Some common on-base chains fall far short on taste, quality - Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Navy Times

Some common on-base chains fall far short on taste, quality

Fast-food standbys on military installations — from McDonald’s and Burger King to Pizza Hut and Taco Bell — were blasted as the very worst in a new study by the taste-testers at Consumer Union, the independent experts who cook up Consumer Reports every month.

The results are culled from a survey of 36,733 fast-food eaters who rated the food, value, service and speed during 100,000 visits to 53 major fast-food chains across the country.

“Chains like McDonald’s and Taco Bell boast supersized values, but consumers don’t necessarily think they offer much bang for the buck,” said Tod Marks, who helped lead the project. Fast food is big business on military installations, with troops ordering up to $313 million annually in snappy snackage from more than 1,100 franchises on Army and Air Force installations alone.

Military officials say it’s hard, if not impossible, to keep its fast-food fresh for everyone.

“The exchange works with market leaders that have the capabilities to provide services on a global level,” said Army and Air Force Exchange Service spokesman Judd Anstey. “Unfortunately, some chains are unable to support an operations tempo that may call for a restaurant at Fort Bragg today, Korea tomorrow or even Afghanistan next week. With that said, the exchange works aggressively with brand partners of all sizes to bring their products to these diverse locations and provide a taste of home to troops.”

The chains with best scores in the survey — In-N-Out Burger, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chick-fil-A and Papa Murphy’s pizza, among them — can’t be found on most bases, if at all.

That means you can order a Whopper at any one of more than 200 Burger Kings on military installations from Fort Benning to Baghdad, but you’ll have to go off base to find a Chick-fil-A sandwich.

That’s too bad, because more than half of the patrons surveyed described the fare at the top-rated restaurants like Chick-fil-A as “excellent.” Among those noshing at regular on-base haunts including Burger King, KFC, McDonald’s and Taco Bell, however, only one in 10 offered such a good grade.