u/Pale-Lynx328

Chain Name	Papa John's Pizza
Food category	Primary: Pizza...allegedly
# of US Locations	3146
# of US States	49
Primarily located in	Everywhere except Vermont
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	31st (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	31st (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	241st out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	2.5 (out of 10) / 6 (out of 10)

Hey, it's Review Day #100,000,000 in Binary! Whoo!

And on this day, in the immortal words of the legendary fast food reviewer ReviewBrah, "My disappointment was immeasurable and my day was ruined."

Oh, Papa John's, how far have you fallen! It wasn't that long ago in the past, that you were running on the slogan, "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza", and growing like crazy. As the fourth chain in the "Big Four" of pizza restaurants, the sky was the limit, or so it seemed.

But in the past five years, Papa John's stock has tumbled 70%. Stores are experience year-over-year lower sales...again, while there are corporate layoffs and C-suite turnover. Right now, they are planning a 'strategic repositioning' by closing hundreds of low-performing stores over the next year.

How did it reach this point? Well, all one needs to do is take a single bite of their pizzas...and you'll know. I ordered their version of the all-meat pizza, and it was just a Visit To Frown-Town all around. They had meats, alright, but almost entirely tasteless. You could FEEL the texture of the meat, but the flavor was just not there. The sauce was light and bland, the dough was unremarkable. And worst of all, that cheese! It was like I was eating a plastic pizza. Ugh, it didn't taste like cheese, and it didn't behave like cheese on the pizza, either. I don't know what that substance was.

Better ingredients, my ass. This sucked.

All the news for Papa John's is bad news these days, it seems, with no glimmers of improvement in sight (as opposed to, say, KFC, which is also a massively struggling chain but they have announced a massive, detailed plan to completely change over the next few years). Papa John's is facing a tough market where consumer preferences towards pizzas are changing, and Domino's is eating their proverbial lunch right now.

In fact, Papa John's is on a path that could lead it to fall out of the coveted 'Big Four' pizza chain status. Marco's in a distant fifth place, is trying, but they have a long way to go -- instead you have to look outside of the pizza restaurant business for the REAL fifth place pizza chain: Casey's. Approaching two thousand stores, the Casey's World Empire rolls on, slinging pizzas wherever they go and grow. In fact, I was shocked to discover they even have brand new built-from-the-ground-up stores in Marble Falls and Burnet, of all places - and have also grown by merger with CEFCO stores being rebranded as we speak. At the rate they're growing, they could surpass Papa John's as the fourth largest pizza producer in a matter of a couple of years.

Papa John's better get its act together quick. But until then, avoid avoid avoid. Terrible tasting pizza. The only saving grace is that it was one of the cheapest priced off-the-menu pizzas out there, but that means nothing to me if saving a few bucks means eating shit.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Wok Inn Asian Cafe
Food category	Primary: Chinese-American
# of US Locations	8
# of US States	1
Primarily located in	Local to San Antonio
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	not ranked (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	not ranked (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	182nd out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	6.5 (out of 10) / 6 (out of 10)

This time it's a small, local fast food chain. Much like my earlier reviews of Mr. Teriyaki and Burger Boy, which are also hyper-local, this is more of an 'advocacy' review because I like it. So sue me.

Most people are familiar with Pei Wei and their menu of Asian-inspired dishes. Well, Wok Inn is pretty much the same thing, only a local version of it. A little bit cheaper, a little bit bigger portions, and (IMHO) just a little bit better tasting, too. Plus, they offer unlimited soup and rice with your meal.

I've been to Wok Inn many times in the past, so I know what to expect - pretty solid fast food versions of the usual classics like Mongolian Beef or Kung Pao Chicken and the like. I can't recall ever having a *bad* meal here. It's not as great as your favorite local hole-in-the-wall family-run place where the owner's kid spends the afternoon doing homework in the back booth. But also not poor either - quality ranges from "okay" to "pretty good".

This time around, I decided to give their cashew chicken a try - which is always a risk when you order something that is distinctly specialized. And sure enough, it really wasn't as authentic as a true Springfield-style cashew chicken (I would have been shocked if it was, TBH), but it was chicken and veggies and cashews in a garlic-oyster sauce, and that by itself was fine. (I mean after all, 90% of Chinese-"American" dishes are just different variations of stir-fried meat+ veggies+ sauce on rice or noodles, hard to mess that up too bad).

