White Castle Classic Cheese Sliders

Hmm. These are weird because I've been to White Castle before (exactly once) and tried a bunch of sliders there and overall thought they were pretty gross and bad. Certainly worse than Main Street Sliders or Deer Park or any resto slider (or Arbys!). However, it's rare to get burgers in my life, and these are totally free of pea and soy protein, which is impossible to find nowadays (which is ridic, but I digress!!!). So they were really expensive and not that good really, but safe and at home and Meat so that was nice. Even the lil onions didn't bug me too much. I will say I made these from frozen, so the buns were a bit chewy, but overall it wasn't terrible. Reminded me of a Kid's Cuisine cheeseburger! They didn't necessarily fulfill a craving, but they were fun and decent. 

Overall
Cost: 4/10 {about 9$)
Taste: 7/10

Wayback Burgers

Formerly Jake's Wayback Burgers, but I guess they dropped the "Jake's" when I wasn't paying attention! This is a super local Delaware chain and yet it apparently has expanded to PA and beyond. My mind is blown. Anyway, they have hot dogs and burgers that are made fresh (and like, fries and shakes and other stuff). The intriguing thing is that their allergy menu doesn't even list nuts or peanuts as an option, which makes me THINK that they don't use those ingredients, which is great, but I can't find that explicitly stated on their website anywhere, which is weird. I asked the one in DE once if they used nuts and they said no, but that was a long time ago. They also have the impossible burger though, so I didn't want to risk getting a burger, so I got a hot dog with ketchup and mustard and grilled onions. They didn't put on a super lot of toppings, and the hot dog itself was a little too "beef" flavored for my taste, but ultimately it was pretty good and only 300some calories apparently. They have a lot of toppings and other options, so if I were to consider contacting them to get more allergy info I might try the other fun stuff like chicken sandwich or chips. I also ate a little bit of fries and they weren't as good as like, a fast food fry, but with the BBQ sauce they were nice.

Classic Burger: I tried to reach out about allergy stuff via FB message, but they never answered. Alas. Anyway, this was a fine burger, 2 patties and all the fixins. I like this, but the meat itself wasn't that great to me. It didn't have that nice burger king/red robin flavor, you know? I was also scared it would get mixed up with a veggie burger, but it seemed pretty meat-y, so I took the risk. Also almost 700 calos, so very filling, but didn't knock me totally out. Might mix up the toppings in the future since Q seems to like this place. 6/10

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Q says: "I like it out of 10"

In-N-Out Burger

What the heck!? An In-N-Out in Texas? I was shocked to see this, because when I was in college in LA I thought In-N-Out was a strictly California thing. I guess they randomly expanded to Texas (I wish Yoshinoya could too)! Anyway, I like this place not just because of the hype but because it's a solid burger, really tasty, and the menu is so so limited that I'll never have allergy concerns. Only burger, burger with cheese, and fries/milkshakes (Vanilla Chocolate and Strawberry) are available, which is just perfect for me. I enjoyed Cheeseburger, which had a nice crispy bun and was juicy  but not too comically huge like some burgers. A great product. The fries were fine, but I'm not much of a fry girl myself.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 8/10

Red Robin

When I was in high school (so, like, 20 years ago!?), Red Robin had an AMAZING quesadilla, with mushrooms and cilantro-y pico and bacon and 3 colors of chips. It was so good. But they got rid of it and I really soured on Red Robin, since they mostly just have burgers and fries which I wasn't a HUGE fan of. But now that Burger King has a nut allergy warning, there aren't many places with burgers I actually enjoy. And Red Robin is a decent pick, and they also have a really good allergy menu too (which they will give you on a tablet if you want to see it, which is hilarious). The waitress randomly asked if I wanted a gluten free bun, but I don't think I got one. Anyway, I ended up here recently with my dad because Iron Hill was too full. Honestly I think it was for the best, because we had a decent experience. I got a "tavern burger", which is a skinner patty and tasted like the burger-king-y patty I like, it was great. Tavern Burgers are apparently the way to go. Specifically, here's what I got:

Ghost Pepper Tavern Burger: IDK about the spicy sauce on here, I didn't love it, but the meat itself was enough to overcome that weirdness. 7.

