Link to template: https://tiermaker.com/create/teds-fast-food-and-pizza-tier-list-835609

The general methodology here is as follows:

Taste, atmosphere, workers (service and attitude), and value are all taken into consideration. A tier list based on taste alone would look wildly different.

S: Best of the best. To be here you have to look good, taste good, and have decent bang-for-the-buck. I don’t give this out easy. The locations earn my full recommendation.

A: This is good food. It excels in some combination of taste and/or value. These are a part of my restaurant rotation and I would recommend any day them if they serve what you’re craving.

B: The in between-ers. These chains are good… usually. I would have no issue eating here, I just find I rarely do. For whatever reason, be it value or outclassed in their cuisine by another chain, I just do not find myself in these places often. But they’re good, I promise.

C: These are places I would never go myself if there were other options. I would generally not recommend these places, however, if someone else really wants to go or its just too convenient, okay I guess, Ill eat it…

D: If you ask to go here, I would say “Can we please go somewhere else.” If you saw no, depending on how much I like you, we may be eating separately. Their food is not worth my money. However, If it was free, I would eat it. Probably.

Shadow Realm: Gross. I would not eat this unless I was 5+ days without food/water. This “food” is not fit for animals. They lower property value around them.

Notes on results: This year’s update saw a few notable changes. The biggest being Chipotle and Taco Bell falling from my graces. Both previously S tier chains, now they no longer deserve that bragging right. For Chipotle, it’s due to incessant price increases and a notable drop in quality over the years. Chicken burritos are up to $7.35! I remember when they were 6 bucks! Forget about guac at those prices. This severe loss of value, combined with an increase in competition from like-minded competitors (see: Moe’s) warranted a drop of 2 tiers, in my opinion. Taco Bell on the other hand got rid of the single best fast-food menu item in existence. That’s right. The quesarito is no more. I actually felt as if I had just received a call that some uncle had died (A cool uncle too) when I received word of it being dropped from the menu. If it isn’t replaced by something as equally artery clogging soon, Taco Bell may continue to fall. Do better.

Trending in the other direction, McDonald’s continues to impress me with their not-a-gas-station rebranding. Their locations keep getting cleaner and service better. While they thrust new items into the market such as a new breakfast line and special items such as the McRib, their core menu stays the same-and its worked for them for decades, so that’s fine in my book. McDonald’s has moved up to A.

I mentioned before Chipotle like minded competitors. While its easy to point to places like Moe’s Southwestern Grill (Burrito Based) as a rip-off, Chipotle in truth has inspired an entirely new class of restaurant. These up-scaled fast food/casual eateries that tend to do choose-your-own-adventure menus are everywhere and in every flavor. Sushi, pizza, Italian, burgers, Mexican, you name it. These places existed before, and Chipotle was not the first to implement this business model, but it is clear Chipotle’s success led the rapid and aggressive expansion of these other chains. And for this, I am grateful. Three of these coattail riders have made it into my A tier – Moe’s, Bibibop, and Currito. I expect this trend will plateau soon, but I hope we get a few more gems such as these in the mean time.

Finally, I struggled on where to put the Pizza places. Are Domino’s and Pizza Hut on the same level as the other A tier members? No. But I don’t think B tier gives them enough credit. Domino’s Handmade Pan pizza and Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust and Wings are simply beautiful things. I feel weird giving them A status, but what are ya gonna do? If they are all you have around you (cough cough Midwest) they are decent choices where you know what you’re getting and are sure to enjoy it. Perhaps in the future, the pizza part of this tier system will split into it’s own thing.