Wok Inn is part of my "regular fast food places" list when I'm home in San Antonio - never going to win any awards, but it is a solid meal. (Some other local-only fast food places on that list, BTW: the aforementioned Mr. Teriyaki and Burger Boy, plus Mr. Juicy, Frontier Burger, Papouli's, Zito's Deli, Fire Wok, Murf's Better Burger, Wrigleyville, The Dogfather, Gino's Deli, Sea Island, Longhorn Cafe, Wayne's Wings)

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Orange Leaf
Food category	Primary: Frozen Yogurt
# of US Locations	62
# of US States	17
Primarily located in	Texas
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	not ranked (out of top 500 list)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	not ranked (out of top 500 list)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $9.86, standard dev. $3.81)	46th out of 72 snacks
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	5.5 (out of 10) / 3 (out of 10)

I'm not crazy about frozen yogurt in general. It's still generally a nice little dessert, but in the pantheon of other frozen confectionaries, it ranks below hard ice cream, soft ice cream, gelato and sherbert. I guess it's the left-handed stepchild of frozen desserts.

It did have its day in the spotlight, though, when it seemed like there was a TCBY on every corner. But changing consumer preferences have really taken their toll on the "FroYo" market, and it's not as dominant as it once was, as people turn more to bubble teas, and reacquainting themselves with gourmet hard ice cream again.

Orange Leaf is a regional chain, dozens of locations across several states, but mostly in Texas. The way it works is pretty easy - there are about a dozen different self-serve dispensers, that each offer up a different flavor of frozen yogurt, and you choose how much you want to put in your cup. Then, there's a self-serve selection of dozens of different toppings and mix-ins, from the expected (chocolate sprinkles, crushed nuts, fruits, candies) to some really weird shit. You put in as much as you want, but be careful, because the price is based on the total weight of your concoction.

And there's the rub - it's quite pricy for what you get. It's like seventy cents (more or less) per ounce, and that adds up fast. And makes it more expensive (by weight) than all but the priciest of ice cream parlors.

The other major issue I have with this type of place, is how sanitary it was. While I was there, there was also a large family of children from toddlers who were grabbing the trays and throwing them on the ground, to kids grabbing at the toppings with their sticky hands. And the lone employee giving off a "I'm so sick of this" vibe, stone-faced at the register.

Was the frozen yogurt good? Sure it was - it may not be my favorite but it's still tasty. But for my dollar there's so many other places to go that give more of a bang for the buck, and without germy little kids running around.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE: This review series is scheduled to wrap up on Day 365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Penn Station East Coast Subs Sandwiches
Food category	Primary: Sandwiches
# of US Locations	316
# of US States	14
Primarily located in	Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	171st (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	175th (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	138th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	7 (out of 10) / 5 (out of 10)

I never intended to eat sub sandwiches three days in a row, but here we are. (Usually try my best to mix it up), Following visiting two local sandwich restaurants, the third one is a much larger, multi-state Midwestern-based chain, Penn Station East Coast Subs. Oh, wait...I mean, Penn Station SANDWICHES. They officially changed their name last month. Even though I thought "East Coast Subs" has a bit of a neat sound to it, and dropping that and replacing it with the bland "Sandwiches" is a bit of a thud.

The reasoning behind the name change is due to Penn Station broadening their menu. Pre-COVID, 90% of Penn Station's sales were hot subs and fries eaten in-store, and that is what they were known for. But Post-COVID, we've seen a sea-change in how people order and eat fast food, to where most of Penn Station's sales are by delivery or take-out (much like, well, the entire rest of the fast food industry). And we all know that any hot fast food item that is delivered turns into a cold, tasteless, soggy, greasy, congealed piece of shit after about thirty minutes sitting in some car. So, Penn Station has taken the hint, and shifted more towards non-heated menu items that aren't negatively affected as much by delivery.

Which is what I ordered - the classic Italian cold sub. Served open-topped with ham, salami, pepperoni and then larded up with fresh veggies and seasonings. It was great. I think I only have eaten at a Penn Station once before many years ago, so this was essentially all new to me, and Penn Station certainly nailed it. Good quality meat and soft bread, if this is their new pivot, I look forward to it.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	East Bay Deli
Food category	Primary: Sandwiches
# of US Locations	12
# of US States	1
Primarily located in	central SC
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	not ranked (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	not ranked (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	148th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	6 (out of 10) / 5 (out of 10)

From one sandwich place to another - the day before I had visited the South Carolina local Groucho's Deli, and now I'm at another sandwich chain down the road, called East Bay Deli.

Given that they are both vying for the same customers, it seemed natural for me to compare one to the other. Both lean heavily into offering NY Deli-style sandwiches, but aside from that (and the geographic overlap), the two couldn't be more different. Groucho's was more like your local small-down countertop deli, which East Bay Deli takes a different approach with a more cosmopolitan look and feel, more akin to Jason's Deli, for example.

That's fine - variety is the proverbial spice of life, as they say, so having multiple good sandwich shop choices isn't a bad thing. While East Bay Deli does tout their NY deli style origins, they do have a very distinct nod towards a more local selection on their menu. I chose the "Chicken Charleston", which is a hot open-top hoagie with chicken breast, onions and peppers and melted white cheese, with a side of store-branded chips. A nice satisfying choice with fresh hot chicken and the roasted vegetables making for a nice lunch, albeit with the bread a bit dry and the overall portion size was on the smaller side for the price.

