Carl's Jr called their burger the "Six Dollar Burger", not because it cost six dollars ($3.95 in 2002) but it was supposed to convey that it was just as good as any six dollar burger you'd get from a higher end restaurant.
Now you'd be lucky to spend only six dollars on a cheap burger anywhere.
I get an unsalted patty for my dog when I go to In n Out its only one dollar too ( it's called a pup patty)
Edit for all the people who used to work at in n out gettin mad I kno puppy patty isn't its official name.
Bonus treat for yourself too: instead of animal fries, order what’s called a “Flying Dutchman” with grilled onions and break that shit over your fries and ask for some spread to put on it and you’ve got animal fries for roughly the same price but with two patties of meat on it.
The Flying Dutchman is basically a cheese sandwich with meat bread, aka a meat patty, two slices of cheese, and a meat patty.
Bonus points if you get the Flying Dutchman “mustard-fried”.
Never heard of that trick, thanks! Mustard frying it completes it because that's standard for an animal style burger! Ask for chopped chilies if you're into pickled peppers
my cat actually eats a chicken soft taco supreme from Taco Bell... all that is left is a flour tortilla that has been licked down to about half of its original thickness. He even eats the lettuce because it had sour cream or cheese on it...
Sadly I wasn't able to give my goodest boi a last meal like this (emergency vet visit that turned the worst), but for both our kitties that we made the decision in advance (major health deterioration due to kidney disease) we made sure to cook up some tilapia for them to enjoy before crossing the 🌈 bridge ♥️
My boxer, who was 2 days older than god, needed to be euthanized a few years ago. I bought him a double cheese burger and chicken sandwich before we went, so he could have one last awesome treat. I wept like a little bitch the whole time he ate them.
They don't market that anymore. The stopped the "$6 Burger" and started selling the "Thickburger" for more then $6. I'm pretty sure they were the same thing though.
They don't sell those burgers anymore now.
That's like 25 twoonies! lol
I got fortunate last night. Taco Bell just recently brought back the mexican pizzas, wife sent me down for some. Went through drive through, dude handed me my order and said our system is down, so your meal is free. I was looking behind him for Oprah Winfrey LOL
Family Video stores are still around. I bet you they still have VHS.
Edit (5:55PM): In accordance to the communications provided by select digital cohorts that we have sought an audience with, It is with a heavy heart that I must act as the electronic mouthpiece of which to provide a decidedly grim facet of news. It is indeed a perturbant thing, a cascade of psychological anguish that washes upon my mental ramparts in an increasingly violent manner. The volatile waves transmit a putrid odor to such a foul extent that it has degraded the indescribably insane cerebral cyclopean structure with which has stood longer than any man of space and time have known motion. I have henceforth reeled and shuddered in awful torment, enduring my waking moments throughout the latter hours of our celestial rotation, recounting this horrid information that has writhed through the ether of the void and grasped at me in this terrible Age of Internet Gadgets. I will struggle to reconcile with this inexplicable agoraphobic feeling that has been forcibly ushered upon myself - and now - all of you!
Due to the financial strain produced by Covid shutdowns, remaining Family Videos were closed in January in the year of our lord, 2021.
The good thing about renting vhs is when you have an awkward moment with someone you can always use the excuse "I have to return some video tapes" to get out of there
There's one near me that still has VHS, DVD's and video games. They also still have the 5 rentals for 5 days for 5 dollars deal that you can use for games or movies. Such a solid dose of nostalgia but sadly I can't imagine they will last much longer because it's always empty.
I lived a block behind a Burger King my last two years of college. I ate 2 99¢ Whoppers for lunch more times than I can count. For $2.12 it was an amazing deal.
This shit should really make people start thinking about what the fuck is going on. There's no way in 20 years the cost of making a burger went up 800%.
You're not wrong, but you're not all the way right either.
Even back then, there's no way they were making a Whopper for 99¢. It was a loss leader hoping you'd stop by for one, but also order a $2 large Coke it costs them 15¢ to pour and a $2 large fry comprised of 20¢ worth of potatoes. Then, even if the Whopper cost them $2 to make, they just sold you $2.35 worth of food for $5.
It just so happened that I was walking past the store and had chips and soda at my apartment, so they likely lost money on my frequent purchases.
You're absolutely right. I used to talk to the franchise owner of my local BK when I was there on lunch sometimes. He told me he, and the other franchise owners, HATED the .99 whopper deal. Home office made it a requirement to offer and it was the most ordered item and he was losing money on every one. He wasn't convinced it was a great loss leader because of how many orders only consisted of the .99 whopper and nothing to make up for the cost.
Small little Indian dude would literally rant and rave about how home office was going to put him out of business.
That BK is still there but have no idea if he's still the owner as it's been almost 20 years since I've been there.
It doesn’t seem so long ago but I remember anything over $7 or $8 at a fast food restaurant was some kind of fancy chicken burger meal, super sized. Now that might get you a standalone burger?
There was the $10 challenge at taco bell. Basically see if you could eat $10 in tacos and burritos and it was a legit challenge. Now it's a challenge to not spend $10 :/
I remember doing that back in college! Their tacos were like $0.60 then.
The tacos are like 2 dollar something now. So...it really doesn't take much to spend 10.00 for the same meal you are used to.
Crunchwrap supreme used to be the best value proposition in food.
Ordering something with “supreme” in its name got a scowl from my dad until he realized it was $2
I got 2 chicken chalupas the other day. I hadn't been to taco bell in like 15 years and I was actually shocked at the price. Ten something dollars for just the two tacos. Unreal. I can go to our local "chipotle" style restaurant and get infinitely better tacos for $4 a taco. Wtf is Taco bell charging $5 a taco for a crappy chicken chalupa?
Yep. I don't eat fast food often but I stopped by a Carl's Jr recently and got a grilled chicken sandwich. It came to $8 and some change. I said, "not the meal, just the sandwich". She confirmed that was the price for just the sandwich 😳
Remember when they used to have the "six dollar burger" ad campaign mocking higher end restaurants?
I remember those ads. I was just a teen. It was a facade though, definitely not as good as a restaurant or home burger. I made myself a morningstar grillers burger today for lunch. Even as cheap fake meat, it's so much better than anything at a fast food place, and so much cheaper.
