Who has the Best "Fast Food" value menu?....

On this frum you might be right..Robin...But in the real world you are wrong...The proof is in the cash register....and at the end of the day that is what matters...just ask places over the past year around here that have closed and I bet MONEY had something to do with it.....

O robin I am sure that "Other" places are low in sodium and calories...I think not. At least the places you hate to go tell you what they are unlike places you go to....I think that a burger from Wendys is no better or worse than a burger from Ollies Trolley...Kalens or other places when it comes to nutrition....They are all bad for you...period...

As far as the original question I would have to say either Wendys or McDonalds value list and as far as seafood goes I would say Captian D's. The old stand by White castle is good also...

I nominate J. Gumbos in the fast food category. Yum. Cheap. Convenient (at least to me.)

I just ate at the Lyndon location for lunch. Yeah, I would call it fast, but it might take awhile to eat all the food they serve you! My bowl of crawfish etoufee was about as big as the one's they serve salad in at KT's! And I got the pumpkin pecan pie for dessert, and they gave me a quarter of the pie! That plus a glass of iced tea cost me $10.40 (including tip). It was delicious (don't worry, I didn't eat all the pie at once...)

"If we're talking about traveling there really aren't too many vegetarian friendly places to stop. I usually pack my own food for the "to" trip. If I can't get around to it or for the "from" trip, Subway is a decent alternative. They have a super cheap veggie sub and some kind of veggie patty sandwich as well. "

I'm not recommending this, but one time when we were trying to cut back on meat we actually enjoyed getting a cheese whopper with everything, hold the meat! With the cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, et al, it wasn't a terrible sandwich!

Gotta go with Panera Bread's "You Pick Two" deal......

I've got to agree with you on this one Ray! They have a great selection of soups (can't seem to get past the French Onion most of the time) and they have such a wide variety of sandwiches that anyone can find something they like. They even have at least one vegetarian sandwich or you could choose a salad and have several choices that are vegetarian! With the option to pick a soup, salad or sandwich (any two of these) you get a huge number of options. Of course you can get a good for you side item like fruit or a bad one like chips but no matter what they all taste good!

Dan, I have to agree with El Nopal! Had it tonight! We stop in all the time for the salsa to go. We get a pint, with a mix of half hot/half mild. It is soooo good.

Dan, I have to agree with El Nopal! Had it tonight! We stop in all the time for the salsa to go. We get a pint, with a mix of half hot/half mild. It is soooo good.

Great cheap fast food? Why eat that industrial corporate cr@p? Head for your nearest real Mexican taqueria!

after midnight, aside from a very limited number of options...
there is very very little at that price point that's independent to choose from.


i take no shame in my occasional late night Taco Bell or La Bamba stops after a long night at work.


for all the professional cooks out there who the last thing they want to do after cooking for 8+ hours is cook more, or wait for food, or pay a premium... i think i speak for all of us.


for the record, i've got no problem shelling out the bucks on some of the higher priced late-night options either.
but most aren't places you can pick something up on the go to take home and wind down.


It's funny cause the independent places that offer prices similar to the chain places during the late night hour seem to consistently seem to screw up your orders worse than the chains.
I can hit Taco Bell at 3am, and from the time i place my order to hitting the road... less than 3 minutes. I always always have a special order (no cheese) and it's almost never screwed up.

The last time i got food late at Cafe 360 (and this being the reason it was the last time) i paid nearly $8 for a BLT with a side of fries.

I get home, (after walking on foot) and i have two piece of toasted bread with 3 limp half slices of bacon, a small tomato slice, and barely noticable piece of lettuce. no side.

I was so irate i nearly walked back and gave the owner or manager a piece of my mind.
I've never felt so cheated or pissed about my food order in my life.

needless to say, i've never went back.


for that matter...
when they added the full bar, a friend of mine was briefly (3 days until he jumped ship) as their bar manager.
i helped organize their entire basement (a trashpile) and come up with standardized bar inventory lists.

I hate to bad mouth a place, but when i'm helping for free... and your (mutual) guest and employee restrooms are physically overflowing with feces.... bottle of drain-o atop the comode.... and when i ask about it... the owner says it's no big deal... says he's not gonna call a plumber. wtf!?

i can't believe i ever gave it another chance after that fiasco.