Not the knock-your-socks-off discovery like Groucho's was (at least for me), but a fairly decent sandwich spot with a varied menu that I'd have no issues visiting again.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Baskin-Robbins
Food category	Primary: Ice Cream
# of US Locations	2125
# of US States	45
Primarily located in	Everywhere (and internationally)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	82nd (out of top 500 list)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	83rd (out of top 500 list)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $9.86, standard dev. $3.81)	58th out of 72 snacks
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	7.5 (out of 10) / 8 (out of 10)

Baskin-Robbins is, and always has been, the King of Ice Cream Parlors. For eight decades, they have been the dominant chain across the United States (with twice as many more overseas to boot), spread across 45 states (sorry Dakotas and upper New England), serving up frozen goodness in 31 flavors. Fun fact: Did you know that they specifically chose "31" so that customers could choose a different flavor for every day of the month?

For a while there, it seems that Baskin-Robbins was in the doldrums, with negative growth for several years the earlier part of this century. With so many competitors popping up, with "gimmicks" like adding 'mix-ins' on a cold slab of granite, or in a waffle cone, or shaped in rolled flowers, Baskin-Robbins was seen more as an ice cream parlor from the past generation. But they seem to have turned things around of late, with expansions overseas, and perhaps due to pricing - more on that later.

Baskin-Robbins was the chain that I grew up with, the occasional treat when I was a kid, and all the flavors were great (except for bubble-gum, which is the definition of 'found satan' ice cream). But as an adult, I just don't find myself walking in to places like this, for the occasional scoop. So...it's been a while.

I chose a fairly straightforward two-scoop chocolate sundae, with the darkest chocolate flavor they had. Ah, the nostalgia is strong. They do serve up quality ice cream, nice and smooth and hard (as opposed to the soft stuff you find in supermarkets that may be fluffed up with so much air and other non-dairy ingredients it legally cannot be called ice cream), very richly chocolate. Doesn't look like much in the plain paper cup, but don't judge it by that.

And best of all? The price. This was about four bucks cheaper than if I ordered something similar at Marble Slab or Cold Stone or Kilwin's or Bruster's or Van Leeuwen or Handel's - in fact, Baskin-Robbins clocks in as the cheapest hard ice cream place I've been to (the only places cheaper serve soft-serve, like Dairy Queen). Not only that, but if I visited the day before, they have a weekly sundae special that would have knocked the price down two more bucks on top of that. Score! Maybe it's worth getting re-acquainted with Baskin-Robbins all over again.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE: This review series is scheduled to wrap up on Day 365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

I have been reviewing a different fast food/fast casual restaurant every day for the past 200+ days, and earlier I reviewed the following three restaurants. However, these three received "poor" scores for one reason or another, but based on previous experience and visits I knew they could do better. Perhaps it was an "off day", perhaps it was the specific item I ordered. In any case, here are some "second chance" reviews, where I am re-visiting the chain, to see if it can redeem itself and earn a higher score.

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Second Chance Review #25. From Day 188: Jersey Mike's (3307 locations, 50 states)

I have visited Jersey Mike's many times in the past, and never had an issue with them...until the ONE TIME I went to review. Wouldn't you know it. Well, half their menu are hot subs, so I thought I would give that a try, and that's basically where I failed: Ordering something I was unfamiliar with. Well, whether I ordered poorly or not, it was still a sub-standard hot sub. But not really a fair, when comparing to all the other non-hot-sub places.

So, this time around, I chose a more standard cold sub, like I'm used. And yes, it was a better experience. But not a "great" experience. Freshly cut meat, soft bread, and metric buttload of lettuce (which I'm usually not a fan of shredded lettuce, but I know here it's cut fresh, as opposed to sitting in some bag for days on end). A perfectly decent sandwich, but having eaten so many other subs at so many other places in this review series, Jersey Mike's just seems a bit...lacking in comparison now.

Meal Quality: +1.5, going from 4 -> 5.5. Meal Value (no change), going from 5 -> 5 (out of 10)

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Second Chance Review #26. From Day 140: Zaxby's (991 locations, 20 states)

I used to be a pretty big fan of Zaxby's. But I dunno, seems something happened over the past few years and they sort of lost their way.

I can't really pin down what's different, it's just that nothing seems to stand out any more. This "second chance" I chose a combo of wings and tenders with fries. Wings ended up being small and chewy tough. Tenders were dry with flavorless breading. Fries were your run-of-the-mill fries.

Given the number of underwhelming Zaxby's meals in a row I've had, we're way past three strike you're out by this point. Maybe they screwed the pooch during their rapid expansion (like so many other chains), or maybe it's a private-equity-leeching-them-dry scenario (like even more other chains). At this point, though, I don't really care any more, given there's so many of their competitors I can go to instead.

