burgers on Eagle Rock’s newly hip Colorado Boulevard, The Oinkster aims to be Los Angeles’ antidote to both, expensive gourmet meals and their cheap fast food counterparts. On the restaurant’s $10-and-under menu that skips high prices in favor of better flavors, quality will be paramount.
Premium sandwiches made with house-cured pastrami or sloooow-roasted pork compete for diners’ attention with juicy burgers made from freshly-ground Nebraska Angus beef, first-rate rotisserie-roasted chicken and crispy Belgian fries. Fake fast-food cheese are given a pass in favor of scrumptious Gruyere and yummy sharp cheddar; home-made sauces, dressings and spice rubs share the plate with house-made condiments and crunchy veggies.
In typical Oinkster-fashion, all remaining culinary needs are addressed in taste and style, too: Each meal can be rounded out with a premium beer, quality wine or one of the restaurant unusual specialty sodas; Hand scooped shakes made with Fosselman’s ice cream and an assortment of handmade cupcakes and desserts tempt the taste buds.
In the days when I was eating meat, I loved their burgers. Salads are big and fresh, french fries are my ideal. Order at counter, sometimes food brought to the table, sometimes you grab it from the counter (depending on how busy they are). Burgers were cooked to order, salads freshly assembled, etc. From ordering to food-on-the-table it was 10 to 15 minutes.
Hmm. Where does the fast food lobster roll fit in, like Luke’s or the Red Hook truck in NYC, or whatever you have in Boston (and I assume you have something)? They’re fast for sure, and they’re cheap for lobster rolls, if not cheap in absolute terms.
It’s still almost impossible to define, we’ve all presumably been to McDonalds when they have to cook your burger or nuggets to order. (Pull your car over please ma’am we’ll bring it over when it’s ready).
What about places that have the pizza ready and you just buy it by the slice?
Off the top of my head: places where they make up the food ahead of time and can just grab and serve it. Yes, it’s true that if you go at a slower time, they may make something to order, but when they have rows of cooked, wrapped hamburgers ready to grab and slap on a tray, that’s fast food.
Sure, I mean, “inexpensive” is a relative term. Lobster used to be trash food, but got more expensive this century. A $12 lobster roll is expensive compared to a cheap burger, but cheap compared to the $25 lobster rolls at nice restaurants. So I could drop $12 for a good burger at a nice place, or for $2 I could get a value burger at McDonalds. It’s all relative
Innovation Hub’s most recent radio program was about food. Andrew Smith was interviewed about his book, “Fast Food: The Good, the Bad, and the Hungry”. In the course of the discussion he presented these criteria for what constitutes fast food: 1. You aren’t involved in making it, 2. You don’t clean up after eating it, and 3. You don’t tip for it.
I’m sure there are those who’d disagree with these stipulations, though.