Chips with guac & salsa (app): The chips were decent, but the salsa and guac were a little weird tasting (but OK). Not that many chips either, which I guess is probably good. 6.

Sangria: This was good and only 5.50$, with lots of fruit in it and a decent amount of alcohol too it seems! 7

Smoky Jack Tavern Double: I got this with no mayo, so it's otherwise a burger with BBQ sauce and LTO and pepper jack. It was good but I didn't like the onion/pickle on it. Still the meat itself was great. Got with sweet potato fries, which were good and plentiful, but not really seasoned, just wet oily potato. But good overall. 6

Red's Tavern Double: Very good, just a very classic burger. 7

Haystack Tavern Double: I was worried about the mayo sauce here, but it wasn't bad. The worst part was actually the onion straws, which had a weird rancid oil taste to me. Overall it was good, but to be honest I think I just want a plain burger. The best part is the meat. 6

California Chicken Sandwich: A non-burger! Turns out the brioche (aka non-sesame) buns contain PEA so I can't have either bun, so I got this wrapped in lettuce. It was not as delicious, but less calos and less dying. The chicken inside had bacon and swiss and avo paste, and it was a fine filling burger alternative. I got no mayo (due to mustard fear) but it was still plenty wet. No complaints! 6

 
Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Burger King

I think Burger King is my favorite traditional national fast food chain, don't tell anyone. It's very unhealthy though, so I only get it when someone else brings it up. But their burgers are so good! And so cheap! Yum! I went to one today on the way back from a car wash; nice, nice. Just for a snack though. And I love that long chicken sandwich. Mmm.

Iced Coffee: Super sweet and creamy obviously, but tasted good and fresh and not too watery like McDo's. Plus they have it. So that's good. 6/10

Onion Rings: Everyone loves a good onion ring. The perfect side. 7/10

Cheeseburger: This was only one dollar and very good. I love burger, yum yum. 8/10

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 8/10
Shame: 10/10

Wendy's

Wendy's is a classic! It's no Burger King but it's not bad. Their burgers are square and don't taste that good, but honestly Burger King are the only burgers I think taste good, so I might be broken. Their chicken is decent, their salad/potato selection is on point, and they have a cute redheaded mascot. Plus it's cheap and everywhere! Road trip!

Spicy Chicken Sandwich: Pretty good! Just chicken, bun, a little mayo but not too much, tomato, and lettuce. A solid and filling sandwich, and a little spicy but not too bad. 6/10

Junior Cheeseburger 4 for 4$ meal: What a deal!!! The cheeseburger gave me heartburn but was pleasant otherwise. The fries were good and soft, good in BBQ sauce. I got coffee for the drink(!) which was very tepid but otherwise fine, they even included creamers. The nugs were the worst part, they tasted a little rancid but that's probably because I ran out of BBQ sauce to cover them up. I should buy BBQ sauce for home! 7/10

Junior Bacon Cheeseburger: This is a classic, although maybe a little too much mayo and could use more ketchup. But a nice compact burger, solid and reheatable in the microwave if you take off the top bun! 7/10

Caesar Side Salad: I keep getting this instead of the garden side salad by accident. Hmph. Anyway, it's decently big for a side salad, and the croutons and dressing are separate and have ingredients right on them for peace of mind. The salad just has lettuce, cheese, and cheese on it (parm of two types) which is kind of a lot, but it tasty enough. Fine but nothing special. 5/10

Junior Cheeseburger Deluxe: This is like the JBC but with no B. It's not bad, but I wish there were no mayo or pickles too. Also the burger is no Burger king burger. But it's filling. 6/10

