Better, Worse, the Same: Thoughts on American Fast Food Chains and how the stack up

So, I grabbed some KFC today after shopping with the beans and thoughts that I'd like to investigate this interesting dichotomy where some fast food places are better and others worse than their original counterpart. So, here goes...

1. Pizza Hut: Better. By far. I'm not a huge fan of Pizza hut in the US, but PH in Jordan is fabulous. Their Margherita (cheese pizza for those in the US) uses better cheeses and is just plain better. To me, there's no comparison, Jordan has got this one right!


2. KFC: A wash (Equal). I don't really understand this one. Their fried chicken just isn't fried right. It comes out either not done enough or overdone and completely lacks the crispiness that fried chicken needs. And their fries, well... Oh, and no self-respecting fried chicken place in the US would serve hamburger buns as rolls/biscuits and not have mashed potatoes. On the positives side, their chicken is always ready (in the US I've had to wait up to 10 minutes more than once) and their service is friendly and competent.


3. Subway: A wash. I think that the service at Subway here is slow (often both physically and mentally). The food seems to turn out basically the same, but some of the ingredients are local and less than fabulous (pickles, anyone?). All in all, I do like that they have the same sandwiches that taste the same.


4. Popeye's: Better. Or maybe it's just that the competition is worse? In the US, I won't eat Popeye's. That's true for several reasons. First is that the gravy on their mashed potatoes has some sort of hot Louisiana thing in it (I'm SO not a hot and spicy girl). The second is that their chicken is typically mediocre at best. But, in Jordan, they fry the chicken properly (crispy, warm, dripping, just the way chicken should be) and they serve mashed potatoes. Add to that the lovely biscuits they have and this one of my favorite fast food places in Jordan.


5. McDonald's: A wash. The hamburgers are not great, but the fries are awesome. IMHO they have the best french fries in town. The shakes are not so great, but all in all, it's a wash to me. It's about the same level of okay food you'd get in the US.


6. Hardee's: I grew up with Hardee's and this is not Hardee's. I can't think of a single American chain that would put nacho cheese on a hamburger, what is THAT about?! And, their roast beef, rather then being sliced so thin it's almost see through, seems like they sliced it with a dull knife. On the plus side, the chicken stars for kids are cute and the beans enjoy them. They also have indoor Playlands, so I can't really rail against them. All in all, worse, but with some nice features.

After my visit to the US, there's one chain I'm missing terribly... Arby's. Arby's with it's roast beef sandwiches, mozzarella sticks, Jamocha shakes.

Now I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. And, best of all, they have these things called market fresh sandwiches

Signing off with visions of Arby's in my mind and lackluster KFC in my belly.

Happy fast fooding!