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Comment by noduerme | Hacker News Reader

When were Popeye's or BK "quality" brands? I don't remember them getting any worse since RBI bought them.

Before the fast food brands revitalized Burger King (and somewhat Carl’s Jr.) were famously a bit of a cut above in quality (and price) but now everyone works on an on-demand model and the difference is harder to notice.

Before the fast food brands revitalized Burger King (and somewhat Carl’s Jr.) were famously a bit of a cut above in quality

Yep. And it put one of my relatives on the unemployment line.

He was responsible for importing cheap meat from Australia and New Zealand for Burger King and a bunch of prisons.

In the early 90's there was a brief wave of "made in USA" pride that swept America, and Burger King changed suppliers and advertised "Made with all American beef!"

That cut my relative out of the picture, and his prison clients weren't enough to make up for the loss, so he lost his job.

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I remember the kangaroo meat scandal from that time, forget who it was, maybe Jack in the Box?

Kangaroo meat is great and way more sustainable than beef. I'd eat a kangaroo burger any day.

Agreed, tastes like a mix between beef & chicken. Sadly barely any restaurants serve kangaroo.

I would much prefer a variety of meats that are more sustainably farmed with choices varying by season and availability limited by ecological factors with open-market pricing (with a fairly heavy tax) to naturally introduce a premium on delicacies.

There was one in the 1970s regarding McDonalds.

With the release of their chicken sandwich, Popeye's had one of the most successful fast food product launches in the past few years. This launch was so successful that nearly every major restaurant chain launched their own chicken sandwich afterward, and it completely turned around the public image of Popeye's.

Popeye's was mentioned in two Grammy-nominated songs in 2022, and dozens of other rap songs in the past few years.

Reviewbrah famously went on a rant about RBI (after they ruined one of his favorite Popeyes items) and how they turn everything into garbage: https://youtu.be/5d5NJgO38AE?t=362

When it was run by Al Copeland, Popeyes was actually very good. He tried to purchase another large fried chicken chain, went bankrupt, and was forced to give up Popeyes, but kept a number of dishes and ingredients. Copeland's restaurants still serve the original biscuits, which are incredible.

Apparently Popeyes reacquired most of the ingredients and dishes in 2014, but they unfortunately didn't bring back the original biscuits.

I feel like BK used to be a lot better back in the 2000s but that could just be fond memories.

My guess is it is because that is the era when BK really leaned into the McDonalds sized chip on their shoulder.

So, kinda like the petty thrills that the "console wars" had.

It's still probably better than McDonald's, but the bar is pretty low there. Full disclosure, I sold the QSR stock I'd had for a few years when everything went to shit in 2020 and bought MCD on the same day... I like that McDonald's goes out of the way to supply locally, it seems like a better model for surviving black swan events. Both garbage, but that's the cafeteria choice you get in late stage capitalism.

Still, I watched with some admiration as MCD navigated the local export restrictions on beef in Argentina, and opened cafes there, served only grass fed local beef... then promoted that guy to open cafes in Europe and watched again as they brought hyperlocal beef producers in so you could buy a Charoux burger in Paris. That was deft.

> Both garbage, but that's the cafeteria choice you get in late stage capitalism.

If you're in Paris and you're willing to pay 15€ for your burger menu, King Marcel is ridiculously good.

ohhhh... wow. ok. This got my juices going. Next time. Saint-Nectaire is perhaps my favorite cheese... their "Michelin" sounds a lot like the home burger I developed living in Auvergne. Which was: 50% steak hache / 50% ground pork, smashed thin with two patties, rocket, grilled onion, Charroux mustard, mayonnaise, St Nectaire on one patty and Blue d'Auverne on the other, on a hollowed out flattened wide baguette. Monster. Most of the necessary things aren't available in the States... but it's very cool that the King Marcel burger seems to match this flavor profile.

It's been my experience that most "American" foods - and Chinese food too - are much better in France. Like, this is embarrassing, but compared to any roadside chain in America, the Buffalo Grill is incredible. It would be the best restaurant in most cities under 50,000 people in the US. It looks like an Applebee's and then they have freakin steak tartare which would be inconceivable in the US. And it's actually edible.

I remember Popeye's to be quite good, a long while ago though.

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