September 1, 2025 • 30 mins
What are the top chain restaurants in the United States? Have we been to them? What do we think about them? You might be surprised by how many we have (or haven't!) been to.
We've also got a one-minute cooking tip about better batters for pancakes or cakes. And we're very happy about pork belly this week.
We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of over three dozen cookbooks. Our latest is COLD CANNING: small batch preserving and canning without the need of any canner at all. If you'd like to check it out, please find it at this link.
Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:
[01:07] Our one-minute cooking tip: Never overmix a batter!
[03:25] The top fifteen chain restaurants in the United States . . . and what we think about them
[28:48] What’s making us happy in food this week? Pork belly two ways!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
bruce (00:01):
Hey, I am Bruce Weinstein and this is the podcast Cooking with Bruce and
mark (00:04):
Martin.
And I'm Mark s Scarborough.
And together with Bruce, we havewritten 37 cookbooks, not counting
Bruce's two knitting books, notcounting my memoir, not counting books.
We wrote for celebrities, which wecan't talk about except one because
they forgot a confidentiality agreement.
Dr.
Phil.
They forgot that.
Mm-hmm.
I like to think that, uh, it'sjust one of many mistakes he's
made over the course of his career.
bruce (00:24):
Mm-hmm.
But we emphasis on many.
mark (00:25):
Ye many, but we are not talking about any of that in this episode.
This episode of our podcast about foodand cooking is going to be about the top
chain restaurants in the United States.
And we're gonna go down the list of whatare the absolute top restaurants in the
United States and whether we've been tothem and what do we think about them?
And you might be surprisedby these answers.
(00:45):
Uh, and we have some very strongreactions to some of these.
Mm-hmm.
So, uh, we're gonna talk through that.
And what are the top, let's say about15 restaurants in the United States?
Based on both sales andnumber of locations.
We've got a one minute cookingtip and we'll tell you what's
making us happy in food this week.
So let's get started.
bruce (01:07):
Our one minute cooking tip.
Never overmix a batter.
Whether you're making pancakes orbanana bread, it doesn't matter.
Leave the batter.
Slightly lumpy.
Most cake batters, slightly grainy.
Exactly.
You don't wanna activate theweak gluten and begin to stretch
them out and make it tough.
mark (01:25):
In our, in our book Alamo and other books that we've written, Alamo,
which is this ice cream cake pairingbook where every recipe is for a
cake and an ice cream to go with it.
Anyway, in that book, makea big deal about you cannot.
Overmix the butter and the eggs,but you can definitely overmix
it once you add the flour.
Mm-hmm.
That you could, once that butter and eggsare starting to cream together, you, you
(01:49):
can walk outta the kitchen and, I don'tknow, take the dog out to the, to, to
pee in the backyard and come back in.
But in terms of, uh, working withthe flour, the minute it goes in
the second you no longer see a pieceof dry white flour have to stop.
But even if it's grainy,
bruce (02:05):
there's a reason Most recipes say mix them in by hand.
Right?
Because you don't want to overmix itor you're gonna have a tough cake.
mark (02:12):
And lemme say just so we're gonna make this longer than one minute,
as we always do, but let me justsay that you rarely mix it by hand.
bruce (02:19):
I rarely do.
I will put the, uh, flour,the dry ingredients.
In my stand mixer and I put it onthe lowest possible setting, and as
soon as it is mixed in, it's done.
And it's on slow, slow, slow.
And it barely, barely mixes, right?
But unless you're really comfortable,you know, watching your mixer and
knowing that moment, it's done to a band,
mark (02:39):
right?
Right.
Your pancake battershould be slightly lumpy.
Your cake batter and brownie batter,et cetera, should be slightly grainy.
Okay, that's our one minute cooking tip.
Let me just say that we are here everyweek and we'd love for you to be with
us, so don't forget to subscribe tothis podcast so that you don't miss an
episode of cooking with Bruce and Martin.
We're delighted and very gratefulthat you've chosen us in a giant
(03:01):
landscape of podcasts and, um,we don't, we're so old school.