Meal Quality: +0.5, going from 3.5 -> 4. Meal Value: (no change), going from 5 -> 5 (out of 10)

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Second Chance Review #27. From Day 17: Braum's (327 locations, 5 states)

This was one of the more controversial original reviews from (good god) almost a year ago. Braum's is probably better known as an ice cream stop, but like Dairy Queen they also have a full line of fast food staples, too -- and THAT is what I was reviewing. (Their ice cream menu, separately, is good stuff and damn cheap, too)

This time around, I chose the jalapeno pepper jack cheeseburger. Which, I guess, is supposed to be spicy, but it's really a 1/4-alarm burger at most. No matter, let's just judge it like I would an average burger.

And that is pretty much what it is. If you're had a DQ Brazier cheeseburger, this is pretty much the same. Nothing fancy about it. The meat patty itself was pretty 'feh', similar to the pre-cooked meat pucks you find at true fast food places that pull it out of a warming tray rather than cook it fresh. The veggies, were nice a fresh (look at that tomato!), though. And once again for the billionth time, fries were fries.

A better meal this second time around, but still excruciatingly middling. I'll stick to just ordering the ice cream goodies at Braum's, and leave the cooked food to elsewhere.

Meal Quality: +1.5, going from 3 -> 4.5. Meal Value: (no change), going from 6 -> 6 (out of 10)

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More "Second Chance" reviews coming down the line, in addition to the regular reviews! (And no, not every second chance review will be a positive one :))

Chain Name	Groucho's Deli
Food category	Primary: Sandwiches
# of US Locations	29
# of US States	3
Primarily located in	nearly all in SC
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	not ranked (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	not ranked (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	277th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	8 (out of 10) / 7 (out of 10)

Forget all those big-time sandwich chains - it's the smaller, local places that rock!

Groucho's has been serving sandwiches since before my parents were born, but limited almost entirely to South Carolina. Dating back to an era when deli-style sandwiches meant something, Groucho's serves meat-piled-high East Coast hoagies, as well as "dippers", or stacked dagwoods, and hot "fork-and-knife-ready" sandwiches that would stand up to anything you would find at famous places like Katz Deli, but at a fraction of the cost.

This ain't your standard assembly-line fast food sub establishment. This is an experience.

I chose a standard hoagie, which is served open-faced with bologna and salami and provolone and cole slaw, then with freshly thin-sliced ham on top, served with their own name-branded potato chips. And best of all, this was the least expensive full-sized sandwich compared to the two-dozen-plus other sandwich places I've reviewed.

It was, to put it simply, delicious. fresh hot meat with melted cheese on soft roll, it really hit the spot. This place is a keeper! It's a shame the nearest location is well over a thousand miles away, though.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Huey Magoo's
Food category	Primary: Fried chicken
# of US Locations	94
# of US States	12
Primarily located in	FL, GA, SC
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	300th (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	248th (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	264th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	3 (out of 10) / 5 (out of 10)

Oh boy! Another fried boneless chicken tender place to try!

I say that semi-facetiously, because by this point in the Fast Food Death March after 250 days, I am truly beginning to realize just how many of the fast food chains out there are essentially the same, with more-or-less the same menu. It's fun to find something different and something new, and the lesser-served fast food dishes are out there to be discovered (most recent example of that being Vicious Biscuit), but more often than not, it's just variations on a theme.

I count this as the 28th "fried chicken" place I've walked into, where their primary menu is breaded pieces of chicken (bone-in or tenders), and that doesn't even include the Nashville Hot, or the wing joints. There's only so many ways to fry a chicken. Although, to their credit, Huey Magoo's makes a claim to only use the "best 3% of the chicken" in their tenders, what they call the "tenderloin of chicken".

Well. Alrighty Then. Let's just see what this 'tenderloin' is like, and if it lives up to the hype. So I ordered a basic three-piece tenders meal, with chips, and spoiler alert, these were not the amazing chicken tenders I had hoped for.

No sir, these were probably the driest chunks of chicken I've had in a while, under too-thick and heavy breading that made it even worse. Not tender, not loin. Just picked away what was the most edible, and even the dipping sauce does nothing! The combo comes with fries or chips, and since I am increasingly fries-averse, I chose the store-made chips, which were underwhelming and overdone. Although in hindsight Huey Magoo's did have cole slaw or small salads that would have gone better with the meal here (just not choosable options with the combo, alas).

Maybe I just got a bad batch, but yeah these were terrible. And Huey Magoo's wants to expand their southern empire? I run across news stories about planning dozens of new stores in Texas (where they currently have zero)....from 2024. And then from 2025. And now the same news stories from 2026. Probably be reading the same hyped stories in 2027 as well, while other chains like Layne's and Bojangle's and Slim Chickens are champing at the bit to grow as fast as possible in the same geographies.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Ben and Jerry's Scoop Shops
Food category	Primary: Ice Cream
# of US Locations	221
# of US States	31
Primarily located in	High traffic tourist spots, casinos, resorts
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	300th (out of top 500 list)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	258th (out of top 500 list)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $9.86, standard dev. $3.81)	22nd out of 72 snacks
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	7 (out of 10) / 3 (out of 10)

Ben and Jerry's is one of the world's most well-known ice cream chains, with several colorfully-named creations chock-a-block with assorted mix-ins - and equally as famous (or infamous depending on your point of view) for their vocal advocacy and social and political issues.