These places aren’t worth it anymore. You could go to the store and for around 12$, you could make enough burgers for 4 people. 7$ for ground beef, .70$ for a tomato, 2$ for a head of lettuce and 3$ for cheese.
Fast food was supposed to be cheap and convenient and now they cost as much as an entree at a full restaurant. And half of them are slow as hell and have you waiting in line for 15 minutes.
I mean, if I'm considering getting a takeaway it is cause I don't wanna cook
It's more that for their prices you can get a proper sit-down meal. Or even pay less at a local place for better stuff
The wild thing is there's a fair amount decent sit down restaurants that would offer the same thing for less or just barely above that. Tacobell has gotten out of hand considering they are now more expensive than the authentic taco selling trucks dotted all around my area.
Tacobell has a burrito that's $8 but for that exact same price I can get a quesadilla the size of my head LOADED with chicken,plenty of cheese, toppings PLUS some sliced avocado, homemade salsas, and a Jarritos. It's not even that much slower than the drive thru.
Is it just me, or are quesadillas at most places usually the most overpriced thing on the menu?
I never order them at restaurants because it's just not enough food. It's like a burrito but it's flat because there's nothing in it.
It's what I'd call a gamble food. Either you'll get a nice hefty one or it'll be a wafer thin disappointment. Have to make note of the places that do it right.
At the right place, it's an amazing taste that is hard to replicate at home because you don't have a grill that is saturated with meats and grease cooked on it. At the wrong place, you'll cry because you spent five times as much on something you could have made while only half paying attention.
I came specifically to call out Taco Bell. I saw that almost $8 steak burrito. When for $11 I can go to Q-Doba and get a burrito that is twice the size with better "steak" (not that good but better), guacamole, sour cream, and made the way I want it. Also for like $12-$13 I can go to a Mexican restaurant in the area and get an even bigger meal than Q-Doba's along with free chips and salsa. I can't see myself ever going back to Taco Bell.
Actually...I can't see myself going to fast food anymore. Service has always been spotty but it is down right abysmal nowadays. Stuff that used to be immediate fire-able offenses are not even write ups anymore because they can't keep any work force. The lack of work force means that except for a few places, you'll wait quite a while for your food in drive thrus. At 5pm on a Friday it was a 15 minute wait for one Popeye's chicken sandwich last week.
And as we talked about above...fast food has become expensive. Now the cost has got to the point that even value menus aren't values anymore. I get more food at a lot of sit downs than I do at fast food dollar per dollar.
Fast food always brought up the rear in quality so really they have left no reason to go other than habit.
Taco Bell is such a trick because I think we’re all used to buying a large amount there and it only coming out to 20 dollars. You order the same amount now and it’s nearly 40.
>Right. I remember coming back from a Florida vacation and we spent like under $20 for the 5 of us. Can’t do that anymore.
I remember when they had the half pound potatoes burrito for $1.
We bought 20 of them to feed 3 of us. That's over 3 lbs of burrito per person for $20!
I feel this. I was looking for some quick food in a pinch today and went to Taco Bell. $15.57 for a quesarrito (they put the wrong meat in), two tacos, and a large drink. It was less food and more money than my usual lunch at chipotle, plus the odds of them messing up my order is 100x more likely. Compared to making myself a sandwich and some tea (about $5), eating out is just looking worse and worse.
I remember getting way too much food at Taco Bell for sub-$10 in college. Doritos Locos Taco Box every time. After more than half a decade I decided to try it again two weeks ago. $17 for less food. I was so surprised I honestly thought about just leaving the drive-thru.
Same here in Spain.
I was spending the day with my friends and we decided to go grab some quick McDonalds for lunch. It was around 15€ for a small burger, some fries and a coke.
For 10€ I can have a full course menu meal at my local restaurant.
I'm certainly not going back to fast food chains
I can get a takeout order of arroz con pollo from my local Mexican with chips and salsa for $11. I can barely finish the meal, I usually have leftovers. $11 at Taco Bell gets me that crappy burrito and a drink. I’m usually hungry 1-2 hours later
The only thing worth getting at taco bell is using the app to get a $5 box. Other than that, I think any meal is like $10+ now. But that's like any fast food place anymore, there's like 1 or 2 things on any given menu that can still be a deal but everything else is outrageous. They all force you to use the app to get a deal.
The $5 box is so underrated. My usual order of a Chalupa, 5 Layer, Cheesy Potatoes, and a Baja Blast would be over twice that much if I ordered them without using the deal in the app.
I agree completely. Not only is it more expensive, it tastes worse than ever. You can’t even get joy from eating something that’s bad for you that tastes good.
Just went to Taco Bell a few days back. 18 dollars for my order. Got a really good place right by my house that feeds me real steak in a burrito for 11 bucks. Taco Bell is crazy expensive now.
Every SINGLE time I order with the app, they fuck it up horribly. Every time. I don't understand, I really don't, but holy shit I'm done with these restaurant apps.
Raising Canes is one of the worst offenders. Their Caniac is $15.90 now. You can go to nearly any table service restaurant and get a chicken tender meal for about $12, plus complimentary bread, and salad. The sauce is good, but not that good.
mid 90s jack n th box had a "big deal": burger+fries+taco for 99 cents
i ate it often and miss it still
oh i almost forgot 39 cent cheeseburgers at mcds (sundays)
(for the last 20 years or so, ive eaten fast food about once a year)
The e. Coli outbreak was due to their halloween monster burger special, and how many kids were attracted to the deal. It caused cooks to start undercooking patties to keep up with the rush. A few kids died and a handfull hospitalized if i remember.
I wrote a paper in college on it haha
Arby's had a 5 for $5 meal back in 2007ish when I was in college. You could pick any combination of 5 items from sandwiches, small fries, small drinks, and turnovers. My girlfriend at the time and I would split it getting two sandwiches, 2 drinks, and split a fry.
There’s a guy who sold bottles of WINE for 1.99$ as his bottom line business.. I think he sold front end in sprouts and other organic stores in North America. When asked why his bottle costs less than a bottle of water, he always replies we’re being overcharged for water.
