It is time to put an end to the never-ending dispute. I decided to explore the question of “which is your favorite fast food restaurant?” I took the poll to twitter and had my followers help me identify which of the well-known food chains are their favorite. McDonald’s is an American staple. “The golden arches always take me back to when I was a kid,” I asked some of the voters to give me an explanation for their choice and that was a popular response. Wendy’s has the 4 for $4 deal which also attracts a customer. Burger King has always been known for their Whopper. One of the voters even responded with “Wendy’s just seems more natural to me.” We all know that the food eaten at these chains are far from natural and healthy, but it was a common opinion that Wendy’s is the best option nutritionally. “I wish I could have a chicken sandwich from Wendy’s, a hamburger from McDonalds and chicken nuggets from Burger King but only because they’re really cheap.” When it came down to the poll, out of 50 voters, Wendy’s came out on top with 56% of the votes. McDonald’s totaled 40%, leaving Burger King with 4%. To be honest, I was very shocked by the results of the poll. If I were voting, I would have been at a loss. I thought McDonald’s was going to have practically no competition. There is something about tradition and remembering where we went as a child and associating the memory of eating with our family that may sway one’s vote. Another popular dispute I wanted to tackle was Dunkin Donuts versus Starbucks. As I explored this vote, I was trying to keep my personal biases aside. When I was going to community college, I went to Dunkin Donuts every morning to get my usual, medium iced coffee with caramel and skim milk. But there were times when I went to work and stopped at Starbucks. The poll results were very close. Dunkin Donuts took the lead with 52% with Starbucks taking 48%. When I questioned voters, many of them had the same response. It all came down to the price. Starbucks has an expensive reputation. This week, I paid attention to something that usually I don’t think twice about. I looked around to see which coffee cups people were holding. There were many Dunkin Donuts cups in the hands of students. One of the voters that voted for Starbucks said her choice was based on the fact that she isn’t a coffee drinker. She felt as though Starbucks had many other things to offer such as the well-known Frappuccino. It is safe to say, amongst the college student community, Dunkin Donuts and Wendy’s are the go to fast food choices.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Albany chapter.