We don't even have a videocomponent to this podcast.
Nope.
This is just an old audiopodcast, which is so pandemic.
I can't explain it, but Okay.
It is what it is, andthanks for being with us.
Okay.
Up next our list of the top 15 or sochain restaurants in the United States.
bruce (03:27):
Okay.
You handed me this list.
I did and, and I wasactually a little shocked.
Um, you said, did I wanna actuallysee the list before we met or not?
I did.
mark (03:36):
Oh, well this is behind the scenes stuff.
Yeah.
But yes, I did because I, I, I wonderedif Bruce wanted to have an honest
reaction or he wanted to see the
bruce (03:43):
list.
Well, it was funny 'cause when you toldme we were doing the top restaurant
chains, I missed the word chains.
I just heard the toprestaurants, United States.
mark (03:50):
Oh, you said we're gonna do like five star dining?
Well,
bruce (03:52):
I wasn't sure.
You said the restaurants that make themost money, that have the most visitors.
So you handed me this list, I'm like.
Everything is so downscale,but it's not surprising.
No.
I mean, no, no, no.
It's a country of 320 million people.
Right.
They gotta eat somewhere
mark (04:06):
more than that, I think.
But anyway, I, what we wanna dois what we're gonna, I'm gonna
tell you what they are and the,the, this is a rubric I worked out
through research, and these are the.
Top 15 or so restaurantsin the United States.
And then I'll tell you what,they are ranked in terms of
revenue and number of locations.
It's not the same.
So like the number one restaurant isnumber one in revenue, but it's not
(04:27):
number one in the number of its locations.
So I'll tell you that and thenwe'll kind of respond to it.
I wanna know like, has Bruceever been, have I ever been
in, what do we think about it?
Okay, so here we go.
The number one restaurant inthe United States is McDonald's
bruce (04:38):
Kel Sapr.
mark (04:38):
Without a, without a single doubt, it is the number one in revenue.
However.
It is number three in terms ofthe number of locations mm-hmm.
Of McDonald's.
So, uh, have you ever been to McDonald's?
bruce (04:51):
Uh, not since I was a child.
Oh, not since you were a
mark (04:54):
child?
Mm-hmm.
I guess that's a similar answer for me.
Not since I was a child and
bruce (05:00):
I'm talking like six, seven years old, and that was.
That was the last time I had a McDonald's.
mark (05:05):
Well, I mean, uh, we did, we talked about this in the
last episode of the podcast.
We did stop and get a Diet Cokethere, and I will say that this
is really terrible and not a goodadvertisement for McDonald's.
But I will say that when you're travelingaround the rural United States, for
example, when we're crossing throughrural Nevada on our way to Utah,
McDonald's is always a place for aclean restrooms, very clean bathrooms.
(05:26):
So there you go.
But
bruce (05:27):
you wanna get in and out of there fast, otherwise you
close, stink, like McDonald's.
So there, there is, you know, it'slike when you go to a mall and
there's that aroma that kind ofmakes you wanna linger and shop.
No, that,
mark (05:39):
that aroma is instant headache for me.
I, I walk in the door of amall and have a headache,
bruce (05:43):
but McDonald's has the aroma.
That's different.
mark (05:46):
Yeah.
And
bruce (05:46):
it clings.
mark (05:47):
Um, well, I suppose, um, okay.
The number two restaurantchain in the United States,
and it is number two in both.
In terms of its revenue and interms of its number of locations.
So this one is truly,number two is Starbucks.
bruce (05:59):
Okay.
I go to Starbucks a lot andI like Starbucks, but here's
what I think about Starbucks.
mark (06:05):
You go to Starbucks so much.
Mm-hmm.
That they have your money stored in theirapp and you give them money that they
hold on, float through their app, go on
bruce (06:16):
$10 is what I keep on my Starbucks.
Go on.
mark (06:18):
Yeah,
bruce (06:18):
sure.
That way I can.
Order in advance.
And when I get there, it is ready.
And I don't have to wait in line withthose people waiting for their Starbucks.
