Yet more awful fast food!!

Del Taco is planning on expanding to the Chicago area with no less than 20 outlets. The first one is tentatlively poised to open in Oak Lawn. Yeesh...

awful NOTHING! best processed chicken soft tacos in town. this is good news indeed. when they reach the city, i'll consider planting my roots in this state.

actually, I kind of miss Del Taco...granted I haven't had one in twenty years

When is Steak and Shake or Sonic going to make it's way into the city?

Panther in the Den wrote:When is Steak and Shake or Sonic going to make it's way into the city?

There's a Steak 'n Shake just a couple of blocks outside the city at 2209 Oakton Ave. Evanston.

I saw another one just south of the city too.

The Steak 'n Shake website (http://www.steaknshake.com), under 'locations', lists dozens of their stores in Illinois, with quite a few in the Chicabo 'burbs.

=gordon=

This is FANTASTIC news!! Best chain Mexican in the country!

We tried Del Taco in St Louis this summer.Pretty good-and crowded!We liked it.
Probably get a Sonic about the same time we get a Waffle House...

Hi,

What is good to order at Sonic? I went to a Sonic two years ago in Mississippi, where we ordered a corn dog. I'd like to know for the future what is worthwhile ordering there.

I live for any opportunity to go to Waffle House!

Thanks!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

What is good to order at Sonic?

I've found that sticking to the burgers has kept me happy on my few visits..

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

What is good to order at Sonic? I went to a Sonic two years ago in Mississippi, where we ordered a corn dog. I'd like to know for the future what is worthwhile ordering there.

I live for any opportunity to go to Waffle House!

Thanks!

Regards,

Sonic is dear to my heart because they are the only chain burger palace to offer a burger pretty close to the way I like 'em as an actual number on the menu: the Sonic #2. If you go to the website the "#2" (so-named cuz that's it's numerical sequence on the drive-up menu...or, um used to be..it's been a few years....sigh...) is called the Sonic burger "mayonaise or mustard...etc."...as opined before on other burger threads...no mayo, for me...mustard!

also, their cherry limeade is legendary in some parts

*crack whore dancing* extra (selected Galveston, TX locations only)

stevez wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

What is good to order at Sonic?

I've found that sticking to the burgers has kept me happy on my few visits..

What's good at Sonic? Two words: Tater Tots. That, and the Toaster Sandwiches are good in a "holy crap, there goes the sanctity of my arteries" kind of way.

re: Sonic

Order anything with bacon on it. Quite possibly the crispiest fast food bacon I have ever encountered.

And Del Taco, way better than Taco Hell, and a decent option if you don't have a whole lot of good taquerias in town, like in Vegas. I do have to give props to Rubio's though, for properly introducing me to a proper SoCal fish taco.

What's good at Sonic is cherry limeades.

Burger and fries are just there to keep the limeades entertained.

Circa 1984 in Baton Rouge, a "39 Cent Hamburger Stand" took over the lukewarm husk of a Der Weinerschnitzel; it offered nearly half-price knockoffs of virtually all McDonald's fare, down to the 2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese...
Since I was a broke chump teenager and lived closeby, I'd roll by this place with alarming frequency. One time I rode my bike there to pick up some grub for me and my buddy Max; when I returned with the order, Max's "Big Mac" was missing ALL THE MEAT!!! He was livid, but the instance has given me a story I've been telling for over twenty years now.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

What is good to order at Sonic?

I visited once in Colorado and I think I had a Chili Dog or something. Not too memorable. What I do remember is having a limeade slushy type of drink. Man that was good and now that I hear they have Cherry Limeade...

Oh, Boy!

I almost got one of their breakfast burritos this summer but all I had time for was 'Drive-thru'.

I am a sucker for a good commercial.

ParkLaBrea wrote:This is FANTASTIC news!! Best chain Mexican in the country!

Since I've never tried it myself it's hard to comment on the merits of Del Taco as a U.S. Mexican fast-food chain (it's #2 in terms of size after Taco Bell??), but I've heard interesting things about it off and on over the years. For an interesting overview of many fast-food/road-food chains in America, I highly recommend "tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption" at the following URL:

http://www.99w.com/evilsam/ff/index.htm

I consider it invigorating reading about chains I've considered and others I hope never to see, packed with brief but informative corporate histories and personal order picks.

Consider the Del Taco items praised: "Nobody tops Del Taco in the Chicken Soft Taco department. They have a mayo-based sauce which has a lime flavor to it. You can also get basically the same thing plus tomato in burrito form (much bigger, mind you.) While the basic Taco is a small flavorless dud (and naturally their best seller), the Ultimate Taco is one of the best tacos out there. Del Taco's burritos are HUGE. From the basic beef or bean burrito to the 1-pound-plus "Macho" line, they're very much worthwhile. Del Taco also does some of the better fast food hamburgers, fries and shakes, and most locations have a 24-hour drive-thru. Del Taco also scores major points for offering everything on the menu at breakfast."

