Fast Food Types?

[laccoff_mawning]

So I've been thinking about fast food types for a conversation in my latest chapter. However, I don't really know much about the subject. So what types of fast food are there, that perhaps isn't often thought of as fast food, but definitely could be?

Do Takeaways like Indian or Chinese cound as fast food? What about stuff like Kebabs, or tacos, or some pasta based fastfood?

Please give me some examples of fast food types and explain them a bit so I can pretend that I know what a social life looks like.

(Also, the options on the poll are what google AI gave me, So blame it for everything that's missing.)

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Shawarma, baked potatoes with toppings, stuffed thin pancakes.

 

[Puji-Maki]

Fried Chicken with rice, especially fried chicken wings.

 

[Ai-chan]

Scissored chicken or fish fritters. Can be eaten while walking and tastes great.

 

[BigBadBoi]

Fast food isn't fast anymore. It's not cheap anymore either.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Fast food isn't fast anymore. It's not cheap anymore either.

 

[beast_regards]

Kebab is popular around here, as well as Asian restaurants and pizzerias.

The kebab shop in my town is close to grasping the true meta: they put kebab on pizza.

 

[MasterY001]

What kind of universe has never heard of pizza!?!?

 

[LiteraryWho]

Burger is probably the og fast food as we know it today, but for a more historical perspective you can look into the ancient roman "thermopolium" (here's an article on the subject: https://www.archeotravelers.com/en/2020/05/08/thermopolium-the-fast-food-of-the-ancient-romans/).

 

[RainyLiquid]

?

 

[John_Owl]

So I've been thinking about fast food types for a conversation in my latest chapter. However, I don't really know much about the subject. So what types of fast food are there, that perhaps isn't often thought of as fast food, but definitely could be?

Do Takeaways like Indian or Chinese cound as fast food? What about stuff like Kebabs, or tacos, or some pasta based fastfood?

Please give me some examples of fast food types and explain them a bit so I can pretend that I know what a social life looks like.

(Also, the options on the poll are what google AI gave me, So blame it for everything that's missing.)

Fast food is, in my area, generally considered anything where you pay then get your food. Like Mcdonalds, you order, pay, then eat. Others, like applebees, you order, eat, then pay.

Any item that can be turned out fast (from order to paid, food in hand) can be considered fast food. I know a few BBQ places in texas like that. They make mass amounts of meat, shred it, so customers come in, order, pay, and get their food in less than 5-10 minutes.

It also depends on the culture. Japan is big on street food and streetside stalls. Takoyaki is a big fast food there, but it's basically unheard of in america.

 

[l8rose]

Americanized Chinese food. Specifically sweet & sour pork slices, lobster fried rice, chow mein and chicken balls.

I really miss the small Chinese stall in our local food court. It got replaced by a New York Fries. =(

 

[SunNation_Alt]

Real people eat bacon, egg, and cheese cheese cheese cheese cheese cheese

 

[Sezaika]

Nachos with beef, cheese, and salsa?

 

[butierHHF]

Pizza with lots of pineapple

 

[Valmond]

Pizza with lots of pineapple

Witch…!

 

[JHarp]

Honestly you could probably get away with opening up any random delivery app and just browsing their categories, as much as there can be a technical difference, people aren't going to hate you for deciding something might be fast food when takeaway and in turn the perceived status of fast food, is actually one of the more profitable parts of business right now.

Spoiler: Linguistics drift 'rant'

If we are talking literally; fast food is barely anything like most people perceive due to the tendency to ignore lines through blurring meanings.

Fast food originally meant:
Little to no table service, pre-cooked/assembled components, low cost and high volume, meaning high turnover. Minimal waiting space and fast throughput (Including lower comfort). Taking 10-15 minutes to cook at most, due to how much of a blueprint the workers can be given.

What I think blurs the lines for most people; is the fact takeaway and delivery apps from fast food places, compete on the same platform as pizza parlours, burger joints and other more specialised and intentional stores.

The issue is a drift of semantic boundaries, especially considering even 'fast' food on delivery would take 30-40 minutes now which defeats the original intention of industrial-production level output of the same few items.

Inherently the moment the food starts costing restaurant prices and has a level of quality above mcdonalds chicken nuggets, which are literally mashed chicken, frozen into shapes to be cooked in batches throughout the day is where we start losing the definition of 'fast food'.

Burgers would probably be the hardest thing to straddle the line considering a lot of burger patties are sometimes frozen and a mash of meat, compared to steak burgers and a whole list of more intentional 'artisanal' options. But either way I would think it reasonable to claim that most food from delivery apps fails to qualify for the original intention of 'fast food'.

Modern day it is somewhat hard to consolidate, seeing how the lines have blurred enough that any 'unhealthy' food is now considered 'fast' food. The implication is high sugar, fat, low nutrition. Delivery platforms don’t help, removing a lot of context from the gourmet burger place you might order from in comparison to mcdonalds, where some places do actually produce high quality meals, end up bundled into a category that has been confused.

Also I don’t care if there are drugs in the mcdonalds chicken nuggets. If I’m in the store, I’m still buying a box like it’s a prescription.

 

[Chiyuki_Hoshino]

I like instant noodles, because instant noodles are easy to make, quick to serve, and are often the choice when time is limited or you want something practical to eat.