Garden Side Salad: I finally got one, but it was labelled as "taco salad". IDK if that's a mistake or not, but this was pretty basic -- it's just lettuce, cheese, tomato, crouton. It was fine, not tasty or really healthy, but took a while to eat which is good. 5/10

Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad (half size): I got this because they got our order wrong and charged 20$ for just this and a fry. Oh well. The salad is good. The chicken and fact that it's a salad made me nervous, but it was fine. I didn't use the dressing, but it was still moist enough. The cheese was not cheddar which was surprisingly good. And the salad was then like 220 cal total, which is great. 7/10

Fries: I mean, fries are fries. But I like Wendy's fries way more than McDonalds, since they are softer and thicker. Fries are good if you have a ton of ketchup, otherwise they're pretty boring. Solid but I'm not sure the calorie information, might be spooky. 7/10

 

Cold Brew: Yikes. I was so excited about the addition of cold brew and breakfast over all, but the Wendys in Lanc is hot garbage. They don't wear masks and they gave me a frosty instead of a cold brew and we had to drive back around to get this. And then it tasted very bad. Did they pee in it? Honestly I hope so, because it tasted like trash. Chemically and very weird and bad. I still drank it but only out of desperation. 3/10

Maple Bacon Chicken Croissant: I'm not into mixing sweet and savory, but the internet likes this so I tried it. It was "meh". I didn't even realise I got the right thing because the croissant was like a regular bun almost -- I think it was just really stale? The bread still tasted good, with a syrupy sauce, but overall this package was not great. The chicken patty was fine, no soy, but it didn't seem to go with the sauce. The bacon also tasted really stale. The potato wedges side seemed like they could be decent but felt a little spongy/old. I should try a different non-shit Wendys someday when Covid is Cov-done. 5/10

Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger: Yo, this was good. It could maybe use ketchup, because the patty flavor on its own isn't great, but the bread is nice like french toast, the pub sauce and onions are great, the bacon was more like bacon fat than pieces of bacon but was still good. Overall it was very tasty and honestly not TOO much food. 7/10

Dr. Pepper: Amazing soda even though I don't like soda. 7/10

Vanilla Frosty: This was OK, but not as good as the vanilla dessert options you can get at McDos or Arbys as a nut free human. Too icy or fake or somethin'. 6/10

Crispy Chicken BLT: You can't get this in a combo! But it's a solid chicken sandwich with bacon and cheese on there. Tasty. 7/10

Chicken Nugget Kids Meal: Honestly this is such a good deal. Less than 4$ for fries and nugs and a drink AND a toy! The nuggets were better than the spicy ones usually are, which is interesting. McDos has pea nuggets and Wendys has pea bread, so I have to check the ingredients 5000 times, but this was safe, anyway. And I got a bottle of water and a little crayon toy! What a life. 7/10

Iced Tea [Sweetened]: If you order Iced Tea, they give you sweetened Iced Tea. This is bad. It is way too sweet and not even lemony or complex. Also, I spilled it and it is sticky. 4/10

Iced Tea [Unsweetened]: After many failures, I finally converged on the unsweetened iced tea! (After reading the recipt, I learned it's just Diet Fuze). It tasted like plain iced tea. Much better than the sweetened one, although sadly, still sticky (and I didn't even spill it, but yet)! 6/10

Cobb Salad: This is the only safe salad left! It's fine, but there's no veg. Just chicken, cheese, egg, baco, tomato, and ranch dressing. It's supposed to come with onion crisps, but they only gave us one open bag for two salads, so neither me or my dad risked trying those. The salad was frozen, but it tasted OK. I wasn't allergic. 7/10

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 6/10

McDonald's

Eww, right? Who eats McDo's?! As a kiddo, it was by far my least favorite fast food place, mainly because they put chopped up onions on all their burgers and I thought that was gross. I also think the 3-bun Big Mac concept is terrible. But now I'm a little chilled out, PLUS they have breakfast all day, PLUS they have a vanilla ice cream cone with no nuts. Mmm, soft serve, so rare for nut allergy sufferers! So I've come around, and on a road trip or a lazy day, I'm A-OK with a little allergy-menu-having McDos.

