In case you couldn’t tell from all of our food reviews, we love fast food. Most of the food we eat is cooked at home, but the occasional fast food treat? Sign us up! Well, as a nice conclusion to this fast-food full year, we thought that the best way to conclude it would be to compile our fast food favorites. But don’t worry, we will be back with reviews soon; McDonald’s has a new McFlurry coming out in early May 2021, and Burger King promised us a revamped chicken sandwich, so pray for us when that comes out. 

Sasha 

Best burrito: 

This one was probably the easiest choice to make: Chipotle. As much as Moe’s tries, it just doesn’t taste as good as Chipotle (though Moe’s gets points for offering jalapenos as a topping. Chipotle, take note). When I go to Chipotle I get a fresh tasting burrito, which you just don’t get at Moe’s. Even the free chips and salsa don’t make up for it. Honestly, though, get a bowl from Chipotle. It costs the same as the burrito, but from our limited sample size, you get about 30 percent more food (by weight). If you really want the tortillas, you can buy them separately, and still end up with a value for your money. 

Best classic chicken sandwich: 

This is also probably not surprising, considering John and I basically live at Wendy’s: it’s their Spicy Chicken Sandwich. But get it with extra lettuce and extra mayo. See, my issue with basically all of the competition is that most other restaurants’ chicken sandwiches only come with the chicken and pickles. Like come on, what kind of a sandwich is that? You can’t just put something between two pieces of bread and call it a sandwich, Chick-fil-A! Wendy’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich also deserves a special mention because for $1.39, you really can’t beat it. Pro tip: substitute the regular bun for a premium bun, add extra lettuce and mayo, and you get a very decent sandwich for less than two dollars! 

Best dessert: 

Dairy Queen’s Brownie Batter Blizzard Treat, hands down. The chocolate ice cream, the brownie bits, the chocolate, it truly is a chocolate lover’s dream. It is just so good, I don’t know what else to say in its favor: it speaks for itself. The only negative thing I have to say about it (other than the utter lack of DQ’s in the Waltham area) is the steep price tag, but it’s a great special treat. Note that my answer may change if McDonald’s Caramel Brownie McFlurry lives up to its name. 

Best fast food coffee: 

This is a hard one since we agree to include only fast food chains, and not coffee shops. None of them have REALLY good coffee, but if I had to choose, I would pick McDonalds. They definitely have the widest variety of coffees in the McCafe, and honestly, it’s not too bad. (Don’t tell anyone I said this, but it tastes just like regular Starbucks coffee). 

Best fries: 

KFC Secret Recipe Fries, because oh my god it is surprisingly good? I don’t even like fries, but when John got these I basically ate all of them. I never get fries when we have fast food, but now if we go to KFC I actually get fries and enjoy them too. As over as I am with the whole “secret recipe” thing, these fries are actually a gem. If you haven’t tried the new KFC fries, you totally should. 

Best pizza chain:

I really don’t have a hot take in this category. The best “fast food” pizza chain is Domino’s. Their two for $5.99 deal is great: we can get two medium two topping pizzas for $12 plus tax, which is a great deal in my book. Now in case you haven’t noticed, I love chicken and jalapenos, so my entire pizza has their premium chicken on it, while half has jalapenos (and if I’m feeling very spicy, the other half will also have buffalo sauce on it). Their parm bites are trash, but they are a delicious kind of trash. Though I think that perfectly summarizes Domino’s.  

Best “special” chicken sandwich: 

This was probably the hardest category to choose a winner for: there’s the McDonald’s spicy chicken sandwich, Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Pub Sandwich, but all of these still fall short of the Wendy’s Spicy Jalapeno Popper Sandwich. We already wrote an entire review about it, so I will just leave it at that. 

Best random item: 

Burger King’s mozzarella sticks. Hear me out, I know this is a weird one, but Burger King pleasantly surprised me (for the first time ever) when I got these. They are $2.98 for eight mozzarella sticks, granted they’re small, but for the price you pay they are really not a bad side. Now I love mozzarella sticks and firmly believe there is no such thing as a bad mozzarella stick, but listen, since all restaurants use frozen mozzarella sticks, you might as well not pay an arm and a leg for them. So if you are ever at Burger King, try a side of mozzarella sticks with your order. 

