Chick-fil-A named America's favorite fast food restaurant, dethroning In-N-Out
In the United States, two hyphenated fast food joints have sat high upon the thrones of their regional kingdoms. In the West, In-N-Out reigned supreme. In the South, it was Chick-fil-A. Now, a survey has determined which cult favorite takes the crown nationwide. Chick-fil-A has been officially named America's favorite fast-food restaurant.
A recent report by Market Force, published by Food & Wine, polled 7,600 consumers about their satisfaction level with various chains, and Chick-fil-A ranked the highest, with a 79% "loyalty rating." In last year's Market Force report, In-N-Out was America's favorite for the second consecutive time.
Second place on the best chicken list was Raising Cane's, a smaller chain located primarily in the South.
In-N-Out remains America's favorite burger joint, getting a 73% satisfaction rating. McDonald's came in last on the list of 14 burger chains, with a satisfaction score of 28%.
This year, not only did a newcomer make it onto the burger list, it took second place: Five Guy's received a 68% rating.
The biggest shakeups happened on the Pizza and Sandwich lists. Pizza Ranch, which was No. 1 last year, slipped completely off the 2019 list, while newcomer Blaze Pizza took the top spot this year. As for sandwiches, Jersey Mike's dethroned Wawa as this year's No. 1 sandwich joint.
Chipotle not only remained in first place on the Mexican list, its satisfaction rating grew from 46.3% last year to 61% this year.
A brand new category was also added to Market Force's 2019 report: "Coffee and Bakery." Krispy Kreme took the cake on that one, followed by Panera and Starbucks.