California - fast food recommendations and other trivia we may not know about

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

Big bucket-list road trip holiday that was originally meant to happen back before Covid. While we won't be eating in fast food places every day, I want to try some of these places I've been reading about for years, like Denny's, IHOP, Wendy's... also heard that Gordon Ramsay is a fan of In n Out burger.

Any recommendations for fast food we must try, or should avoid? Also, any other less well known advice or tips (never been to America before) would be appreciated!

@Elphame Do you know the name of the shopping centre, I really like Lebanese food and also like a big USA shopping centre. Planning on going to southern California soon. Thanks.

Chick-Fil-A I’m pretty sure has locations in California, I grew up in America and miss it all the time!

My other go to is Bojangles which they definitely don’t have outside of the South but definitely find somewhere that does good Chicken Biscuits, even just to try!

Not fast food, but Aux Delivers on Polk St, San Francisco is a great Vietnamese restaurant. We've eaten there on different trips to the US.

If you're driving at least part of the Pacific Coast Highway then Hearst Castle, San Simeon is worth a visit. I think you need to pre-book tours.

We deliberately avoided Chick-Fil-A due to their homophobic policies.

@AmadeustheAlpaca Sorry no! We were just heading back to LA from Santa Clarita after visiting the Vasquez Rocks. It was literally just an impulse decision. There were several places to eat around the car park and we happened to pick that one.

How DARE you go on a decadent, gluttonous long haul holiday when there is a cost of living crisis on!

@Elphame Thank you anyway. We’re off to Los Angeles soon and looking for interesting food recommendations though I don’t think we’ll make it as far as Santa Clarita.

and a GLOBAL PANDEMIC, don't forget.

You're basically going straight to hell to spend eternity a small room with Boris Johnson.

(for the purposes of this we will ignore the fact that I'm off to the
Caribbean)

We're certainty crossing Denny's off the list, and probably IHOP as well as DS has shunned American style pancakes since he just happened to get sick shortly after eating some, five years ago. He holds grudges even better than I do, and that's saying something.

Not even Satan would condemn me to that.

There is a Cheesecake Factory in Saks in San Francisco. I'd recommend that one as you combine cheesecake and some very nice shopping.
Look out for the woman with the cat on her head that sits at the entrance...

From what I remember of Denny's when I lived in the US about 30 years ago was that their main USP appeared to be meal deals for 'seniors' which didn't require much chewing.

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz you're totally correct. Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the UK are way sweeter than the US and are tailored to the sugar loving British palate. I can’t eat them here. I’m someone who grew up around them in the American south and they’re nowhere nearly as sweet.

Carl's Jr burgers were always the best FF when I was out there ... And it's good to hear that CPK are still going, I bought one of their first recipe books!

I remember one of the first times I was in Dennys poking a pale, white lump around my plate. Wasn't sure what it was, it tasted sweet but didn't recognise it whatsoever.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was a carrot. To this day I don't know whether Dennys were using some weird white variant or if they had been boiled so much they had lost all colour 😳

I wouldn’t go to Cheesecake Factory unless an $18 dried out burger with a side of very ordinary cheesecake is your thing. Also both times I’ve been, the service was awful and sooooo slow.

Find a decent local diner over iHop etc especially if they serve Disco Fries. Duck Donuts over Dunkin every time. As you are specifically asking about fast food joints, Panera is our go to when we’re after food on the road.

As everyone else said, In N Out is a West Coast must do, although I didn’t like mine last time I went. Whenever we’re on the west coast, we find the best place locally that sells Fish Tacos. You can get them here on the East coast but Californian ones are in a whole other league. Our local Chik-fil-A is always heaving with lines and lines of cars in the drive thru but I won’t go, as much as I like their cow adverts. Enjoy!

IHOP is decent for breakfast, if there aren't better options, because it has everything and you don't have to eat pancakes. They have waffles, eggs, bacon, toast, porridge, fruit salad, omelettes, home fries, etc, etc. You can literally have anything you want.

In-N-Out Burger was a big hit with my family last year (I don't eat burgers, so I'm afraid I can't vouch for it).

Cheesecake Factory is a big favourite of mine and DH's, but beware, the portions are HUGE. The cocktails and desserts are also excellent.

You're doing an interesting route - I'm guessing your DH is into trains and cars and stuff given a couple of your stops. If you happen to be passing Lee Vining (small town at eastern end of Tioga Road as you exit Yosemite), at a mealtime, go into the little general store and get yourselves a Monorito (a burrito - but named after Mono Lake, which is a saline lake next to the town). My DS had one last summer and said it was excellent and it did look very good!

I can’t believe I forgot my kids’ 3 favourites, Chipotle, MO’s and Yogey Bee‘s. Again, these are fast food restaurants not your sit down restaurants although you can sit down in all of them.

When I went to Cheesecake Factory I was literally expecting it to be a dessert place and was oddly disappointed it wasn't 😳

If you like Chinese food then SF Chinatown will provide some excellent options. Check out some blogs before you go to see what the current favourites are.

I’d kill for some fish tacos right now!

In San Francisco we just joined the longest line for dim sum and figured that would be the freshest.
It was so good.

I'd go for well done animal fries rather than the burger be animal style. But I don't like gloop on my burgers.

If you're going to Lone Pine be sure to hit up Schatt's Bakery in Bishop. Great sandwiches and baked goods. Try to find time to visit Bodie as you're heading up 395. A ghost town in 'arrested decay' where you can peer in windows and tour the old stamp mill.

Ghiradelli, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, IHOP and Dennys are all fab

Bit random but I'd recommend going to a baseball game as it's a quintessential American passtime and has the bonus that ballpark food is amazing! At Oracle Park in San Francisco they have garlic fries which are delicious

A complete tourist trap but Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory in San Francisco is a must. In fact the whole of fisherman's wharf is a tourist trap but you've got to do it haven't you.