The 10 Best Non-Burger Fast Food Dishes

Over the past several decades, people have typically been visiting most fast-food joints with a few items in mind: hamburgers, french fries and shakes. Think of just about any fast-food restaurant -- Burger King, Jack in the Box, Wendy's, Checker's, Sonic, Carl's Jr., the list goes on -- and you'll find that they most often still offer these staples. They were the original stars on the McDonald's menu when it was bought and replicated by Ray Kroc, and they're still on menus, well, because demand for them remains high. But recently, a vast array of other items have made their way onto menus at these fast-food restaurants: salads, yogurts, hot dogs, chili and a gaggle of different breakfast meals (Photo Credit: © Facebook/Taco Bell).

Click here for the Best Non-Burger Fast-Food Dishes Slideshow

So what are the best of these new items? Removing the classics (burgers, fries and shakes) from the equation, which menu items make a list of the best non-burger fast foods? I spent a year pondering, and researching this question, embarking on an immersive fast-food journey, testing firsthand a wide range of items on the menus of many of the biggest names in the business including Wendy's, Burger King, Sonic, McDonald's, Taco Bell and Dunkin' Donuts. Call me Frankie Fast Food or Danny Drive-Thru.

Click here for 2011's Over-The-Top Fast Foods Slideshow

Based on these experiences -- some happy, some disappointing, some exhilarating, some serendipitous, some just plain wonderful, some that gave me pause and some that gave me pangs of guilt -- I've concluded that the preponderance of the most delicious items are in fact things other than burgers, fries and shakes. Yes, the world of fast food is a vast menu of delicious items that rewards out-of-the-box thinking and eating.

Click here for the Top 20 Restaurant Views in America Slideshow

Fast food is an easy target, something many people find it fun to be a snob about. But for however unhealthy it is, the fact is that this is where many Americans are doing a lot of their eating, and there is some good stuff out there. So, here's a list of the top 10 non-burger fast-food items, and then a collection of the best of the classics, with special awards for the best drive-thrus, most overrated and underrated foods, and the best fast-food drinks.

Charlie Hartley, The Daily Meal

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Comments

[nadohawk]

10:57 AM on 02/08/2012

How did Taco Bell make that list?

[PubicOption]

10:19 AM on 01/18/2012

Umm...

Sausage Egg Cheese McGriddle:
560calories, 32gr fat, 10gr saturate fat, 1360mg SODIUM.

That is not a typo.
The "healthier choice" would be to eat a Big Mac for breakfast.
Seriously.
Not to mention the McGriddle has 5x the cholesterol as the BMac.

Great article!!!

[hartge35]

08:47 PM on 01/16/2012

Late, late, late.

Popeye's red beans and rice is killer. If anyone is planning to rob a Popeye's; steal me a case of Cajun Sparkle (JK). Season-all used to be closer to it years ago.

No way could I eat a Triple Steak Burrito on the fly w/o a hazmat suit! Taco Bell's test (Atlanta) steak Cantino Tacos a year ago were excellent.

It's more expensive; but Quizno's chili will ruin you for Wendy's.

I hate McD and rarely eat there. I am almost invariably dissappointed. Because of this acticle; I got a sausage McGriddle this AM. It had berries! The sweet vs spice would be spot on w/a bit more salt. They might get $30 out of me this year.

That Sonic Dawg looks good...

[Stephen Thorpe]

08:19 PM on 01/16/2012

Sausage egg and cheese McGriddle is uhm uhm good. Bus Sausage egg McMuffing is the best,....but you have to tell them to actually toast the muffin, 100% difference. I assures you a very fresh sandwich and hot and good!!!! Yum!

[burton163]

11:05 AM on 01/16/2012

I will continue to bang the drum for my favorite non-burger, fast food dish: Popeye's Red Beans & Rice. I don't know their secret, I've tried to recreate it at home, but that stuff, simple as it is, is addictive. I've driven 50 miles when I had to have it.

[OldJazzyGirl]

08:19 PM on 01/16/2012

kopycat
http://www.copykat.com/2009/02/06/popeyes-red-beans-and-rice/

Eat enough of this and you will eventually be searching for heart healthy recipes to stay alive.

[Hawkwolf]

10:31 AM on 01/16/2012

Ban McDonald!!

[edwoodjr]

07:29 AM on 01/16/2012

I always heard the Wendy's chilli was made with the burgers that broke apart during cooking or, even worse, fell on the floor. Didn't necessarily believe it, but it does seem like a good place to reuse "faulty" burgers if they come fresh, not frozen................