They have a couple hundred locations spread all over the United States, primarily in higher-traffic and higher-rent locations is famous tourist spots (like boardwalks of fisherman's wharfs, or casinos and resorts), but also a fair number of just-plain shops in plain-vanilla shopping centers, too. Plus, an even larger number of shops overseas, in more than three dozen nations.

But their ice cream scoop shops are just a tiny fraction of their frozen empire; the bulk of their sales are sold as pints in grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores worldwide. Where you can buy your own for a fraction of what you can get at their scoop shops -- which is totally unsurprising. When you're buying ice cream at a storefront, it's all about the convenience and service of getting it right there and then; so having the scoop shops located in more premium-priced areas near tourist destinations where people are spending their disposable income at a crazy rate makes sense from a retail standpoint. Those are the people who don't blink at spending seven, eight, ten bucks on a serving of ice cream.

My choice for the day was a flavor I hadn't seen before, called "Ultraviolet", which despite the color is a vanilla ice cream with marshmallow, and chocolate mix-ins. Yummy. Some Ben and Jerry's flavors work well, some not so much (like one with little waffle cones, which just become soggy in the mix). Over the years, my favorite has been Colin Kaepernick's 'Change the Whirled', by the by.

Was it worth it? I mean, nearly every ice cream parlor I've been to on this Fast Food Journey has been good - it's just a matter of whether it's worth the price (in this case, ten bucks) or not. Well, on this particular day it was after three and I hadn't had lunch or anything yet, so I was famished, so yeah, it was great. But on any normal OTHER day, probably not.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE: This review series is scheduled to wrap up on Day 365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Vicious Biscuit
Food category	Primary: Fast Casual Breakfast
# of US Locations	16
# of US States	9
Primarily located in	NC, SC, OH
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	not ranked (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	not ranked (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	135th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	7.5 (out of 10) / 4 (out of 10)

Insert Philip Fry "Shut Up and Take My Money" meme image here.

It was only a couple days ago that I visited and reviewed Biscuitville, with dozens of locations all over the Carolinas. And here I am at another biscuit-based restaurant -- but with quite the difference.

Vicious Biscuit is a much smaller chain but growing fast (with 40 more locations in the works), and in the same geographic area, and they are both all about the southern heavenly creation known as the 'biscuit'. But the two chains diverge from there. While Biscuitville is a fast-food type establishment (with quality and price points and service to match), Vicious Biscuit leans more into the fast casual model, with larger, plate-sized biscuit creations priced more in the eight to twelve dollar-plus range. Think of it this way: Biscuitville is more like a taco from Taco Bell, while Vicious Biscuit is more like a fancy higher-priced taco from Torchy's Tacos.

Vicious Biscuit has "unapologetically bold" fork-ready creations like the "Silence of the Hams" and "The Flamethrower" and "Crab Benny", with oversized, overstuffed handmade biscuits. For a first-timer, I chose the eponymous "The Vicious", which is a cheddar jalapeno biscuit with fried chicken and maple sausage gravy. Just one biscuit, that's the meal. Because it's big enough on its own to fill you up. And yes, the fried chicken tender was great, the biscuit was perfectly cooked, the overly decadent mix of ingredients worked together.

Frankly, I want to plow through the entire menu. Their whole online menu looks awesome. This is the type of place where you go, screw the cost, keep 'em coming. Probably a good thing there isn't a location within driving distance of my home, then.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Mission BBQ
Food category	Primary: Barbeque
# of US Locations	155
# of US States	23
Primarily located in	FL, MD, PA
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	228th (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	161st (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	56th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	6 (out of 10) / 4 (out of 10)

"Mission BBQ isn't fast food."

I struggle with this. And Mission BBQ isn't the only barbeque place out there that falls into this mini-conundrum. There's also Rudy's and Dickey's and Spring Creek and Soulman's and more. There's always been fuzzy edges around the definition of "fast food" and "fast casual". Where do cafeteria-style restaurants like Mission BBQ fall in the classification of quickserve/fast/casual/fine dining?

Early on, I set the primary defining characteristics of "What is Fast Food/Fast Casual" mostly based on how customer ordering and service is handled. Do the customers order at a counter instead of with a waiter? Check Is the food pre-prepared and ready to serve? Check. Is it open seating? Check. Do customers get their own drinks and utensils? Check. No wait staff and no expectation of a tip? Check.

Granted, the average per-meal ticket price is higher than most fast food meals, and the interior is often nicer like a casual restaurant, but when it comes to how the customer orders, and how the customer is served, it really is closer to a fast food/casual model than a casual sit-down restaurant.

