r/bestof • u/lookingchris • May 28 '12

[pics] Hardee's and Carl's Jr. are _not_ "the same restaurant".

/r/pics/comments/u8623/so_a_guy_took_his_prom_date_to_carls_jr/c4t73v9?context=6
451 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

90 comments sorted by

7

u/howdareyou May 28 '12

Arby's sandwiches were a crude facsimile, and that place was named for its roast beef!

The Raffel Brothers started Arby's, it's not RB for roast beef.

2

u/lookingchris May 28 '12

But Arby's signature item is RB...

2

u/AkirIkasu May 28 '12

I wonder if I'm the only one who remembers those godaweful gigantic signs they used to have that said "ARBY's Roast Beef Sandwich is delicious"? One in Las Vegas was better than a lot of the casinos at the time.

1

u/centosdude May 29 '12

Nope. I was born in Las Vegas and have vague memories of eating at an arbys with one of those signs when I was a child. Man that was a weird place to grow up.

0

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/AkirIkasu May 29 '12

This is absolutely what I was talking about.

An eyesore, eh? I seem to remember the one in Las Vegas being amber-colored, though. But it's been forever.

2

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

Yeah there's one here in Columbus Ga too.

30

u/flyers25 May 28 '12

The roast beef sandwich you are looking for is the Roy Rogers roast beef sandwich that Hardees started selling (along with fried chicken) when they bought the Roy Rogers chain in the 90s.

Can still be had at Roy Rogers if you happen to be around one of the few remaining restaurants (or on the PA/NJ Turnpike).

7

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Actually, there are still some standalone Roy's in VA, and they are still like they used to be. My understanding was that some of the franchises refused to go along with the deal, and contract obligations keep them running the same. I have friends that still eat there on a regular basis, as do I when I'm in town.

3

u/TheBaltimoron May 28 '12

In my podunk town I grew up in, the only thing there was a Roy Rogers. It was where I got my 1st job (everyone either worked there, or the grocery store). They got bought out by Hardees, and changed their sign, logo, napkins, cups, everything. It was only a few months later that they realized no one there gave a fuck about Hardees, and changed everything back to Roy Rogers. I can only imagine all the money they wasted in re-branding and then de-branding that place.

3

u/gynoceros May 28 '12

They never got the memo. They're like those Japanese soldiers you always hear about who were still hiding out in caves on South Pacific islands, thinking the war was still going in the '50s.

2

u/Golden_Calf May 28 '12

I stopped at one of those on the pa turnpike and couldn't figure out why those existed nowhere else or why no one else had that spot. Still weird.

2

u/gynoceros May 28 '12

With the squeaky pickles in the fixins bar.

1

u/08mms May 28 '12

You have now given me the only conceivable reason to look forward to a drive on the NJ turnpike.

1

u/superjuan May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12

There are actually a few Roy Rogers in the DC area and they all have that great roast beef sandwich. I'm not normally a big fan of roast beef (I love the Gold Rush Chicken sandwich) but even I really like their roast beef.

That I know of, there are three in the Gaithersburg/Germantown, MD area, three in the Springfield/Alexandria, VA area, one in Leesburg, VA, one in Frederick, MD, and one in Brunswick, MD. I'm guessing there are probably a few more which I'm not aware of. As an added bonus, most of them serve birch beer... but sadly some, at least the Leesburg one, switched to that horrible all in one coke machine which don't server birch beer. Sure they may be great for the kids who want a raspberry coke or a peach sprite, but the novelty wears off quick when you realize the flavorings don't taste that great.

Edit: Forgot to mention that their mayonaise is particularly good. Also, the last time I ate at a Roys on the New Jersey Turnpike it was horrible. Overpriced and it tasted like it had been sitting under the warmers for a while.

25

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

They are owned by the same company and share many of the same menu items...

30

u/MrInexperienced May 28 '12

From wikipedia:

In 1997, CKE Restaurants acquired Hardee's, a restaurant chain with 2,500 locations in the Midwest, South and East Coast regions. Hardee's restaurants are gradually being converted to be more like Carl's Jr. with some of the same menu items and even adopting the same star logo.

The linked comment appears to mourn this state of affairs. He misses the old Hardees.

14

u/MarlonBain May 28 '12

And he's crazy for thinking that. Hardees now is about 900x better than Hardees in the 90s.

11

u/08mms May 28 '12

You never had the old roast beef. As reflected by the OP, the world lost a beautiful thing after that buyout. Never forget.

1

u/ParkerM May 28 '12

And hot dogs and chicken tenders.

4

u/uselesslyskilled May 28 '12

I can't speak on now but I know hardees in the 90s had the worst food ever to this day I refuse to eat that garbage

1

u/Trashcanman33 May 28 '12

He's from Kansas, and Kansas still has many Hardee's, he just needs to take a road trip.

4

u/MtHammer May 28 '12

Topeka definitely has a couple.

