The Fast-Food Landscape in the U.S.
The convenience that fast food provides on a daily basis in this country is unparalleled. Almost no dining experience is as controlled and readily available as a quick trip through a drive-thru. Popular fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s and Taco Bell are so big in this country that they may even be considered synonymous with dining in America.
With more options than anybody can keep up with, which fast-food restaurants in the U.S. are worth your time? Which ones have dominated the country, and which are regional? Here are our picks for the best fast food near you.
How We Determined the Best Fast Food in Every State
Believe it or not, I have not eaten at every fast-food restaurant in the entire country. In order to determine the most popular in each, I turned to a reliable (albeit occasionally flawed) system: Yelp, Google, and TripAdvisor reviews.
Searching “best fast food” for each state in the country, I spent days sorting through the most reviewed, highest-rated restaurants on each platform. And because nobody wants to read a list that says “Chick-fil-A” 50 times in a row, I opened this up to hyper-local fast-food joints as well, even if there’s only one location. Fast food is fast food.
Upset that your favorite regionally-specific spot didn’t make the list? Take it up with the Yelpverse. I’m just the messenger.
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The Best Fast Food in the Northeast
When you think about fast food in the Northeast, you might immediately arrive at pizza. The New York slice is justifiably iconic, but as you look across the fried clam shacks of New England, the roast beef sandwiches of Boston, or the hot dogs of New Jersey, it’s clear that the Northeast has a unique culinary identity completely independent of cheesy dough.
As for the major chains, you’ll find the obvious players like McDonald’s and Taco Bell, but it's the smaller options that shine. Whether you’re hitting one of the 900+ A&Ws in New York for the best fast-food root beer float you’ll ever have, grabbing a roast pork sandwich (which is just as much a part of Philly’s heart as its cheesesteak) from the infamous John's Roast Pork, or lining up for New Hampshire’s famous Gyro Spot, fast food in the Northeast is easy, quick, and full of flavor.
Connecticut: Duchess
Delaware: Mission BBQ
Maine: Roy’s All Steak Hamburgers
Maryland: Chaps Pit Beef
Massachusetts: Kelly’s Roast Beef
New Hampshire:The Gyro Spot
New Jersey: The Hot Grill
New York: A&W
Pennsylvania: John's Roast Pork
Rhode Island: Olneyville NY System
Vermont: Buddy’s Famous Burgers
Washington D.C.:Roaming Rooster
Related:I Ate My Way Through 5 Fast-Food Breakfast Burritos. Here Are the Best
The Best Fast Food in the South
Fried chicken very much rules the South, but you already knew that. Places like Bojangles, Zaxby’s, and Biscuitville are always frying up chicken, but burgers have a serious presence as well.
Cook Out, a restaurant with 40+ milkshake flavors and an incredibly wacky “tray” system, thrives all over North Carolina, while the burgers at P. Terry’s exist mostly in Austin. Ever heard of the Oklahoma onion burger? There are plenty of spots for that, too. Eat some chicken fingers, grab a burger, wash it down with some sweet tea, and y’all will be just fine down there.
Alabama: Super Chix
Arkansas: David’s Burgers
Florida: BurgerFi
Georgia: Grindhouse Killer Burgers
Kentucky: Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers
Louisiana: Mama’s Fried Chicken
Mississippi: Frisco Deli
North Carolina: Cook Out
Oklahoma: Tucker’s Onion Burgers
South Carolina: Rush’s
Tennessee: Hugh-Baby’s
Texas: P. Terry’s
Virginia: Spelunker’s
West Virginia: Frostop Drive-In
Related: These 8 Fast Food Chains Are the Biggest Ripoffs, According to Reddit
The Best Fast Food in the Midwest
Are there cheese curds speckled all over the Midwest? Yes, absolutely. Is that where the region's fast food specialties stop? Not at all. Milwaukee is often thought of as the “frozen custard capital” of the country, and at this point, you probably know about Chicago’s ketchup-less hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. And let’s be honest, if you’ve got any friends from Cincinnati, they’ve told you to put cinnamon in your chili.
You’ll find grilled subs in the fast-food Mount Rushmore of the Dakotas, and in Nebraska you can’t escape runza, a beautiful hot-pocket-pierogi hybrid that Food & Wine once called "as Nebraska as Cornhusker football.”
But let’s be clear: Don’t sleep on the cheese curds, either.
Illinois: Portillo’s
Indiana: Jaggers
Iowa: B-Bop’s
Kansas: Spangles
Michigan: Taystee’s Burgers
Minnesota: My Burger
Missouri: Chuck-A-Burger Drive-In
Nebraska: Runza
North Dakota: Grand Junction Grilled Subs
Ohio: Skyline Chili
South Dakota: Zesto
Wisconsin: Kopp’s Frozen Custard
The Best Fast Food in the West
There might not be a better place to eat regional fast food than on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean. A bean burrito in your hands while the waves crash in front of you? Magic. Taco Bell might be the first Mexican chain you think of, but the West Coast is full of beautiful gems like Del Taco, Taco Time, and Baja Fresh.
Yet amongst these mega-chains, you’ll find an abundance of even faster, cheaper neighborhood staples. From the toasted subs of Colorado’s Cheba Hut to the spam musubi of Hawaii’s Musubi Cafe Iyasume, there’s a lot more flavor to the West than just burgers and tacos.
That doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of sensational tacos and burgers, either. Wondering why In-N-Out finds itself on this list amidst a sea of hyper-regional chains? Because nothing else compares, that’s why. And beyond my own heavy personal bias, the Google, Yelp, and Tripadvisor reviews speak for themselves.
Alaska:International House of Hot Dogs and Goodies
Arizona: Paradise Valley Burger Company
California: In-N-Out Burger
Colorado: Cheba Hut Toasted Subs
Hawaii: Musubi Cafe Iyasume
Idaho: Burger Belly
Montana: Five on Black
Nevada: Earl of Sandwich
New Mexico: Dog House Drive-In
Oregon: Burgerville
Utah: Crown Burgers
Washington:Dick’s Drive-In
Wyoming: 2 Doors Down