I've been to Mission BBQ once before, and it has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past decade, spreading across the continent. But, interestingly enough, not to Texas (the home of TRUE barbeque), so that's why I haven't been here more. The menu is your basic barbeque fare, with brisket and sausage, turkey and pork and the usual accompaniment of sides. I should also add that Mission BBQ is also known for their somewhat-tactless virtue signaling towards the military, that leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth.

The menu choice for today was a pulled barbeque pork sandwich with sides, and despite the higher price they certainly do make it worth the price in the size of the portions. The sandwich was fully loaded with additional slaw on top, and the two sides were hefty extra-size portions as well. May not be the place to go to save money, but you're also definitely not going to leave hungry.

Mission BBQ also offers up multiple options for sauces (as opposed to most places just have one or two versions of their own house sauce), which is a nice option. Overall, a solid meal, with well-cooked juicy meat and generous portions.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill
Food category	Primary: Burritos, Bowls, Tacos
# of US Locations	42
# of US States	8
Primarily located in	NC and TN
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	460th (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	479th (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	182nd out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	6 (out of 10) / 6 (out of 10)

I have a little bit of trouble reviewing places like this. Because they're essentially all the same.

Salsarita's falls into that category of fast food (some consider fast casual) restaurant that I like to call "Build-a-Burrito". I don't pretend to have created that term, I'm sure it's been used before. Basically the customer walks up to the counter, chooses a Format (Burrito, Bowl, Tacos, Nachos, etc), then chooses a protein (steak, chicken, etc), then chooses a bunch of other fillings, like beans and rice and onions and salsa and cheese. Then the poor worker tries to roll it all up into a burrito, usually ending up looking like the world's biggest blunt.

There's Chipotle, Cabo Bob's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Qdoba, Freebird's World Burrito, Bullritos, Costa Vida, Izzo's Illegal Burrito, Illegal Pete's, Bubbakoo's....it's all pretty much the same concept, and priced about the same, too. The main difference can be the selection of ingredients to choose from (four different meats, or eight different meats?), and the quality/freshness of those ingredients. And whether there's loud screaming music in the background (I'm looking at you, Illegal Pete's), or the quiet buzzing hum of the ceiling lights in an otherwise empty establishment.

Welp, where does Salsarita's lie in that pantheon of Build-a-Burrito joints? Actually, nudging towards the upper half - this location had a nice selection of fillings to choose from, got the side of chips for the same cost of the burrito alone at most other places, and the owner was there making sure everything was running smoothly. Pretty good burrito, which means to me good ingredients that haven't been sitting around forever and a day. I'd come here again, if there was a location within a thousand miles of my home.

But there isn't - in fact the only Texas location shut down recently, and has declined sharply from 65 locations in 13 states to 42 locations in 8 states in the last two years. Which makes me wonder what might be going on in the corporate background.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	U.S. Wings and Deli
Food category	Primary: Chicken Wings, Burgers
# of US Locations	16
# of US States	2
Primarily located in	NC and SC
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	not ranked (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	not ranked (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	270th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	4 (out of 10) / 5 (out of 10)

This was not on my list of places to visit, but the primary place I intended to review turned out to be a casual dining spot (e.g. sit-down place with waiters), so that set me off looking for backup spots, so here I am at a small unassuming two-state chain with the generic name of "U.S. Wings and Deli".

And in retrospect, I wish I took a little more time on that backup search.

It was just two days ago (Fast Food Review Day 245) that I visited a very, very similar place called "Tasty Wings and Seafood", and hated every moment of it. Everything I wrote there, could apply here as well. Second verse, same as the first.

U.S. Wings also is about the same size, also humble/low profile, also serving the same small part of the country. And just like Tasty Wings suffers from what I call 'menu diarrhea', so does U.S. Wings. Sure, their primary menu is about various sauced chicken wings, but then you also have le hamburgers. And le subs. And le gyros. And le cheesesteaks. And le fried rice. And le salads. And le fish and le shrimp. Le exhausting.

Now, admittedly, in the photo the wings actually look pretty decent in the photo. And VERY heavily sauced - dripping, even. But they were pretty meh and disappointing. I mean, not terrible, but I'd rather not have them again. Each time I go to a place like this, I am beginning to understand how Wingstop and BWW became so dominant. And the fries, while generously portioned, could have been those mealy Ore-Ida frozen bag fries as far as I could tell.

I guess there's a good reason why this place was dead-empty during the lunch rush, while the original place I was aiming for was completely full with a waiting list. The locals know.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Biscuitville Fresh Southern
Food category	Primary: Breakfast food
# of US Locations	86
# of US States	3
Primarily located in	Piedmont and Triangle regions of NC
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	375th (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	362nd (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	269th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	6.5 (out of 10) / 5 (out of 10)

Can you create a thriving, multi-state fast food chain based on the humble biscuit? Apparently the answer is yes, as Biscuitville saturates the NC/SC/VA region, and they're not alone; there are other, smaller local chains out there that sing the praises of the biscuit, it's just Biscuitville is the largest.