John

Best burrito: 

I have a very controversial opinion on this one. My best burrito award will actually go to Moe’s! Not only does Moe’s offer a better burrito compared to Chipotle in terms of size (yes, we weighed them), but they also offer free chips and salsa with your meal as well! When I go to Moe’s, I know I will be full and satisfied from the huge burrito and the many chips that they offer. However, with Chipotle, I cannot exactly say the same. Also, the fact that you have to pay extra for the chips and salsa is just so ugh.

Best classic chicken sandwich:

This has to go to Wendy’s, especially since they revamped their chicken sandwich. The new chicken patties that they put on the sandwiches are so delicious, juicy, and tasty. Not only this, but you can put whatever condiments and toppings that you want on the sandwich for free! Onions, tomatoes, pickles, mayo, you name it! Not only this, but they have extremely cheap sandwiches, the cheapest one coming in at $1.39, which fills your craving for a little over a dollar with all the toppings you desire. 

Best fast food coffee: 

This has to go to Dunkin’ Donuts for me. Specifically, I am talking about their iced coffee. It has the perfect balance of acidity, sweetness and bitterness. You know, I cannot exactly place what makes this coffee so delicious for me, but my whole family agrees that there is something in Dunkin’s coffee that puts it above Panera, Starbucks, and some of their other competing brands. Although I will caution those against their hot coffee: it is absolutely delicious, but it comes straight off of the coffee maker and is boiling hot.

Best dessert: 

When Sasha asked me what she should put for me in terms of the best dessert, the answer immediately came to mind: the Oreo blizzard from Dairy Queen (DQ). Although I generally love cookies and cream ice creams and milkshakes, this blizzard takes it to a whole new level. For me, this is mostly because the oreos are well distributed throughout the dessert (which some places do not seem to understand is important). This has been my go-to fast food dessert since my sophomore year in highschool, when one of my friends took me there after exams.

Best fries: 

McDonald’s has actually held my “best fries” for quite a long time, especially when they are fresh and hot. However, after a recent trip to KFC to try out one of their chicken sandwiches, I have to say that my best fries now resoundingly goes to KFC. These fries were PERFECT: a crunchy outside, fluffy inside, tasty and thick. I would legitimately give these french fries a 10/10. If you ever stop by a KFC, be sure to get their french fries. It is a significant upgrade from the potato wedges that they used to sell.

Best pizza chain:

If you have ever been at our apartment, we used to order Domino’s all of the time. In fact, we had to limit our Domino’s visits to once per month, otherwise we would have it for dinner everyday. There are many things that make Domino’s great: from their pizza, to their parmesan bites and their cinnamon twists, we always found ourselves ordering some new fun side or topping, all the while retaining that delicious and iconic Domino’s flavor.

Best “special” chicken sandwich: 

If you are an avid reader of our food reviews, then you already know the answer to this question: the new jalapeno popper sandwich from Wendy’s. This sandwich provides a deliciously distinct flavor profile that I have not found in any other sandwich: the jalapenos with the cheese and the pickles, this sandwich is my absolute dream. In case I did not do it enough justice in my previous food reviews, I consider the jalapeno popper sandwich from Wendy’s to be my favorite fast food item of all time.

Best random item:

Remember when I said that Sasha and I used to order from Domino’s all the time? Yeah, well that was not just for the grilled chicken pizza that we are addicted to: it was for the parmesan bites as well. Now, I know some people are not into oily foods, and to be honest I am not into incredibly greasy foods as well, but these parmesan bites make it work. The juice of the parmesan bites when you bite into them are to die for, and work in conjunction perfectly with pizza.

Overall, we had a great time reviewing foods this past year: while some foods were a resounding success, others were catastrophic failures, and those foods still added to the fun. In compiling this list, we realized just how much fun we had looking for new fast food items that were coming out from various companies, and then going to those fast food restaurants and trying them. It was almost like engaging in a new foodie experience every week, and sometimes you may even find a gem that you did not even know existed!