I like their apple pie, vanilla cone, egg mcmuff, and way too creamy iced coffee. Hot coffee is standard/fine too.

I tried recently the Pico Guacamole Buttermilk Crispy Chicken, because it had guac and I wanted some veg. It gave me mad heartburn, but otherwise it was filling and fine. I think it'd be better with no cheese and no ranch sauce. So maybe a plain chicken sandwich would have been better. 5/10

I also tried the Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken, and even though it had little black beans I had to pick out, the dressing/chicken/strips/corn was good and refreshing (and healthy-ish!). The only downside was that it made me make eating noises and also smell bad and my boyf was perturbed and now I'm neurotic about eating this salad. But it's good though. :D? 6/10

Cheeseburger: McDonald's is gross and this burger was gross too. It was only a dollar though. But it has onions which make me vom and are so small they're impossible to remove, the burger is gross, and the bun is pretty good. 4/10

Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich: This was a crispy chicken sandwich and it didn't make me gag, so I guess it was fine. About 650 calos for a weird fake-looking shiny bun, vaguely buttery crispy chicken, small tomato, tiny lettuce, and massive gorp of mayo. But it was OK. 6/10

Quarter Pounder with Cheese: When will I learn that I hate McDo's burgers? I got this without onions because I thought I just hated little onions, but the burger still tasted the same gross way! It's like the onions are inside the patty! Or whatever bad thing is in there, maybe it's not even onion at all.  But it's truly terrible. The burger patty is the McDo's downfall. 3/10

Grilled Chicken Sandwich: This was devoid of any flavor and it was over 5 bucks. Yet it was only 380 calories, and fairly filling. It didn't have any mayo (or sauce at all), yet somehow it wasn't too dry. A weird product, but could have been worse. 6/10

Hash Brown: Don't understand the love for hash brown. Plain Mcmuff is better choice, this is oily and not great. 5/10

Bacon Smokehouse Artisan Grilled Chicken: Mistakes were made; I got this because it's chicken and not beef, and I like onions and BBQ and bacon, but the mustard made this weird, it could have used lettuce/tomato, way more BBQ and overall just wasn't a good mix for me, even though none of the parts were truly heinous. 4/10

Iced French Vanilla Coffee: This was difficult, because ordering it got us a "Sugar Free Vanilla Coffee" instead, which was freakin' gross. Second try, we learned just "Vanilla Coffee" (don't say french) is the way to go. Anyway, this is a solid way-too-creamy/sugary coffee, but it tastes good and not artificial or metallic or anything. A little like what I imagine milk is like for people who drink milk. Got a medium and it was more than enough, 'cause they don't put that much ice in. 6/10

Iced Latte: G-dang, McDonalds coffee is so difficult. I ordered plain iced latte (medium), no modifications or swirls or sugars. But it was SO PAINFULLY SWEET. Wtf. Full disclosure though, I got this via delivery (no issues there), and it was in a little cup inside of a bag lol. Very weird and cozy. No straw! I mean, it tasted like a sweet treat, but that's not what I wanted. Sigh. 5/10

McChicken: McChicken is a cute name for a sandwich. This was actually not bad; it was only 1 dollar and yet was filling and satisfying. It's just chicken/mayo/lettuce, and it could use more lettuce and less mayo, and maybe the addition of tomato or cheese or something would improve it, but it's still decent. 6/10

Pumpkin and Cream Pie: This isn't even on their online menu, but you can find the ingredients if you Google for it. And it's safe! And so good, this was awesome. It doesn't look like much but the inside is basically pumpkin pie filling and cream cheese. This is great. Spicy (in the pie way) and sweet. 8/10