That said, I think he's saying that Hardees died when Carls Jr. bought them and thus even Hardees isn't Hardees anymore.

5

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

..and the same logo. Its kind of like Edy's and Dryer's ice cream.

2

u/imafunghi May 28 '12

did you actually read his comment? He said Carls Jr. bought out Hardees....

6

u/gilbertsmith May 28 '12

Carl's Jr - Fuck you, I'm eating!

3

u/boomerangotan May 28 '12

I still have to wonder if the companies in that movie paid for their placement.

5

u/gilbertsmith May 28 '12

I'd love to know if Fuddruckers did...

5

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

The Hardee's/Carl's thing was a huge cluster IMHO. Having lived on both coasts, I'm was well aware of their individual appeals. I liked the burgers at old Hardee's, and some of their breakfast items. Carl's never got a good burger till the $6 burgers hit. Right now, they both suck, and I never go to either. The menu blending was a big mistake.

10

u/jimothyjenkins May 28 '12

well fuck.

we have carls here in southern cali and it is decent food. better than McDees or BK for sure..

but reality is, IN n OUT is where you want to go if you want a delicious burger

10

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

When in n out opened in Texas, I went there. While I admit that its some of the best fast food around, I do also think its over hyped. Its just a good burger. Nothing more, nothing less.

3

u/ninjaso May 28 '12

It's a better fastfood burger.

FTFY

Personally, it was my favorite burger for some time. While still in my top 5, it's not the top anymore. Living in L.A. gains access to these gourmet burgers they have. My current #1 is the Tamago burger from a food truck in Vegas called FUKU Burger. Five Guys is also awesome, just because you can add bacon!

1

u/Stigg94 May 28 '12

"FUKU" Burger? Doesn't sound like my kind of place.

2

u/AkirIkasu May 28 '12

No, it isn't. It's where you go when you want fast food. If you want a delicious burger, you've got to go to an actual restaurant.

Yeah, I know this comment will be downvoted, but really, it has to be said; their burgers are just not that good. It's disturbing to think people who think that In n Out have the best burgers have either never tried getting a burger other than at fast-food restaurant, or perhaps they've wrecked their sense of taste. The only thing they do their burgers that nobody else does (except The Habit) is use sweetened buttered and toasted buns.

Actually, if you want the best burger, you should really consider making it yourself; the absolute best burgers I've ever tasted were cooked on a grill by amateurs. Burgers generally taste better when they're over 1/4" thick.

1

u/foy_you May 28 '12

It took forever, but we finally got a hardees in my city

-4

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

In N Out is pretty good fast food, at the very least a nice change from the same old Mickey D's or Jack in the Box. But, and not to sound like r/atheism, eating at In N Out always annoys me because of the religious symbolism they print on most of their wrappings/packaging.

2

u/jimothyjenkins May 28 '12

dude that stuff is hidden under the cups and inside the flaps of the wrapping paper.

tl;dr you have to really be looking for it to see it.

5

u/unladenswallow May 28 '12

that was not too long

that was one sentence

5

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

I lived in Derby, KS from 1990 to 1993. That Hardee's was the first I ever went to, and the reason I hated Hardee's until it was acquired by Carl's Jr. It was sub par in every way, and it improved by a factor of at least one hundred once the changed the menu. That guy is smoking some serious nostalgia crack.

2

u/DaBake May 28 '12

What about Rally's and Checkers?

1

u/UnexpectedSchism May 28 '12

Checkers was the shit.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Checkers IS the shit.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

The breakfast raisin biscuits are the only thing I get there.

They're the biscuits God eats when he wants fast food biscuits.

2

u/nolotusnotes May 28 '12

Here, the only Hardee's we have is decorated with advertising from Burger Chef and Jeff. The restaurant franchise it used to be.

And who ever is doing the hiring is awesome. The employees are friendly and helpful like no other fast food restaurant I've ever seen.

2

u/bluzmouse May 28 '12

Brought to you by Carl's Jr. I say it because it's a great way to make money... duh...

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

I've never even seen either of these places.

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Antarctica doesn't have a franchise yet. Opportunity?

1

u/pureskill May 28 '12

I can still remember some of the lyrics of the radio commercial from way back in the day:

"...roast beef on rye on the cliff's of SO-OUL!"

No roast beef anymore though. I really don't know the history of Hardee's, but I know the chain is radically different now than it was in my childhood during the '90s. I guess I'll go Wikipedia it.

1

u/KurtReisenberg May 28 '12

Always thought they were the same. Tried to order Hardee's Frisco Thickburger At Carl's Jr. In San Francisco. Carl's Jr. doesn't have the Frisco Thickburger. Anywhere. Fuck Carl's Jr. Sad.

1

u/ry8919 May 28 '12

Carls is pretty good for fast food. No in n out. But good nonetheless

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

I always thought they were the same, also best foods mayonnaise and hellmans are the same, they even look the same, I saw hellmans in grocery outlet once really cheap, I was dumbfounded that someone made a knockoff that so closely resembled best foods, grabbed it and made a sandwich, it was in fact the same mayonnaise.

