Gourmet Fast Food?
 

I just ate at Pei Wei tonight ( really good AZN food, they have them in AZ, dunno about anywhere else) and it go me thinking, how is "fast food" defined? There are a number of resturants like Pei Wei, Chipotle, and various sandwhich places which most people would consider to be fast food, but I don't feel like these places are comparable to McDonalds/BK/Wendys. The quality of food is much better, and its normal to wait at least 10 minutes for your food at a place like Pei Wei.

Should these kinds of places still be considered fast food? Or is Pei Wei a "sitdown resturant"? ( people bring your food out to you, but everyone orders at a counter) Or is it something else, gourmet fast food/a quick-sitdown resturant?

( also what is your favorite thing to get at these kind of places, please include those I haven't named)

Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

Check the nutrition, namely sodium levels.

Anything with that much salt isn't gourmet in my book.

Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

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Check the nutrition, namely sodium levels.

Anything with that much salt isn't gourmet in my book.

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Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

I think you'd be surprised.

Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

I think McDonalds owns Chipotle & Pei Wei, so it's all fast food to me. Don't bother checking nutrition values, there are none.

Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

Pei Wei sounds pretty good. There's one near me too. Thanks for the tip.

Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

Chipotle isn't owned by McDonald's anymore; it was spun off a while ago. Although McDonald's might still hold a significant stake in Chipotle.

Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

The definition of a fast-food place is a restaurant with a drive-thru. I haven't been to these places, but there ya go.

Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

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The definition of a fast-food place is a restaurant with a drive-thru. I haven't been to these places, but there ya go.

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I think fast-food is anywhere where you can/do order at a counter rather than with a waitress/waiter, and the restaurant gives you the food at the counter as opposed to bringing it to you.

Re: Gourmet Fast Food?
 

yeah, obv fast food doesn't require a drive thru, though a drive thru is sufficient (assuming it's not just a carryout drive-thru). a hot dog street vendor sells fast food.

wiki says "Fast food is food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, such as TV dinners, typically the term refers to food which is cooked in bulk in advance, kept warm or reheated to order, and sold ready-to-eat from an outlet."