In Hartford, I live a stone's throw away from a shopping area on the main drag, Farmington Ave. What this means is that in that area and in the immediate vicinity I have access to quite a few fast food places. This becomes more significant when you realize it's rare that I cook anything, let alone make my own dinner. For fast food, in the area we have: Burger King (BK), Taco Bell (Bell), Subway and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). I am ignoring the various restaurants (Braza, Monte Alban) & bars (The Half Door, The Wooden Tap) & coffee house (Tisane) & delivery/take-out places (pizza - South Whitney & Prospect Ave. & Aladdin, chinese - No. 1 China & China King &...).
Here's my brief review of the 4 fast food places:
Although not my favorite, Burger King ain't bad. The service is fairly reliable, speedy enough, and the menu selection is decent. Recently BK switched out their vile caffeine-free Diet Coke for the caffeinated variety of the same. Since then, I am happier with them. Plus they sometimes have decent toys.
Taco Bell is by far the worst. The service stinks. Absolutely aweful. I've stood at the cash register for 5 min. straight before, waiting for the cashier on duty to come back to the register and notice that he/she has a customer whose order they should take. Plus I once found a piece of pastic (ewww!) in a quesadilla of theirs. However, there are 2 redeeming features to Bell. The food is dirt cheap. There's a Pizza Hut To Go located at the same place. Although I have not availed myself of the pizza, I have no doubt that it puts the Bell food to shame.
Subway is the closest of the 4. It's just around the corner. The food is the best of all, good subs with good meat and good fixins. Plus, it can be economical when I buy a 12" and eat it over the course of 2 meals. (And they know me there from my frequent visits! Italian BMT 4tw!) I like Subway. I actually feel bad about including them in the category of 'fast foods' since the food is so decent (imo).
Kentucky Fried Chicken also has decent food. I like the chicken, biscuits and potato wedges. Anything else is just a bonus. The problem with KFC is two-fold: there's inevitably a line and the service isn't very fast. It's not that they don't know you're there. Unlike Bell they know, they see you. It's just that it takes them 5-10 min. to put together each order. If there are 2 people in front of you, it'll be a good 10-15 min. until you can order and wait for your food. Very annoying, though I think it's worth it for the chicken. (That was tonight's dinner.)
There you have it! Subway > KFC > BK >> Bell.
Yeah, I should eat in more often but that almost goes without saying. Cheers!