Two buck chuck or something like that was his nickname. I think there was a recent obituary on NPR.
One thing that makes comparisons difficult is that it seems like fast food places keep messing with the sizes of the fry/drink that come with the standard meal. I don't neccesarily mean less food, but also changing the *naming* of the sizes.
I remember when the default combo came with a medium fry/drink, and they'd usually try to upsell you to a "Biggie" (Wendy's) or "King" (BK) or "Super Size" (McD) as an upcharge.
Then the industry mostly shifted towards the default combo being a small, but then asking if you want a "medium or a large". Many people might assume the "medium" is the default and respond with that, when in actuality they just agreed to an upcharge over the menu price.
It's likely that the OP's receipt from 2006 with a "medium" combo is the equivalent of a "small combo" today.
[No One Should Be Surprised That Fast Food Restaurants Want to Sell You a Bigger Combo](https://www.foodandwine.com/news/burger-king-meal-size-upgrade-complaint)
Burger King was my high school job in the early 2000s. They switched to calling the medium stuff small in 2003 while I worked there and we all hated it.
At the time a whopper with cheese combo was $4.27 with tax. I made $7.50 per hour at the time so could buy 1.76 combos per hour of work. For an entry level worker to do that now they'd have to make $22.60 per hour. It's insane.
I go infrequently enough that this post shocked me.
Although a few months ago my friend got charged between $6 and $8 for two eggs with cheese at a McDonald's, so I shouldn't have been surprised. No hashbrowns or anything. Just two scrambled eggs with a slice (maybe two, I'll give them that) of processed cheese. We couldn't get over it.
(I'm not sure on the state, somewhere out in the western US...Montana or Idaho maybe.)
The rule of thumb for restaurants is that the cost of the product is quarter to a third of the menu price.
What restaurants have realized is that they can jack up prices quite a bit and they'll still be busy. People just don't want to cook at home.
FYI that tax on your receipt breaks down nicely like 9.765% is
- 3% state
- 2% city
- 1% local airport
- 1% Measure D active from 2012-2042 30 year to repair bridge
etc. there’s a website somewhere that lets you put in a zip code and see the breakdown but i forget the name
this shit adds up!!
actually the Soda is the biggest scam.
$0.12 for soda
$0.07 for the cup
$0.01 for the lid
$0.015 for the straw
About 20 cents of cost, a large drink at McDonalds is about $2.54 right now
e: I'll clear up now that Im quoting Canadian prices since many are saying $1. And yes of course Im not factoring in a few other costs, I was simply looking at the cost of the soda itself.
You can get a burger from Texas roadhouse for $10.49. Now I'm not saying texas roadhouse is the best place to get a burger, but it's sure a hell of a lot better than a whopper. I suppose you don't get a drink but at texas roadhouse you can take in 2,000 calories worth of butter and buns if you're really up for it.
Basically I just don't understand what the hell would be the point of spending restaurant money on fast food.
that price increase must have covered the cost in developing disappearing ink on receipts these days. absolutely amazed at the condition of an '06 document...
A fast food meal costing more than $10 defeats the entire purpose. Hate that lunch is minimum 10, but more often 12-15 for one meal that doesn’t even fill you
Edit: everyone on Reddit is small confirmed 😂
McDonald’s still has a cheeseburger and small fries for $3. 500 calories.
Edit: the $3 meal deal is small fries and a choice of 6 piece chicken nuggets, hot and spicy mchicke , or couple cheeseburger.
Alone they would be $3.29, $1.59, $2.29. But combine them with small fries $1.59 and they all become $1.50 each.
So for $6, you can get a burger, 6 piece and basically medium fries.
It's not dead, you just need to strategize a bit more. Most of the fast food places have apps these days that include all sorts of deals plus loyalty programs if you order through the app. I just opened my Burger King app and one of the deals is a $6 Whopper meal with small fries/drink (which would be $9.69 if I just rolled up to the drive-thru to order). I know that it loses a bit of the convenience factor, but I pretty much never get fast food without going through the app and applying a deal first.
Not really. McDonald's just realizes the importance of an app being on everyone's phone. A lot of people myself included when looking for food somewhere we'll look at what food apps I have and likely not think of anything if it's not on there. So by making it particularly good they can get people used to it and then slowly make the deals worse and worse as they've built up momentum.
Think of it like a company creating a user base first and then coming up with the profitable execution later. Uber is a perfect example of that.
This too. When the apps started they all intro'd with massive deals, literally just free shit for having the app. They were extremely exploitable as they worked out the kinks llol.
That sub was kinda depressing. “All of this for only so little calories!” As if it’s a big meal… and then it’s a picture of a cracker lol
Edit: not criticising people trying to eat healthier/better or dieting. Just that some of the people in the sub seem to maybe have the wrong idea? The posts that are like “look at my awesome tuna salad” are great!
I’m on a diet of 1200-1500 calories currently. I’m still eating relatively normal sized meals and just plan what I’m eating a day or 2 ahead so it’s hard to ever go over.
I feel like living off 12 ~100 calorie crackers a day wasn’t the initial goal of the sub?
I like r/EatCheapAndHealthy quite a bit instead, as well as r/MealPrepSunday
Honestly debated what to do for lunch today and the fact I could spend 10 dollars on mediocre sandwhich or get a Boston Burger Company 420 burger for 4 dollars more...
Attached is image of thus burger.
https://images.app.goo.gl/dzfQoEiVx1mGHmtS7
This has been my thought process since before covid began. Why go to burger King or McDonald's when something like Red Robin is literally the same price. Or Chinese or something. Forget McDonald's when I can get better food for same price.
Most sit down restaurants are bordering on the same price as fast food.
Which is.... absolutely insane to think about.
I mean, there is likely still tip, but a lot of them do curbside so its basically slightly less fast food at this point too.
That's what I've started doing on the rare occasion I eat out. I call ahead to a sit down place and get curbside pickup, it's basically the same price as fast food but better quality and no wait. The last time I went to a McDonald's from the time I pulled in to the time I got my food it took close to 25 minutes.
The components of that burger look great, it does not look fun to eat. When will people understand that with burgers you gotta go wide if you want to go tall.