Now that's the kind of info one could use on the interstate in a pinch! Here are some other links of interest concerning a few chains that might be familiar to a few of us:

+ Taco Bell's random ties to Wienerschnitzel;
+ Baja Fresh, where I had an excellent Ultimo Steak Burrito today;
+ Sonic and their well-known limeades;
+ Steak'n Shake and their excellent Frisco Melts (I also like their lime freezes);
+ Waffle House and its "good food fast";
+ And so... much... more! (Yeah, this really makes me sound like a shill, but, trust me, I'm not tesg -- I just like his site. It makes for great nighttime reading. )

So can you tell I like fast food? Oh, and any idea when the Oak Lawn location's openin' up?

Hope you all are havin' a great evenin',
Dan

fastfoodsnob wrote:... to the 1-pound-plus "Macho" line, ...

Wow! Sometimes I am that hungry.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

What is good to order at Sonic? I went to a Sonic two years ago in Mississippi, where we ordered a corn dog. I'd like to know for the future what is worthwhile ordering there.

I live for any opportunity to go to Waffle House!

Thanks!

Regards,

A person from my own heart. I am a Sonic feind and go there every single time I'm in any area that has them. I always get a double bacon cheeseburger...the bacon is actually crispy which is a novel concept for fast food. And you have to get the tater tots! Read an article in the Trib a few weeks ago saying Sonic was exploring a northward expansion toward Chicago but still need to figure out how they'll make the drive-in concept work in cold weather.

Waffle House: Hash Browns scattered, smothered and covered....mmmmm!!

fastfoodsnob wrote: Oh, and any idea when the Oak Lawn location's openin' up?

It's still a hole in the ground at 95th and Cicero so it will be a while.

Man, Del Taco was my go to place for drunk food when I was in college. Chicken soft taco, cheese quesadilla, massive Coke. Good stuff. One time when they shut off all water to the dorms, my roommates and I decided to take the "Del Taco Challenge" by going out and stuffing our faces with the stuff and then seeing who could "hold out" the longest. I can assure you the results were not pretty.

Panther in the Den wrote:When is Steak and Shake or Sonic going to make it's way into the city?

steak and shake... i'm curious about that myself.. there's a billboard for steak and shake on cottage grove around 100th... which makes me wonder, where is the damn steak and shake? there's certainly not one anywhere near that billboard... i know there are some in the burbs.. i grew up in st. louis where steak 'n shake is on every corner. i went to one not tooo long ago, and it was only about half as good as I remembered it. oh well.

as far as del taco... i vaguely remember having decent fish tacos there.. and since fish tacos are still slightly difficult to find in this area, i welcome that. i really don't understand a taco place that serves fries, though. but i guess its good drunk food... (speaking of... why are there no Jack in the Boxes in Chicago? that's the ultimate drunk food.. i think their menu was designed around late night night post-drinking munchiefests a la paris hilton style).

now i've made myself hungry for fish tacos... off to baja fresh i go

road trip to Rockford, anyone?

Rockford Star wrote:The 24-hour eatery is Del Taco, a 2,800-square-foot store opening at 1555 W. Lane Road, between Alpine and Forest Hills Roads. The Machesney Park location is the first Del Taco to open in Illinois.

Owner and franchisee Phil DiGiovanni of Roscoe expects to open in October. He will then expand the concept to four more locations throughout Rockford and the greater Winnebago and Boone county areas over the next three to four years.

dddane wrote:... but i guess its good drunk food... (speaking of... why are there no Jack in the Boxes in Chicago? that's the ultimate drunk food.. i think their menu was designed around late night night post-drinking munchiefests a la paris hilton style).

Jack in the Box used to be in the area and I grew quite accostumed to their tacos but they all closed. I think the nearest is in St Louis.

Correction: The nearest is in Litchfield, IL just outside of St. Louis (242 miles away).

... and nobody has mentioned Maid-Rite yet?

The nearest is in Litchfield, IL just outside of St. Louis (242 miles away).

Not far enough!

As long as we're all hoping for random fast-food outlets to open up around here, how about a Carl's Jr.? (No, not Hardees. But I'd take one of those, too.)

There used to be a Hardee's in the middle of the Loop somewhere. Not that I am suggesting eating there. Just reporting the fact.

Mike G wrote:There used to be a Hardee's in the middle of the Loop somewhere. Not that I am suggesting eating there. Just reporting the fact.

About 15 years ago, there was a Hardees just off the Pedway, in the food court under 3 First National Plaza. Not that I ever ate there or anything. Just reporting the fact.