Not that long ago, restaurant chains like Cava, Chipotle and Sweetgreen had lines streaming out of their doors at lunchtime. But last year, traffic and sales at many of them softened considerably, and their stock prices plunged. Still, don't look for this restaurant segment to slash menu prices any time soon. It's simply not part of its DNA, some restaurant analysts say.
Raising Cane's chain is known for maintaining a strict menu focus—just chicken fingers with one signature dipping sauce, crinkle-cut fries, cole slaw and Texas toast. Customers may purchase a single chicken finger, a few as a combo, loaded on a sandwich or in large party packs.
Mix and Match lets diners choose among 13 items - four sandwiches, three salads and three soups - to include in a combo. Each half sandwich, half salad or cup of soup is $4.99, but you have to choose at least two. The total comes to $9.98.
According to Tasting Table's assessment of this lackluster cheeseburger, it's about as underwhelming as you can possibly imagine. With an uninspired patty that comes across as dry and bland, housed in a stiff bun that can be described as anything but fluffy, even the presence of cheese couldn't save it.
TrueBurger is the call for a no-nonsense burger, shakes, and fries combo that'll satisfy any urge for something juicy, sweet, and fried. At this shoebox-sized counterservice spot on Grand Avenue (there's a larger on Broadway), the burgers are simplicity at its finest, with just garlic mayo, lettuce, and tomato.
And that's only part of what it has to offer. Dig a little deeper, and you will find that this state is full of hidden gems, one of which is an incredibly affordable burger joint. Tucked in a corner of West Avenue in San Antonio, Murf's Better Burger is the place to be when you want to fill your stomach without emptying your purse.
For children of the 90s Boston Market always seemed like a beacon of homestyle cooking amid a sea of cheap burgers, but that reputation hasn't saved the chain from collapsing in recent years. Founded in 1985 as Boston Chicken in the Massachusetts village of Newtonville, the restaurant was imagined as a healthy, higher-end alternative to normal fast food. In some ways it was on the leading edge of "fast casual" dining, offering something closer to home cooked food but with the speed and prices of fast food.