[OldJazzyGirl]

08:20 PM on 01/16/2012

It comes to the restaurant in a frozen block.

[edwoodjr]

11:59 PM on 01/16/2012

Never really beloved it but it was a good story. My roommate in college SWORE he knew a guy who created the special sauce for Big Macs and claimed the secret ingredient was elephant sperm.

[Mamaste]

04:24 PM on 01/20/2012

I don't know how they do it now, but I can attest that in 1985-6, that is exactly what they did. There was a bucket next to the griddle, and the bum burgers went in there. And then those were mixed with the canned chili mix, ground up, and, voila, chili. You'd sometimes find a recognizable piece of burger in the chili. The "bum burgers" were, most commonly, ones that were cooked but never ordered, because Wendy's made sandwiches fresh to order (at that time; again, not sure how they do it now), so there'd always be a couple of burgers on the griddle, but then no one would ever order them.

[xstevejx]

06:29 AM on 01/16/2012

I like Wendy's fish sandwich...and get it more often since Wendy's ruined their regular burgers.

[ras121s]

02:28 PM on 01/17/2012

I don't care for the fish sandwich, but I agree with you on the burgers. They were perfect to start with - then they had to go and ruin them.
I've decided to be okay with it because it means one less fast food place for me to go to.

[msdaubie54]

09:47 PM on 01/15/2012

Beg to differ, but that first item is the Sausage McMuffin, not the Sausage Biscuit.

[jrndll769]

01:35 AM on 01/16/2012

She is absolutely correct. I've had plenty of them & love them. Sausage Mcmuffin with egg & cheese.

[msdaubie54]

07:58 AM on 01/16/2012

I enjoy both the Sausage Biscuit and the Sausage McMuffin. Just depends if I want the biscuit or the muffin!!

[OldJazzyGirl]

08:21 PM on 01/16/2012

980 mg. of sodium each.

[Nancy Sonnichsen Storrs]

09:19 PM on 01/15/2012

I'd love to see more gluten-free options at fast food restaurants. Going gluten-free has made such a difference for me - everything works so much better.

[erathwomen]

08:42 PM on 01/15/2012

All of these are somfattening and bad for you.

[brooklyndodger59]

09:51 PM on 01/15/2012

It's about better choices than burgers. It's not about alfalfa sprouts & quinoa.

[OldJazzyGirl]

08:23 PM on 01/16/2012

And what would be the better choices?

[nemo1967]

08:42 PM on 01/15/2012

mcdonald 's one day. i know mcgriddle taste test is ok...a year ago..

[ewall]

08:34 PM on 01/15/2012

I think the McD sausage "biscuit" you picture is a muffin. No contest about the taste, but to call it a biscuit is an insult in my part of the of the USA. We have a way of forgiving these things by saying, "Lord love 'em. They are doing the best they can with what they know." We also say this often in traffic when excessive car horn blowing is used by visitors with car tags from colder climates. If I am in error about the picture, please forgive me. Risking my natural born GOB status, I will share this secret with our visitors. At BoJ you can order a "dark brown" biscuit. This is not a snipe hunt. BoJ will know what you asking for and provide a crunchy (darker brown} biscuit from the edge of the baking pan. All in fun. Best to y'all.

[branchwater1113]

11:13 PM on 01/15/2012

Mickey D offers both - sausage biscuit and sausage muffing. Both as simple and as tasty as the article says

[gfgarv]

08:33 PM on 01/15/2012

What I love about this article is that in a couple of weeks these same menu items will be on Huff Post "ten things that will kill you". I do love tater tots, all things taco bell, just about all McDonald's breakfast items. The majority of things they showed are just plain disgusting. A maple bacon shake?
That KFC bowl (of vomit). I mean c'mon!!

[camanokat]

09:55 PM on 01/16/2012

My local food co-op has organic bacon/maple syrup ice cream. It's the bomb!

[gfgarv]

01:15 AM on 01/17/2012

Hey, if that's what you're into then more power to ya. The picture of the shake had bacon pieces (not bits) on top and that was gross (to me). It would likely result in a bomb type scenario going off in my toilet.

[dsn9]

08:18 PM on 01/15/2012

Sonic tater tots along with McDonalds hash browns have a bitter taste to me. Sonics chili dog with cheese is good without the hot dog which is yuck.

Wendy's chili is fair, but very thin unless you go at the end of the night then it is thick, I do stop and get a baked potato off the $1 menu and then stop at Arby's for a side salad for $1.50 so for less the $3
I have my dinner, and the salad bowl make good left over containers. Oh and Sonic sells the best bags of ice, the restaurant by my house is very clean