And wherever you go, there are times you just want something familiar – an old reliable standby, rather than risk more strangeness. After months in Indonesia, where any ground beef was jokingly referred to as “roo” (as in kanga-), the first stop on leave in Singapore was McD’s for “real” burgers. The best McDonald’s cheeseburger I ever ate was in Moscow the day the city ran out of bread. McDonald’s had burger buns: they owned wheat farms and controlled bun-making with typical McD’s precision. They grew fantastic tomatoes (like Grandma’s garden) and leaf lettuces in the deep, rich Russian soil, too. Very satisfying after months of riding the rails through China, then Siberia.
Road Warriors need fuel, and sometimes have to fuel up on the run. Five Guys Burgers & Fries currently tops various lists of best burgers or best fast food. I think they are hideously greasy. Manhattan prices, when outside of Manhattan, do not sit well with my wallet either.
A better answer is Steak & Shake – an old chain founded in 1934. Sparse on the ground – they are not present in every town or crossroads – they’re still worth tracking down if one is near wherever you land. Roadside diner service at less-than-McD’s prices.
The Cheesy Cheddar Burger is a double steakburger with enough genuine Wisconsin cheddar to swim over burger, plate and fries. Lettuce and tomato tops the burger. The fries are skinny and good enough to disappear down the hatch even if you swear your diet is not going to allow you to tackle the entire pile. Not so greasy – neither burger nor fries. And really quite tasty. At $4.99, it’s such a good deal.
If you are on the road Stateside, Steak & Shake beats McD's, Wendy's, Five Guys, et al. On the fast food scale, it rates fabulous. The burgers are thin, so do get doubles.
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