Their menu does offer more than biscuit sandwiches with ham and sausage and eggs and the like, with a wider range of breakfast-oriented platters. But it is the freshly-made biscuit, minutes-old and hot from the oven that everyone comes here for.

Plenty of options to choose from, but I chose the biscuit smothered in sausage gravy - and if you look at the photo I do mean SMOTHERED - there really is a full-sized biscuit under there, and they certainly do not shirk on the gravy. Also, a smoked sausage biscuit sandwich, with egg and cheese and peppers and onions. Also fairly heavily loaded, to the point where the biscuit struggled to contain it all when handled. Hash brown thingy added for scale (in lieu of banana)

How was it? Well, good and tasty, even if the pool of gravy was a mess. And the key to the success on how they tasted was not the sausage or any of that, it was the foundation of the meal itself - the biscuit. If it's not made well, flaky and crusty on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside, then the whole thing falls apart. But they know their biscuit, better than anything I can make at home from scratch that's for sure. Frankly, I doubt you could do any wrong with any item off the menu that contained a biscuit.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Tasty Wings and Seafood
Food category	Primary: "Atlanta-style" wings and fried seafood
# of US Locations	19
# of US States	2
Primarily located in	SC and eastern GA
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	not ranked (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	not ranked (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	278th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	3 (out of 10) / 4 (out of 10)

I regret everything.

Tasty Wings and Seafood is a small chain local to South Carolina and Georgia, focusing on selling all kinds of brownfood and beigefood. From the outside, I could already tell I was going to regret going here, but all for the sake of a review, amirite?

The menu is pretty straightforward - they offer chicken wings with sauce in a bajillion different sizes and combinations, plus a variety of seafood. But then, the menu just keeps going. They have wings. They have chicken tenders. They have fried fish. They have burgers. They have cheesesteaks. They have fried rice. They have fried shrimp. They have crawfish, and crab legs and oysters. And...and...

Oh boy. From previous experience, whey you see menu diarrhea like this, usually you're not going to be in for a good time. Because this indicates to me, a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none situation, where everything is mediocre at best due to over-specialization. Very similar to another Atlanta-based chain I visited earlier, American Deli, which was near the bottom of all my experiences on my Fast Food Death March so far.

Well, onwards and upwards, as they say. So, I chose a fairly safe and generic Fried fish and shrimp combo with fries. And it tasted as lackluster as the photo shows. The panko-crusted shrimp were okay, I guess, but nothing that I would be willing to order again. The curled and shriveled-up catfish, though was a dried out disaster - I haven't had fish that dry and stringy since my last visit to Riscky's BBQ in Fort Worth a few years ago.

Yeah, fuck that noise. Much like the aforementioned American Deli, Tasty Wings also is a "one-and-done" fast food place I see no reason to try again.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Lee's Famous Recipe
Food category	Primary: Fried Chicken
# of US Locations	130
# of US States	13
Primarily located in	Ohio and Kentucky
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	188th (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	193rd (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	245th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	5 (out of 10) / 6 (out of 10)

Lee's has been serving up their secret-recipe blend of fried chicken for six decades, mostly located through the Upper South into the Midwest. Like many chicken joints, their menu is pretty much a mix of dark and white meat chicken combos, or boneless fried tenders, or liver and gizzards, and the usual suspects of sides.

Because of where it is located, I've only been to Lee's maybe once or twice. No matter - chicken is chicken, let's see just how well Lee's pulls it off.

Well, they're a'ight. I ordered the tender combo with a couple of sides to try them out. The tenders were decent enough although did not stand out at all - the seasoning and type of breading was unspectacular, just a plain average tender. The traditional fast food fried chicken sides of mashed potatoes and gravy and cole slaw were equally as whelming, although I do add that using the mashed potatoes and gravy as a dipping sauce was pretty awesome.

Very so-so, but at least it was decently priced, with affordable combos and a decent serving for what you pay. Thing is, there are several local fried chicken places that make it a little better - such as my hometown's original Church's, as well as fast food places like Chicken Express and Bush's Chicken. So no need for me to settle for so-so Lee's, even if their recipe is famous.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	Viva Chicken
Food category	Primary: Rotisserie chicken
# of US Locations	15
# of US States	3
Primarily located in	North and South Carolina
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	not ranked (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	not ranked (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	165th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	4 (out of 10) / 6 (out of 10)

It's a small and local chain, but not something you come across every day - a Peruvian fast food restaurant. There are one or two individual places in cities here and there, but as far as I am aware, this is the only multi-unit chain I've come across.

And I'm drawn to novelties (or near-novelties) like Viva Chicken, just to try it out. Who knows, I may find something totally new and amazing. Ahhh, if that were only the case. I really did want to like Viva Chicken, but it just didn't work out.