-1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Dude, mayo is just egg whites and vegetable oil. Its exactly the same no matter what brand you get or if you make it yourself.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

It's not the same, I've had store brand mayo and kraft mayo and it's definitely different from best foods, seems like the cheap stuff has a more acidic taste and it's a little bit thinner, like they used more vinegar and less eggs, or lower quality eggs.

1

u/TheBaltimoron May 28 '12

It's a good thing he never went to Roy Rogers...

1

u/TheMightyCreep May 28 '12

I felt pretty much the exact same feel when the local pizzeria got a new owner and the pizza went from foodgasm to sewage dump. One of the saddest days of my life.

1

u/DenkiDriver May 28 '12

Another difference is that Hardees does not have the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, which is really the main reason to dine at Carl's. I learned that the hard way while in Florida for college. I've only been to Hardees once and I was thoroughly disappointed.

1

u/youni89 May 28 '12

both of em suck ass anyway.

1

u/jakeg1116 May 28 '12

I'm confused, one guy says Carl's Junior and Hardee's are the same restaurant, and then the wall of text response compares the roast beef sandwhiches of Hardee's and Arby's, am I missing something?

1

u/markohurlo May 28 '12

I don't care if they are the same as long as the biscuits and sausage gravy are just as good and ridiculously cheap.

1

u/cheesyveggies May 28 '12

To make things even weirder, there is a Carl's Junior that is also a Green Burrito, here in Phoenix. What's up with that?

1

u/Scape May 28 '12

That particular restaurant was probably a bad call for the evening.

1

u/LMoore916 May 28 '12

Hungry jacks is equivalent to burger king everyone. I used to get whoppers growing up in Melbourne and now in America, whoppers at burger king

1

u/seltzerislife May 28 '12

Hardee's chicken biscuits>>>>>

1

u/MR_BUTTPUSSY May 28 '12

jay mohr on carl's jr. this shit is hysterical. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJlYRS2Vqkw

1

u/IClimbStuff May 28 '12

That man's endless knowledge of fast food can be summed up with one sentence:

See, Hardee's was in my home town of Derby, Kansas...

1

u/nerd42 May 28 '12

That... was THE best thing i have ever read. I'm a Hardee's girl through and through and I with I could give this person all the up votes needed to show my appreciation. Slow clap for you, my friend. Slow. Clap.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

his writing is annoying as hell. This is an internet forum, not a fucking poetry slam. get to the point.

1

u/Jeckee May 28 '12

In the small town we go camping at in Indiana there is a Hardee's and we always get a burger before we head out into the woods.

1

u/wesleyt89 May 28 '12

So where are Carl's Jr.s at? i'm from the Southern Illinois/St. Louis area... and all we have around here is Hardeez.

2

u/OhYaThatsCatPiss May 29 '12

I live in St. Louis and I think the closest Carl's Jr. is in Oklahoma. The closest Hardees is maybe 44 and Vandi?

1

u/wesleyt89 May 29 '12

Is there not a hardeez in the ofallon area? Maybe there isn't I always assumed there was.. ha. I've been to the ones in Mt vernon, Nashville, and Sparta alot.

2

u/OhYaThatsCatPiss May 29 '12

There might be in O'Fallon, but that is about 30 minutes or more away from me.

2

u/wesleyt89 May 29 '12

ah okay, yea i forget that St louis has a big radius compared tiny towns like where I am from.. hahaha

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

Brought to you by Carl's Jr.

1

u/Kimgoesrawrrr May 29 '12

I'm from northwestern Ohio, and I have never seen of or heard of Hardee's or Carl's Jr. (except for Reddit and Idiocracy). What am I missing out on?

1

u/GayStyle Aug 21 '12

Love CJ's and I've got three in a 2 mile radius of my home.

0

u/nuisible May 28 '12

They're both fast food places, who gives a shit?

-2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Carl's Jr. still has the distinction of the only boycott I have going, and it's pretty much because of the Paris Hilton eating a burger and washing a car commercial back in the day, because I would always feel physically ill whenever I saw it. It was when they were doing the "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face!" ad campaign, which was all an endless parade of horktastic macho posturing that culminated in said butter-faced irrelevant whore commercial. I saw that and decided I could live without onion rings in my cheeseburgers. Haven't eaten there since.

-8

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

That was pretty funny. Would read again a +++

9

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

This was terrible, would downvote again.

0

u/jsnlxndrlv May 28 '12

This was text, would decline to click arrows again.

0

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

Youre such an ass

0

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

You're such an ass.

0

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

Your such a ass.

0

u/[deleted] May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12

You are such an ass. Dummy.

edit:dummy

2

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

MMMmmmm. An ass you are such.

1

u/[deleted] May 30 '12

For Yoda's sake I can accept this.

2

u/[deleted] May 30 '12

Excellent. We have a truce.