Question of the Day: What dish needs to be fast food–ized?
Assuming that a fast food chain could do it right and do it tasty, what overlooked food item would you like to see become ubiquitous throughout the land?
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27 Comments:
Is everything not accessible food wise in the fast food industry today? It's more a question of the quality... I know my guilty pleasure for fast food is a Arbys Beef n Chedder sandwhich, with jalepeno poppers...yummm...
Lilartist at 8:51AM on 03/05/07
Weird. I actually was having this discussion with people at a dinner party last night. I keep thinking the next cuisine to go this way, here in the US, would be Indian food. While you can't eat it on the go like you can a sandwich (though wedge some curry between some naan and viola). I just think there is something so homey and delicious, I wish there was a great drive through. Mind you only if it could be done well.
Husband at 9:45AM on 03/05/07
Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado sandwich and sushi.
EatWisconsin at 9:46AM on 03/05/07
I'd say Indian wraps or empanadas--which are basically fast food to begin with, but haven't really taken on a large scale.
ben at 10:40AM on 03/05/07
I'll second or third indian food. Unless you live in the city and can stop at the street vendors, there's no quick and easy way to get a samosa.
johnhutch at 11:00AM on 03/05/07
I agree with the Indian food thing. The British and the French do a delicious tandoori chicken sandwich. (In paris, they did it on baguettes!) why can't they do this here?
Also, paninis like in Europe, on the not-yet-baked bread.
And Vietnamese take-out. Once again, to be totally obnoxious and "But-in-Paris-they-make-it...", Parisians make the best take-out Vietnamese.
NYminknit at 12:21PM on 03/05/07
Sushi and Vietnamese (especially fresh spring rolls and bun!) Freshness is key to both these foods, so it would probably be cost prohibitive for a fast food restaurant in most areas.
savvy at 12:39PM on 03/05/07
More doner kebap.
The Guilty Carnivore at 1:56PM on 03/05/07
simple paninis. flat simple sandwiches like in Italy.
ThatGirl153 at 1:56PM on 03/05/07
Oh doner kebap! I love getting that in Europe, especially when they put the french fries right in with the meat. I'd be happy to see that come to the States, if they could do it well.
Meg Hourihan at 2:22PM on 03/05/07
I go with the Doner Kebap and/or the French Presse sandwiches with interesting sauces and cheese, not to mention the charcuterie choices for them. We stayed in Reims last summer while touring the caves, and every day for lunch we had one of those sandwiches and a bottle of Champagne from whatever cave we had visited that morning.
dksbook at 3:28PM on 03/05/07
Nothing. And a great many things need to be un-fastfoodized.
Barbara Hanson at 3:34PM on 03/05/07
Popplers!
No, seriously, squid. I want fried and stuffed squid TO GO, maybe with some honey mustard sauce.
Internet Rockstar at 3:56PM on 03/05/07
Thank you BaHa - my feeling exactly. Less fast food, more quality and nutrition and slow food.
kitchenbea at 3:56PM on 03/05/07
I want to see Amsterdam-style automats, like the FEBO places in the Netherlands. The kassesoufflé there is wicked awesome.
Adam Kuban at 4:03PM on 03/05/07
I guess we're talking about fast-foodizing things in America? Lamb. Lamb sandwiches. Lamburgers. Good doner kebap such as you can find in Zagreb or Budapest would be terrific. Especially if the kebap was lamb. I'm surprised that čevapčići haven't caught on and sparked a weird fusion sandwich trend, given the near-universal love of hamburgers.
Indian food, of course. It's already fast-foodized in Manhattan though. Visit Punjabi Deli and witness the long queue of parked cabs. Indian and Pakistani cabbies have proclaimed the place "the best". A large bowl of superior, homestyle korma on rice with terrific chai for under four bucks, in under four minutes.
Additionally, I'd like to see the abolishment of American fast food in Europe. The fast food over there is fast and tasty enough. "Fast food" there means you typically get it in under five minutes, not lesser quality ingredients and/or fillers and preservatives.
John J. Goddard at 6:00PM on 03/05/07
Fourth the request for doner kebabs! So delicious and so easy to eat quick.
Lia Bulaong at 7:17PM on 03/05/07
I have to chime in on the "do we really need more fast food??" side of this discussion.
BDJ at 9:29PM on 03/05/07
Fast food that was actually healthy and flavorful would be fabulous. One can only eat so many fast food grilled chicken sandwiches before throwing oneself in front of a bus. And it's too damn hard to eat a salad whilst driving.
I'm totally for drive-thru Indian cuisine and sushi. A drive thru joint with big windows so you could watch them make the rolls and make sure the fish is properly chilled would be fab!
AuntJone at 9:40PM on 03/05/07
Aunt Jone, I don't know if you live in New York, but chop'd makes a salad sandwich that is delicious, I think.
NYminknit at 10:18AM on 03/06/07
Indian fast food would be great! In Hong Kong there is an Indian fast food chain called Curry In a Hurry and it's in food courts. It was very good and inexpensive.
Silly Girl at 12:07PM on 03/06/07
I think it would be wonderful to change the way we eat fast food, rather than just changing the food itself. I'd love to see street food all over the place the way you do in Asia. It would be heavenly to be able to grab a bowl of steaming pho from a street vendor.
Maley at 12:21PM on 03/06/07
Not sure if this fits in with the discussion, but what about making a Thai/Indian takeout place. Chinese restaurants are known well for their take-out, so why not do that with other cuisines?
I also think it'd be cool if McDonalds brought their Japanese menu to the US. Or have a rotation of new menu items from other countries.
JadedOne at 12:53PM on 03/06/07
At least in NYC, Thai and Indian takeout is quite common. And I have the 8 million menus to prove it!
Barbara Hanson at 1:41PM on 03/06/07
I somehow missed the word "ubiquitous"on first reading the question. I can't think of a food that being ubiquitous has served well. Chain pizza? Blueberry bagels? Crossanwich? I rest my case.
Barbara Hanson at 1:43PM on 03/06/07
Foie Gras firstly and then a chain of porchetta sandwich shops
Livetotravel at 2:43PM on 03/06/07
on the naan sandwich issue, there is a place on bleecker street around sixth that makes "naanwhiches" and "naaninis" (the indian bread company ). Surprinsingly not so great. I would also like to see more ubiquitous vietnamese sandwich places. Those things are pretty boss.
pstella at 5:53PM on 03/07/07