The heart of Viva Chicken is their rotisserie chicken (pollo a la brasa), where whole chickens are marinated in a blend of Peruvian spices than cooked over charcoal in a giant oven until the skin is crisp on the outside. Much like the Mexican pollo asado chicken places, with a special distinct Peruvian flavor to it. Viva Chicken does serve other menu items as well, that to my untrained eye appear to be more along the lines of more standard salads and bowls and wraps and sandwiches, but a fusion of Peruvian ingredients and flavors.

But when going to a place for the first time, ya gotta try what they are known for, so I picked the quarter chicken with two sides. And it was just, well, disappointing. You know how when you cook chicken on the bone, but leave it in the pan for so way too long that it is practically falling apart and has almost no texture? It was like that. It *seemed* like it was boiled to death, even though I know that it was cooked on a spit. A mushy mess, and the very nuanced and complex flavors that did pervade the entire chicken was not at all like the sharper, stronger flavoring style I'm more used to from the Texas-based rotisserie chicken joints (like Pollo Rico and Pollo Regio, who I gave very high marks).

Well, okay, maybe I just had bad luck or something, I still had the two sides, and one thing I really liked about Viva Chicken was the variety of side dishes. I chose the canary beans, and the Peruvian corn salad. The canary beans were okay - looked a lot like the charro beans I'm more used to, but decidedly different texture and flavor. The corn salad (solterito) looked absolutely delicious, with its comically oversized corn kernels, quesa fresca, fava beans, tomatoes, onion, peppers and seasoning. But looks can be deceiving - texture was uneven with the (to me) undercooked corn and beans messing with me.

And here is where I am thinking, maybe it's not the menu items, maybe I just don't like Peruvian food. Maybe. Can't really say with just one try and one visit, but this turned out to be less than inspiring. And that's okay - that's part of what this Fast Food Death March adventure is all about. Sometimes you win, sometimes it just doesn't come together for you.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)

Chain Name	The Habit Burger and Grill
Food category	Primary: Hamburgers
# of US Locations	393
# of US States	16
Primarily located in	2/3rds in California
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2024	80th (out of 500)
Restaurant Rank in US $ Sales 2025	82nd (out of 500)
Rank of price (high to low) (Average: $16.34, standard dev. $3.03)	195th out of 295 meal reviews
Quality / Value Rating for this specific meal	6 (out of 10) / 5 (out of 10)

Voted by USA TODAY readers as their favorite Fast Casual restaurant chain in 2025, and the hamburger was best-in-category in 2024 and 2025, The Habit certainly has its fans.

It's also a chain that I was not expecting to review, because the nearest location is a thousand miles away from where I live. The Habit is primarily a California-based hamburger chain, and has locations up and down the east and west coasts, but nowhere in-between. You visit the farthest-west location on the east coast in Charlotte, then jump on the interstate and drive west to the next nearest location, 2000 miles away, in Flagstaff.

Believe it or not, The Habit was bought out in 2019 by the largest restaurant conglomerate in the world, YUM Brands - the same YUM that also owns Taco Bell and KFC and (until very recently) Pizza Hut. Despite being part of their portfolio, The Habit doesn't even get a single mention on earnings calls (compared to their larger-by-an-order-of-magnitude brother restaurants). Yet YUM has clearly stated they purchased the Habit with intentions on growing the brand nationwide, aiming for 2,000 stores. If that's the case, though, they're certainly taking their sweet time doing it.

Because I don't get around to the parts of the country where The Habit is located very often, I've had a chance to try them a few times. Last time, maybe 2-3 years ago, I had an insanely excellent tuna "burger". But this time, I chose what the chain is known for: their Charburger (with some trepidation, given the "char" part is what ruins the taste Burger King's signature sandwich). And it was an okay burger, in comparison to other similar burgers at the same price-point at other chains. Not really notable, but also nothing to complain about. I'll probably stick to their non-burger menu options next time.

The side, however, was an entirely different story. I've made it well known in earlier reviews that I have probably eaten enough french fries to last me a lifetime, and have no desire to order plain fries ever again. And there's only so many onion rings one can eat as an alternative before those become tiring, too.

The good news, then, is that The Habit is known for one of their fan-favorite sides that I haven't seen at any other fast food place: Tempura-battered green beans. They were absolutely fucking delicious, and I'd order them again every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Will The Habit break out and expand into Flyover Country in the upcoming years? There's a lot of competition vying for the same customers in an ever-tightening market, so time will tell how it turns out.

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(About this review series: Starting in late 2025, I am visiting a different fast food/fast casual chain every day, until I run out of places to visit. Aiming to review as many chains on the Technomics Top 500 Restaurants list as possible, plus key/important regional and some local chains as well. UPDATE - I will be wrapping up this review series with Day #365. And no, I haven't gained weight, and no, it hasn't hurt my health.)