I think i know exactly where Dan was coming from...
It's almost ironic that those who cook food for a living find no problem in dropping the occasional dollar into the corporate food machine.
Truth be told... corporate kitchens are likely to be 10 times cleaner than your local greasy spoon diner.





Viva taco bell y la bamba!
Mas chorizo por favor!




keep late night hours 5+ nights a week, cook all day.... and see if you change your mind.






there's two sides to every story,
those who cook to keep a roof over there head, and those who don't.
most people don't like to repeat work at home.




i got sick of eating Ramen in college.

[Robin Garr]

i take no shame in my occasional late night Taco Bell or La Bamba stops after a long night at work.

Although La Bamba is technically a chain, I really don't think of it along those lines - too independently funky.

Spinelli's is open late, too, and is local.

Cafe 360? Local or not, I have never been able to figure out its appeal.

It does surprise me to see a chef willing to eat at Taco Bell, though.

Great cheap fast food? Why eat that industrial corporate cr@p? Head for your nearest real Mexican taqueria!

my mouth (literally my keyboard) has kept shut for far too long....



I still can't get over the amount of dated reviews (2-3 plus years) on some of the cities top spots, while there's taqueria and barbecue joint coverage almost monthly.


there was never a convincing rebuttal on why Park Place hasn't gotten reviewed since April 2002 (source: LHB: Wellinghurst Review, April 2002)

despite a two complete management overhauls, a redesigned dining room, a new menu format/price point, a star chef coming aboard then leaving in the 5 years since the past review.


all the readers of this forum got was... ' i reviewed Jay's hot dogs...'


and as far as compelling review standards go (this argument could go on forever, i still think a score per perceived expectations is in order), i find it painfully hard to look at restaurants such as Volare, Asiatique, 211 Clover Lane, and the English Grill scoring the same 89 points as the Monkey Wrench.


for that matter... the restaurant database is severely out of date and unkempt. numerous restaurant's aren't open anymore (Azalea's, Danielle's, etc.) while new additions aren't even listed (Varanese, Basa, etc.)




to set the record straight...
my aim here isn't to blast our forum host or to take stabs or sucker punches.

Compelling and accurate journalism on point in terms of argument and observation are in the eye of the reviewer... but in terms of the reader, dated materials/databases that don't even list recent dining venues, or omitted closed venues shows a neglect to physically maintain the inner-workings of such an endeavour as LHB.

I understand this is essentially a one man show superceded by the WineLoversPage (this pays the bills if i'm correct?)


If being an advocate for the professionals who keep quiet is what i must do, than i lay it here.


I'm sure in some of the 'old school' circles i'm coming off far too forward, but i'm sure they find some truth in what i'm writing.




bottom line:


there's a new breed of culinary renaissance happening in this town...
It's very much the 4th wave of restaurant cooking in Louisville.
There's a huge group of 'young turks' in this town who are hungry and making strides to redefine this town cuisine-wise.
Chefs like Daniel Stage, Peng Looi, Anoosh Shariat, Dean Corbett, Kathy Cary, Jim Gerhardt, Mike Cunha, Joe Castro, John Castro & Sean Ward have paved the way for the likes of Troy Schuster, Todd Richards, Anthony Lamas, Edward Lee, Allan Rosenberg, Jay Denham, Tim Smith, Rick Adams, Fernado Martinez, & Fede Elbl who have very much carved their own niches and opened the Louisville dining publics perception of 'new dining'.

Within the next 5 years, i expect there is a very decisive rebirth of what Louisville dining has come to understand/appreciate/respect brought forth by my peers.

I'm excited and waiting for rebirth.



...what this has to do with journalism or my initial commentary?
no clue.

felt as if it was an appropriate medium to convey my thoughts; perhaps?

WOW! Where did that come from?????

WOW! Where did that come from?????

fine kentucky bourbon.


LHB needs a breathalizer device to allow users to post... seriously.

The problem I have with Cafe 360 is that in addition to not having their own dumpster and constantly getting caught throwing trash in other establishments', I've also driven by (very) late and seen them dumping their grease in the storm sewer....that is sooooo not cool. That goes to Beargrass Creek!

also- the food....it's not good.