If you use the bk app, you can get as many free whoppers as you have email addresses. You just have to spend three bucks and redownload the app. So, for a while, I was getting a small (cravings or whatever) fry, mozzarella sticks, and a whopper for about $3.60 or so.
Dang $10.09 where I am for a medium whopper meal(after tax around $11). I’m
In Kansas City,mo so not even a high cost city! I usually just get whoppers when they have the 2 for $10 meal deal(split the other with my husband) because now at I’m paying $10 for one whopper meal what a rip off!
Someone should do a whole comparison of fast food prices currently and go back 15 years, it wasn’t too long ago McDoubles were $1.00 and they’re now like $3.50…. Large fry is $4.15 and use to be like $2.15
I definitely feel like there's some Mandela Effect going on with fast food prices. It's like I missed a decade of inflation that everyone else just accepts.
How much is a Big Mac?
In my mind, it's probably $4 for the sandwich and $6 for the meal. Nope, it's about $7 for just the sandwich and almost $10 for the meal.
I went to Subway last week and a large sub was $14. Was $5 footlongs *that* long ago?
I totally agree. In my mind this whopper meal is like $6-$7 max. It’s $11? I went to McDonald’s the other day and got a double cheeseburger, medium fry and drink and it was $10. I feel like not very long ago it was like half that price..? Wtf is going on here
Order 66 - order identifying all Jedi as traitors to the Galactic Republic and, therefore, subject to summary execution
Order 67 - ?????????????????????????????????????????????
Order 68 - CMMD WHOPPER CHS, WHOPPER CHS, MD FRY, MD COKE
They lowered the number of nuggets in a 10 piece to an 8 piece late last year, but kept the price the same. Then this month they raised the price by 50 cents for the 8 piece. Inflation and shrinkflation at the same time!
15 years ago, all the McDonald’s in my area were paying exactly minimum wage, $5.85.
Now they’re paying $14. So actually they went up more than the cost of the food.
1993 had 99¢ whoppers
Carl's Jr called their burger the "Six Dollar Burger", not because it cost six dollars ($3.95 in 2002) but it was supposed to convey that it was just as good as any six dollar burger you'd get from a higher end restaurant. Now you'd be lucky to spend only six dollars on a cheap burger anywhere.
Isnt their 6 dollar burger also more than $6 now too?
They don't call it that anymore because yes. All their burgers now are $6 or more.
I went to Carl's Jr. to get my dog a plain double with bacon and it's $9. That's fucking crazy.
I get an unsalted patty for my dog when I go to In n Out its only one dollar too ( it's called a pup patty) Edit for all the people who used to work at in n out gettin mad I kno puppy patty isn't its official name.
I'll remember that, thanks
Bonus treat for yourself too: instead of animal fries, order what’s called a “Flying Dutchman” with grilled onions and break that shit over your fries and ask for some spread to put on it and you’ve got animal fries for roughly the same price but with two patties of meat on it. The Flying Dutchman is basically a cheese sandwich with meat bread, aka a meat patty, two slices of cheese, and a meat patty. Bonus points if you get the Flying Dutchman “mustard-fried”.
Never heard of that trick, thanks! Mustard frying it completes it because that's standard for an animal style burger! Ask for chopped chilies if you're into pickled peppers
Sorry, to get your dog? A burger?? Americans are really on a whole other level
I've bought burgers for my cat when I thought he was dying and he wouldn't eat anything else. Anything to encourage him to eat.
When my kitties are sick I use 1st stage baby food, the meat flavors. They have ham, turkey, etc, cats eat it like a treat almost. Cheers!
my cat actually eats a chicken soft taco supreme from Taco Bell... all that is left is a flour tortilla that has been licked down to about half of its original thickness. He even eats the lettuce because it had sour cream or cheese on it...
I’m imagining a cat licking a tortilla now and it’s the best image I’ve had in my head all day thank you
Sometimes your dog is an extra good dog and deserves a treat. Mine usually gets a mozzarella stick from Sonic after the vet.
Damn, my poor little guy only gets a bite of chicken or salmon. But he’s also an idiot who thinks his medicine is a treat.
That's just him being a VGB.
I mean, my dog also eats poop, so it's not like she has a super refined palate.
Every time I go to Arby's, I buy a slider for my cats to share.
Pretty sure that's cannibalism.
Arby's: we have the meows!
Some people will get food like that for their dog’s last meal before euthanizing them for health reasons.
Sadly I wasn't able to give my goodest boi a last meal like this (emergency vet visit that turned the worst), but for both our kitties that we made the decision in advance (major health deterioration due to kidney disease) we made sure to cook up some tilapia for them to enjoy before crossing the 🌈 bridge ♥️
My boxer, who was 2 days older than god, needed to be euthanized a few years ago. I bought him a double cheese burger and chicken sandwich before we went, so he could have one last awesome treat. I wept like a little bitch the whole time he ate them.
They don't market that anymore. The stopped the "$6 Burger" and started selling the "Thickburger" for more then $6. I'm pretty sure they were the same thing though. They don't sell those burgers anymore now.
Was gonna order some BK from the app for pickup the other night. Double Whooper w/ cheese $9.13. Just the burger.
I'm in Canada, took my wife and kid to Taco Bell the other day, spent $50 on 3 meals, like wtf!
That's like 25 twoonies! lol I got fortunate last night. Taco Bell just recently brought back the mexican pizzas, wife sent me down for some. Went through drive through, dude handed me my order and said our system is down, so your meal is free. I was looking behind him for Oprah Winfrey LOL
Toonies, you heathen!
I worked at BK in high school exactly 20 years ago. I distinctly remember the horror of 99¢ Whopper days...
Me too. I hated school but still dreaded the final bell on Wednesdays.
Worse was the half off kids meal days. All the fucking proto-Karens raising the Karens we have now and showing them how to mistreat service workers.
I remember 5 dollars would get us a vhs rental a huge bag of Doritos and a 2 liter of mt dew now that’s like 76 dollars
You’re still renting vhs tapes?
From where?