McRib: Ah, the cultural zeitgeist! Top of the morning to you, Mr. McRib. I think I basically agree with the general sentiment on this sandwich: it's not bad, but not amazing. The first bite impressed me a lot; I thought it really did taste like rib insides. But then it became more bread/pickle/onion/general food-like substance. Not bad though, and the ingredients don't have any weird fillers (or legumes!). Good but not really great either. 7/10

Blueberry Muffin: So disappointing! I was so hype for the purported nut-free bakery additions since the Dunkin muffins are now may-contains. But while the top was good and moist/sweet, the rest was not sugary or wet or good, and the whole thing had kind of a chemical flavor. I like that the berries are real blueberries, but they didn't taste like it -- they tasted just like the artificial ones from my 99 cent muffin mix. Ultimately a letdown. 5/10

Hamburger (+Happy Meal): This Happy Meal came with apples, a toy, a little milk, a little fries, and a hamburger. Not bad, McDos. I was expecting to hate Hamburger as I have hated all Burger from McDos, but honestly it wasn't bad. Maybe I was just really hungry, maybe they're different now? maybe I got a good one? But the bun was nice and buttery, the meat was meat, and the onions and pickle were edible since they were focused in just one spot in the middle. Not very filling, but pretty tasty/fine. 6/10

Deluxe Crispy Chicken Sandwich: So McDo's added 3 new chicken sandwiches to compete with the Popeye's / Chik-Fil-Trash hype. Sadly, I tried this one first, and I thought it was kind of a dud. The bun was nice and buttery, but the chicken itself had a weirdly fishy/old oil taste. It really threw me. The lettuce/mayo/tomato really did not add anything, either. Maybe I just got a bad patty. 5/10

Honest Kids® Appley Ever After® Organic Juice Drink: I got this with a Cheeseburger Happy Meal, which again, is way more lit than I used to find it. This Apple Juice itself was also fun! It was not sweet at all, which is really different from any apple juice I've ever experienced, but I thought it was pretty tasty and also healthy. Very cute stuff. 7/10

Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich: The second of the three new chicken sandwiches, and sadly I won't be trying the third since these buns apparently have pea protein in 'em now (wtf). It was alright while it lasted, though -- really spicy to me, but much better than the deluxe sandwich. The chicken and bun were good (but really spicy), the sauce was just OK. 7/10

Double Cheeseburger: Again, honestly this was pretty satisfying. I still don't love the onion bits, but the pickle/ketchup/cheese is good, the meat is fine, the bun is fine. It's filling and it's fine. 7/10

 

Sprite: On the one hand, Sprite is Sprite, and it's not very good. On the other hand, I didn't like this version much. I've had better fast food sodas. Partly Sprite is to blame, but dare I say, McDos is not the best iteration of Sprite I've had this year. 5/10
 

McDouble: The name is good, good branding. But the burger was kind of dry, I still don't like the little onions on here, and even though this was edible and safe, it was honestly not very enjoyable. 5/10

Overall
Cost: 8/10, fast food is great for this (just avoid combos)
Taste: 5/10

Q says: It seems like the renovation has been bad for it. Later: This was a different McDonalds.

Sonic Drive-In

I guess the official name of this place is "Sonic Drive In" because sonic itself is such a common word! Too bad. I've only ever heard it called Sonic, so I didn't fully conceptualize that it was JUST a drive-in place because I didn't grow up near one. But we went today, and it's true, you pull up to your own little ordering window and wait for them to bring you the food. Apart from hating to drive and hating drive-through windows, I like that you get your own little menu to look at with no rush, and you can order when you're ready by pushing a button.

Food-wise, it seems like just burgers, chicken, hot dogs, and drinks, which is general fast-foody-food. They don't seem to have nuts in their non drink/dessert stuff, which is nice. I got a regular (all-america) hot dog and some mozz sticks, and both were totally acceptable but not incredible. I didn't get violently ill, which is always a plus! I would go back with no hesitation, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (seemed decent for non-combos, maybe 2-3$ per item)
Taste: 6/10

Fuddrucker's

My first experience with a Fuddrucker's was just OK! They don't have any allergy info online, despite being a chain, which is frustrating. It's also counter service, and you can order on a touch screen, which is cool but bad for allergy questions. Was able to ask an employee if they use peanut oil though, and they said no. The menu also appears to be nut-free except the desserts and some almonds on salads.