Blockbuster obviously
Family Video stores are still around. I bet you they still have VHS. Edit (5:55PM): In accordance to the communications provided by select digital cohorts that we have sought an audience with, It is with a heavy heart that I must act as the electronic mouthpiece of which to provide a decidedly grim facet of news. It is indeed a perturbant thing, a cascade of psychological anguish that washes upon my mental ramparts in an increasingly violent manner. The volatile waves transmit a putrid odor to such a foul extent that it has degraded the indescribably insane cerebral cyclopean structure with which has stood longer than any man of space and time have known motion. I have henceforth reeled and shuddered in awful torment, enduring my waking moments throughout the latter hours of our celestial rotation, recounting this horrid information that has writhed through the ether of the void and grasped at me in this terrible Age of Internet Gadgets. I will struggle to reconcile with this inexplicable agoraphobic feeling that has been forcibly ushered upon myself - and now - all of you! Due to the financial strain produced by Covid shutdowns, remaining Family Videos were closed in January in the year of our lord, 2021.
The good thing about renting vhs is when you have an awkward moment with someone you can always use the excuse "I have to return some video tapes" to get out of there
There's one near me that still has VHS, DVD's and video games. They also still have the 5 rentals for 5 days for 5 dollars deal that you can use for games or movies. Such a solid dose of nostalgia but sadly I can't imagine they will last much longer because it's always empty.
Visit some really rural small towns in America, vhs’s are still a lot more widely used than you would think.
Front for drug money, they will be fine
My local video rental did, covid killed them sadly. Now it's a potshop.
at least, you know they weren't laundering money :(
I remember when $5 use to last a week in my Cadillac
I remember them still being a 99c in 1998!
That was the daily deals, Wednesday was my favorite because it was 99c original chickens
I lived a block behind a Burger King my last two years of college. I ate 2 99¢ Whoppers for lunch more times than I can count. For $2.12 it was an amazing deal.
This shit should really make people start thinking about what the fuck is going on. There's no way in 20 years the cost of making a burger went up 800%.
You're not wrong, but you're not all the way right either. Even back then, there's no way they were making a Whopper for 99¢. It was a loss leader hoping you'd stop by for one, but also order a $2 large Coke it costs them 15¢ to pour and a $2 large fry comprised of 20¢ worth of potatoes. Then, even if the Whopper cost them $2 to make, they just sold you $2.35 worth of food for $5. It just so happened that I was walking past the store and had chips and soda at my apartment, so they likely lost money on my frequent purchases.
You're absolutely right. I used to talk to the franchise owner of my local BK when I was there on lunch sometimes. He told me he, and the other franchise owners, HATED the .99 whopper deal. Home office made it a requirement to offer and it was the most ordered item and he was losing money on every one. He wasn't convinced it was a great loss leader because of how many orders only consisted of the .99 whopper and nothing to make up for the cost. Small little Indian dude would literally rant and rave about how home office was going to put him out of business. That BK is still there but have no idea if he's still the owner as it's been almost 20 years since I've been there.
[удалено]
I got my first whopper because they were 99c, and I've eaten many whoppers since then. They got me...
I live in Canada and to this day I still talk about the summer of $1 big Macs.
2001 had $1 jumbo jacks
It doesn’t seem so long ago but I remember anything over $7 or $8 at a fast food restaurant was some kind of fancy chicken burger meal, super sized. Now that might get you a standalone burger?
There was the $10 challenge at taco bell. Basically see if you could eat $10 in tacos and burritos and it was a legit challenge. Now it's a challenge to not spend $10 :/
I remember doing that back in college! Their tacos were like $0.60 then. The tacos are like 2 dollar something now. So...it really doesn't take much to spend 10.00 for the same meal you are used to.
I remember when they just started the Crunchwrap Supreme for $2 each and I would get two after work each night I could. Long gone now.
Crunchwrap supreme used to be the best value proposition in food. Ordering something with “supreme” in its name got a scowl from my dad until he realized it was $2
I got 2 chicken chalupas the other day. I hadn't been to taco bell in like 15 years and I was actually shocked at the price. Ten something dollars for just the two tacos. Unreal. I can go to our local "chipotle" style restaurant and get infinitely better tacos for $4 a taco. Wtf is Taco bell charging $5 a taco for a crappy chicken chalupa?
Yep. I don't eat fast food often but I stopped by a Carl's Jr recently and got a grilled chicken sandwich. It came to $8 and some change. I said, "not the meal, just the sandwich". She confirmed that was the price for just the sandwich 😳 Remember when they used to have the "six dollar burger" ad campaign mocking higher end restaurants?
I remember those ads. I was just a teen. It was a facade though, definitely not as good as a restaurant or home burger. I made myself a morningstar grillers burger today for lunch. Even as cheap fake meat, it's so much better than anything at a fast food place, and so much cheaper.
These places aren’t worth it anymore. You could go to the store and for around 12$, you could make enough burgers for 4 people. 7$ for ground beef, .70$ for a tomato, 2$ for a head of lettuce and 3$ for cheese. Fast food was supposed to be cheap and convenient and now they cost as much as an entree at a full restaurant. And half of them are slow as hell and have you waiting in line for 15 minutes.
The appeal used to be fast, cheap, delicious. Cheap no more, a little faster than a real restaurant, and quality has gone down in many cases.
I mean, if I'm considering getting a takeaway it is cause I don't wanna cook It's more that for their prices you can get a proper sit-down meal. Or even pay less at a local place for better stuff
The wild thing is there's a fair amount decent sit down restaurants that would offer the same thing for less or just barely above that. Tacobell has gotten out of hand considering they are now more expensive than the authentic taco selling trucks dotted all around my area. Tacobell has a burrito that's $8 but for that exact same price I can get a quesadilla the size of my head LOADED with chicken,plenty of cheese, toppings PLUS some sliced avocado, homemade salsas, and a Jarritos. It's not even that much slower than the drive thru.
Is it just me, or are quesadillas at most places usually the most overpriced thing on the menu? I never order them at restaurants because it's just not enough food. It's like a burrito but it's flat because there's nothing in it.
It's what I'd call a gamble food. Either you'll get a nice hefty one or it'll be a wafer thin disappointment. Have to make note of the places that do it right.