So, I got a custom burger combo (1/3lb) with mushroom and cheese and avocado. It came with a drink and a side; I picked a side salad. Turns out this cost 14$, which seems like way too much, but maybe I ordered dumbly. Anyway, the burger was good, definitely juicy and I liked the mushrooms a lot. They also have a little toppings bar for lettuce/tomato/onion/sauce if you eat in, which is nice and it looked very clean. The side salad was generous and tasty, although I didn't get dressing because they only have Italian and ranch types (no red or orange stuff!). We also ordered to-go and they gave us for-here, but I liked eating there so it worked out. Plus they just opened, so we'll give it time.

One other downside about the touchscreen ordering though: you can't customize the salads. So I wanted a Cobb salad with no bleu cheese but there was no way to order this! Otherwise the venue is chill.

Bacon Double Cheddar Burger (small): Ahh this made me so ill. They also had a PBJ milkshake on offer, which made me feel scared. On the other hand, they were giving out free bottles of beer, so that was nice. But yeah. The burger was extremely filling, but too fatty and almost too sweet. Plus this was just a plain burger with an extra slice of cheese and 2 sad looking bacon strips on it. And so wet with grease. I like that I can add infinite ketchup and tomato, but the whole enterprise was messy and sweaty. Would have got a salad but apparently the touchscreens are no more and the humans take your order now, and it's a lineup scenario, so there's time pressure. SIGH! 4/10

Overall
Cost: 4/10 (10-20$)
Taste: 6/10

Q says: Pretty good, I liked it. 7/10

G & M Dog'n Burger Shoppe

No picture for this elusive Bloomfield diner! It's great, though. Very cheap prices (like 2-3 dollars for everything hello) and the food is great (although terrible for you i'm sure!!). I got a breakfast, eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, juice, potatoes. It was tasty all, except the toast perhaps (the cooking oil was a bit stale, I think). All for like 5 bucks. They also have burgers and hot dogs and a few sandwiches. I would totally go back! With my parents, because they'd love it. Ha ha.


Overall
Cost: 9/10
Taste: 7/10

Laura says: i like this place a lot! it's so so cheap and the short menu for me is a plus. i'd like to go back once i know the protocol for ordering/seating, which was pretty much the only downside.

Main Street Sliders

Overall I really like this place! And they use no nuts. Here's some foods:

Original Beef Sliders: Maybe I was just hungry, but these are delicious. Definitely better than White Castles EVEN THOUGH they have the same ingredients! (8/10)

Grilled Chicken Sliders: These are ok - a little plain and could use something else though. (6/10)

Fried Chicken Sliders: These are a bit better than the grilled ones but not because of the frying. They have a honey mustard sauce! (7/10)

Corn Nuggets: Not as good as Lisa's corn nuggets in PA, but still pretty good. It's rare to find corn nuggets in Newark anyway. So. (7/10)

Brocolli & Cheddar Nuggets: Nothing special. Don't get these! Plus I only got 6 and I was told I'd get 7! >:( (5/10)

Harvey's Chain Restaurant

This is basically a Canadian Burger King with hot dogs. We ate, collectively, a crispy chicken sandwich, a hamburger, onion rings and poutine. All were above average for fast food in that they weren't super chewy or burnt or something standoutingly (outstandingly?) unpleasant. However if you're looking for healthy food, look elsewhere.

For peanut-freeness, it wins mega points, though. There aren't any nuts in anything!

Overall

Cost: 6/10

Taste: 7/10

Laura says: I love a poutine! Wonderful Canadian cuisine. Yum yum yum. 10/10