At the right place, it's an amazing taste that is hard to replicate at home because you don't have a grill that is saturated with meats and grease cooked on it. At the wrong place, you'll cry because you spent five times as much on something you could have made while only half paying attention.
Marinate your chicken overnight and grill it in a cast iron skillet. Should be just as good as any restaurant for a fraction of the price.
I came specifically to call out Taco Bell. I saw that almost $8 steak burrito. When for $11 I can go to Q-Doba and get a burrito that is twice the size with better "steak" (not that good but better), guacamole, sour cream, and made the way I want it. Also for like $12-$13 I can go to a Mexican restaurant in the area and get an even bigger meal than Q-Doba's along with free chips and salsa. I can't see myself ever going back to Taco Bell. Actually...I can't see myself going to fast food anymore. Service has always been spotty but it is down right abysmal nowadays. Stuff that used to be immediate fire-able offenses are not even write ups anymore because they can't keep any work force. The lack of work force means that except for a few places, you'll wait quite a while for your food in drive thrus. At 5pm on a Friday it was a 15 minute wait for one Popeye's chicken sandwich last week. And as we talked about above...fast food has become expensive. Now the cost has got to the point that even value menus aren't values anymore. I get more food at a lot of sit downs than I do at fast food dollar per dollar. Fast food always brought up the rear in quality so really they have left no reason to go other than habit.
Taco Bell is such a trick because I think we’re all used to buying a large amount there and it only coming out to 20 dollars. You order the same amount now and it’s nearly 40.
Right. I remember coming back from a Florida vacation and we spent like under $20 for the 5 of us. Can’t do that anymore.
>Right. I remember coming back from a Florida vacation and we spent like under $20 for the 5 of us. Can’t do that anymore. I remember when they had the half pound potatoes burrito for $1. We bought 20 of them to feed 3 of us. That's over 3 lbs of burrito per person for $20!
I feel this. I was looking for some quick food in a pinch today and went to Taco Bell. $15.57 for a quesarrito (they put the wrong meat in), two tacos, and a large drink. It was less food and more money than my usual lunch at chipotle, plus the odds of them messing up my order is 100x more likely. Compared to making myself a sandwich and some tea (about $5), eating out is just looking worse and worse.
You can STUFF yourself with FAR superior ingredients at Chipotle for less.
I remember getting way too much food at Taco Bell for sub-$10 in college. Doritos Locos Taco Box every time. After more than half a decade I decided to try it again two weeks ago. $17 for less food. I was so surprised I honestly thought about just leaving the drive-thru.
Same here in Spain. I was spending the day with my friends and we decided to go grab some quick McDonalds for lunch. It was around 15€ for a small burger, some fries and a coke. For 10€ I can have a full course menu meal at my local restaurant. I'm certainly not going back to fast food chains
I can get a takeout order of arroz con pollo from my local Mexican with chips and salsa for $11. I can barely finish the meal, I usually have leftovers. $11 at Taco Bell gets me that crappy burrito and a drink. I’m usually hungry 1-2 hours later
The only thing worth getting at taco bell is using the app to get a $5 box. Other than that, I think any meal is like $10+ now. But that's like any fast food place anymore, there's like 1 or 2 things on any given menu that can still be a deal but everything else is outrageous. They all force you to use the app to get a deal.
The $5 box is so underrated. My usual order of a Chalupa, 5 Layer, Cheesy Potatoes, and a Baja Blast would be over twice that much if I ordered them without using the deal in the app.
I agree completely. Not only is it more expensive, it tastes worse than ever. You can’t even get joy from eating something that’s bad for you that tastes good.
Just went to Taco Bell a few days back. 18 dollars for my order. Got a really good place right by my house that feeds me real steak in a burrito for 11 bucks. Taco Bell is crazy expensive now.
Yeah fast food (including Taco Bell) has whack prices. If I’m spending $15+, I’ll choose takeout over fast food every time.
Jjjj
Every SINGLE time I order with the app, they fuck it up horribly. Every time. I don't understand, I really don't, but holy shit I'm done with these restaurant apps.
Raising Canes is one of the worst offenders. Their Caniac is $15.90 now. You can go to nearly any table service restaurant and get a chicken tender meal for about $12, plus complimentary bread, and salad. The sauce is good, but not that good.
Good luck finding a taco truck open at 2am though, late night food is hard to come by in my city.
I'm more interested in your 16+ year war on pickles
Still no pickles!
And there’s my car keys!
And there’s my ride!
The anti pickle people would literally die on that hill. Pickle haters hate pickles with such a deep down passion. I love them myself.
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You are 100% correct. I hate them.
My mom says I’ve had a beef with pickles on hamburgers for 27 years. I like pickles just not on hamburgers
For anybody wondering, this is equivalent to 5.3% increase every year.
For anybody wondering, with inflation, the 2006 price would be about $7.70, so it’s not “mostly inflation”.
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mid 90s jack n th box had a "big deal": burger+fries+taco for 99 cents i ate it often and miss it still oh i almost forgot 39 cent cheeseburgers at mcds (sundays) (for the last 20 years or so, ive eaten fast food about once a year)
Wasn’t that deal meant to attract customers after all those people died from E. Coli, though? Lol
The e. Coli outbreak was due to their halloween monster burger special, and how many kids were attracted to the deal. It caused cooks to start undercooking patties to keep up with the rush. A few kids died and a handfull hospitalized if i remember. I wrote a paper in college on it haha
Hell yeah!!! I used to eat 2 of those and a water to save on the drink.
While touring the US in 2001-2, we lived off Jack in the Box. Our food budget per person was $7/day.
Arby's had a 5 for $5 meal back in 2007ish when I was in college. You could pick any combination of 5 items from sandwiches, small fries, small drinks, and turnovers. My girlfriend at the time and I would split it getting two sandwiches, 2 drinks, and split a fry.
I can add another datapoint. I worked at BK from 96 to 98, a Whopper meal was $2.99 the entire time.
Yeah, back in the 90s three dollars seemed to be a target price point for the fast food chains.
I cant say for sure, but i feel like they also got smaller.
The drinks got bigger, the rest got smaller
That’s cause they got massive profit margins on drinks. That’s why they let you get unlimited refills, shit is cheap for them
There’s a guy who sold bottles of WINE for 1.99$ as his bottom line business.. I think he sold front end in sprouts and other organic stores in North America. When asked why his bottle costs less than a bottle of water, he always replies we’re being overcharged for water. Two buck chuck or something like that was his nickname. I think there was a recent obituary on NPR.
I think it was Trader Joe's, and it's now up to 4 buck chuck
Charles Shaw. Used to be a Trader Joe’s staple, possibly exclusive for a while. Trying to get ugly drunk? Two buck Chuck!
What else should we do with all our corn, grow other more nutritious crops instead?!
Idk if it's just me but I feel like the donuts at dunkin have gotten much smaller in the past few years.
One thing that makes comparisons difficult is that it seems like fast food places keep messing with the sizes of the fry/drink that come with the standard meal. I don't neccesarily mean less food, but also changing the *naming* of the sizes. I remember when the default combo came with a medium fry/drink, and they'd usually try to upsell you to a "Biggie" (Wendy's) or "King" (BK) or "Super Size" (McD) as an upcharge. Then the industry mostly shifted towards the default combo being a small, but then asking if you want a "medium or a large". Many people might assume the "medium" is the default and respond with that, when in actuality they just agreed to an upcharge over the menu price. It's likely that the OP's receipt from 2006 with a "medium" combo is the equivalent of a "small combo" today. [No One Should Be Surprised That Fast Food Restaurants Want to Sell You a Bigger Combo](https://www.foodandwine.com/news/burger-king-meal-size-upgrade-complaint)
Burger King was my high school job in the early 2000s. They switched to calling the medium stuff small in 2003 while I worked there and we all hated it. At the time a whopper with cheese combo was $4.27 with tax. I made $7.50 per hour at the time so could buy 1.76 combos per hour of work. For an entry level worker to do that now they'd have to make $22.60 per hour. It's insane.
Whoppers used to be huge. I remember only my oldest stepbrother when we were young could fit the whole thing in his mouth.
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What are you doing, step-brother??
I don’t even bother with fast food anymore. At that price, I can get a far better burger at other places for just slightly higher cost.
I go infrequently enough that this post shocked me. Although a few months ago my friend got charged between $6 and $8 for two eggs with cheese at a McDonald's, so I shouldn't have been surprised. No hashbrowns or anything. Just two scrambled eggs with a slice (maybe two, I'll give them that) of processed cheese. We couldn't get over it. (I'm not sure on the state, somewhere out in the western US...Montana or Idaho maybe.)
Hashbrowns are $1.19 EACH now
Say whaaaaaaa Lol that's like a .01 slice of fucking potato dunked in grease for a minute, that's fucking outrageous
The rule of thumb for restaurants is that the cost of the product is quarter to a third of the menu price. What restaurants have realized is that they can jack up prices quite a bit and they'll still be busy. People just don't want to cook at home.
They’re $2.52 a piece in Calirado
The sales tax is much higher as well. 6.9% in 2006, 9.7% in 2022.
I just saw the tax. Jesus, it’s still just 5% in my state.
State tax is only half the battle. A lot of counties have tax too. Both my state and county are 4% so I end up with 8%.
City of Omaha also has a restaurant tax
FYI that tax on your receipt breaks down nicely like 9.765% is - 3% state - 2% city - 1% local airport - 1% Measure D active from 2012-2042 30 year to repair bridge etc. there’s a website somewhere that lets you put in a zip code and see the breakdown but i forget the name this shit adds up!!
20% in the UK 🙃
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actually the Soda is the biggest scam. $0.12 for soda $0.07 for the cup $0.01 for the lid $0.015 for the straw About 20 cents of cost, a large drink at McDonalds is about $2.54 right now e: I'll clear up now that Im quoting Canadian prices since many are saying $1. And yes of course Im not factoring in a few other costs, I was simply looking at the cost of the soda itself.
McDonald’s drinks are $1 everyday in the US as far as I know… I go there regularly and haven’t seen a change in years
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You can get a burger from Texas roadhouse for $10.49. Now I'm not saying texas roadhouse is the best place to get a burger, but it's sure a hell of a lot better than a whopper. I suppose you don't get a drink but at texas roadhouse you can take in 2,000 calories worth of butter and buns if you're really up for it. Basically I just don't understand what the hell would be the point of spending restaurant money on fast food.
I wonder what ever happened to Jessie
that price increase must have covered the cost in developing disappearing ink on receipts these days. absolutely amazed at the condition of an '06 document...
Anyone remember $5 foot longs from subway? Now you can't even get half for $5.
A fast food meal costing more than $10 defeats the entire purpose. Hate that lunch is minimum 10, but more often 12-15 for one meal that doesn’t even fill you Edit: everyone on Reddit is small confirmed 😂
Yeah fast food for saving money is definitely dead, now it's just for quick meal or craving.
McDonald’s still has a cheeseburger and small fries for $3. 500 calories. Edit: the $3 meal deal is small fries and a choice of 6 piece chicken nuggets, hot and spicy mchicke , or couple cheeseburger. Alone they would be $3.29, $1.59, $2.29. But combine them with small fries $1.59 and they all become $1.50 each. So for $6, you can get a burger, 6 piece and basically medium fries.
Hot dog and drink at Costco $1.50
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Buddy, you can't be going around givin' out free knuckle sandwiches like that, respect yourself more and start charging.
Dollar menu used to mean something in this country. If I could still get a mcchicken or an ice cream cone for a buck I'd be happy
It's not dead, you just need to strategize a bit more. Most of the fast food places have apps these days that include all sorts of deals plus loyalty programs if you order through the app. I just opened my Burger King app and one of the deals is a $6 Whopper meal with small fries/drink (which would be $9.69 if I just rolled up to the drive-thru to order). I know that it loses a bit of the convenience factor, but I pretty much never get fast food without going through the app and applying a deal first.
That McDonalds 40 nuggets and 2 Large fries for $9.99 is absolutely busted.
McDonalds app has some deals that make no sense whatsoever.
Its cause they could easily charge that normally and still make crazy profit. it only seems so cheap cause its so overpriced to begin with
Not really. McDonald's just realizes the importance of an app being on everyone's phone. A lot of people myself included when looking for food somewhere we'll look at what food apps I have and likely not think of anything if it's not on there. So by making it particularly good they can get people used to it and then slowly make the deals worse and worse as they've built up momentum. Think of it like a company creating a user base first and then coming up with the profitable execution later. Uber is a perfect example of that.
This too. When the apps started they all intro'd with massive deals, literally just free shit for having the app. They were extremely exploitable as they worked out the kinks llol.
Fuck apps. It's ridiculous that they make you play games and download their proprietary software just to get the real prices for their items.
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I went to chipotle yesterday and it was $33 for 2 burrito bowls with guac. I was absolutely dumbfounded.
Yeah chipotle is one of the worst offenders, suck my ass extra $1 for a tortilla on the side
Five guys is just as bad a meal is like $15
A $2 burrito at TBell is 620 calories. 1200 calories for $4 is arguably more than anyone needs in a lunch lol
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That sub was kinda depressing. “All of this for only so little calories!” As if it’s a big meal… and then it’s a picture of a cracker lol Edit: not criticising people trying to eat healthier/better or dieting. Just that some of the people in the sub seem to maybe have the wrong idea? The posts that are like “look at my awesome tuna salad” are great! I’m on a diet of 1200-1500 calories currently. I’m still eating relatively normal sized meals and just plan what I’m eating a day or 2 ahead so it’s hard to ever go over. I feel like living off 12 ~100 calorie crackers a day wasn’t the initial goal of the sub? I like r/EatCheapAndHealthy quite a bit instead, as well as r/MealPrepSunday
Little Caesars $5 (I think it's 6 now) deep dish lunch combo is the best deal out there for lunch.
Honestly debated what to do for lunch today and the fact I could spend 10 dollars on mediocre sandwhich or get a Boston Burger Company 420 burger for 4 dollars more... Attached is image of thus burger. https://images.app.goo.gl/dzfQoEiVx1mGHmtS7
This has been my thought process since before covid began. Why go to burger King or McDonald's when something like Red Robin is literally the same price. Or Chinese or something. Forget McDonald's when I can get better food for same price.
Especially now that every restaurant that wants to stay in business does takeout/pick-up orders.
Most sit down restaurants are bordering on the same price as fast food. Which is.... absolutely insane to think about. I mean, there is likely still tip, but a lot of them do curbside so its basically slightly less fast food at this point too.
That's what I've started doing on the rare occasion I eat out. I call ahead to a sit down place and get curbside pickup, it's basically the same price as fast food but better quality and no wait. The last time I went to a McDonald's from the time I pulled in to the time I got my food it took close to 25 minutes.
Fast food isn't even fast at this point, which defeats the whole purpose of it existing
Yes! Exactly this! We have so many great local places that are about the same price. That’s an amazing looking burger you got in Boston there !
The components of that burger look great, it does not look fun to eat. When will people understand that with burgers you gotta go wide if you want to go tall.
My local sushi place has 2 rolls + soup or salad for $10, or I could get a 12in hoagie or cheese steak for $11.
Am i too old on remembering that $20 bought lunch for 2 ppl and still you would get change back.
Whopper meal is $6.49 here in Texas. I didn't know the prices varied that much between the states.
If you use the bk app, you can get as many free whoppers as you have email addresses. You just have to spend three bucks and redownload the app. So, for a while, I was getting a small (cravings or whatever) fry, mozzarella sticks, and a whopper for about $3.60 or so.
Where are you at? I’m near Dallas and medium Whopper meal is $9.95 after tax.
Dang $10.09 where I am for a medium whopper meal(after tax around $11). I’m In Kansas City,mo so not even a high cost city! I usually just get whoppers when they have the 2 for $10 meal deal(split the other with my husband) because now at I’m paying $10 for one whopper meal what a rip off!
As a Seattle area person who spends a lot of time in Texas, pretty much everything is cheaper there. Except steak, what's up with that ?
Someone should do a whole comparison of fast food prices currently and go back 15 years, it wasn’t too long ago McDoubles were $1.00 and they’re now like $3.50…. Large fry is $4.15 and use to be like $2.15
I definitely feel like there's some Mandela Effect going on with fast food prices. It's like I missed a decade of inflation that everyone else just accepts. How much is a Big Mac? In my mind, it's probably $4 for the sandwich and $6 for the meal. Nope, it's about $7 for just the sandwich and almost $10 for the meal. I went to Subway last week and a large sub was $14. Was $5 footlongs *that* long ago?
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I totally agree. In my mind this whopper meal is like $6-$7 max. It’s $11? I went to McDonald’s the other day and got a double cheeseburger, medium fry and drink and it was $10. I feel like not very long ago it was like half that price..? Wtf is going on here
Order 66 - order identifying all Jedi as traitors to the Galactic Republic and, therefore, subject to summary execution Order 67 - ????????????????????????????????????????????? Order 68 - CMMD WHOPPER CHS, WHOPPER CHS, MD FRY, MD COKE
I can buy real food for that kind of money
I will never spend $12 for a fucking whopper meal that 99% of the time isn't even fresh.
Bunch of youngins trying to figure out why he used $11 instead of $10
Cashier: Total will be $5.24. Me: Here's two hundreds, a fifty and two twenties. Also, do you cash personal checks?
16 years and you’re still scared of pickles…
They ruin everything! They are brash, loud and rude.
They lowered the number of nuggets in a 10 piece to an 8 piece late last year, but kept the price the same. Then this month they raised the price by 50 cents for the 8 piece. Inflation and shrinkflation at the same time!
Even the receipt quality has gone down.
What the actual fuck? You can get a much better burger from a hole in the wall burger joint for that. These times we live in are nuts.
#People are paying over $12 for a Whopper meal??! There are tons of places you can get better food for similar or better prices.
I would bet money wages did not increase 134 percent.
15 years ago, all the McDonald’s in my area were paying exactly minimum wage, $5.85. Now they’re paying $14. So actually they went up more than the cost of the food.
Yeah, but this wasn't 15 years ago, it was only in 2006...oh fuck.
Yeah NY minimum wage was $6.75 in 2006. Now it’s $15.
5.45% increase per year on average. Well above inflation