But Starbucks, it's good.
It's okay, but it's consistent.
So Starbucks is likehaving a gas fireplace.
mark (06:34):
Oh, now you're, now you're backing up.
No, I like Starbucks.
bruce (06:37):
Yeah, you do.
I do like Starbucks, but Ilike it because I know what I'm
gonna get and it's consistent.
And again, it's like a gasfireplace and you can have it.
Everywhere you go.
Okay.
Okay.
It's okay.
It's not the best.
Alright,
mark (06:48):
I'm gonna cut you off and say I hate Starbucks.
I know you do.
So I, Bruce is much more thebig snob than I am in terms
of food, but I hate Starbucks.
I hate the taste of the coffee.
First of all, I do not understandwhy I need 175 liters of coffee.
I, I do not understand this.
The giant sizes, and I never doany of the, I don't know, lime
(07:13):
syrup, popcorn, fluffy soda.
There's no coffee in those.
I don't, I never do that stuff,but when I have the coffee, I.
I just think it tastes burned, andI think it tastes like the crap that
my father would have in the office.
My father had this idea that you madea pot of coffee in his office in the
morning, and you didn't drink it tillabout 2:00 PM so it sat there and oxidized
(07:37):
on the burner and got stronger andstronger and more and more bitter and.
I think that's what Starbucks tastes like.
Well,
bruce (07:43):
that's how your father grew up.
And because his father boiledhis coffee like that did.
So your father was used to that.
But if I'm faced in a situation wherethere's a Starbucks downstairs in
my hotel or right next door, and theonly other coffee is that horrible
little machine that's sitting in the.
Hotel room, I'll
mark (07:57):
take the machine.
bruce (07:58):
Oh, you don't know what people have done in that machine.
Oh,
mark (08:01):
stop.
bruce (08:01):
I'm going to Starbucks.
Oh,
mark (08:02):
stop.
Um, in case you don't know, thereis a whole subculture of people
who use the coffee maker in amotel room to wash their underwear.
They put their underwear in itand run hot water through it.
It's a whole thing.
Mm-hmm.
So, okay, number three.
Number three restaurant in theUnited States is Chick-fil-A.
And it is number threein terms of its revenue.
(08:23):
But here's what's interesting.
It's number.
18 in terms of the number of locations.
So it's way down the list in termsof how many Chick-fil-A's there are,
but it is number three in revenue.
It tells you
bruce (08:33):
they're selling a lot at each one.
I've never been,
mark (08:36):
I've never been,
bruce (08:37):
no.
And I don't want this to becomepolitical, but they do have.
They do have a whole philosophythat I do not agree with.
mark (08:43):
Yeah, and this is, what's it, I, I'm gonna just stop and
talk about this for a minute.
I remember very clearly the firsttime I got on Facebook and I, I,
this is, you know, years ago when Ifirst got on Facebook and, um, I was,
you know, being myself and I post,I think this is back during George.
Bush the second.
Second term.
Mm-hmm.
And I posted something incrediblypolitical and it didn't get
(09:06):
posted more than an hour before.
My literary agent called me personallyand said, what are you doing?
Do you only wanna sell books?
Do people who agree with you,or do you wanna sell books And.
I was so dumbfounded by this, and itwas the first time it really hit me
that, wait a minute, if you're runninga business or you're trying to sell
something, you know, maybe you shouldjust keep your nose out of things
(09:29):
and just be positive and et cetera.
And I, this is the problem with somethinglike Chick-fil-A, and again, I don't
wanna get, uh, a political either.
Why make political identitiescentral to who you are?
I don't,
bruce (09:42):
it hasn't hurt them, though.
They're number three in income.
No,
mark (09:45):
it hasn't hurt them.
In, in, it is number three in, in incomeand I have never been to a Chick-fil-A.
Okay.
Number four on the list is Taco Bell.
And Taco Bell is the fourth interms of the revenue it generates.
But fifth, in terms of the number oflocations across the United States, uh,
we'll get to the fourth biggest in termsof location in a minute, but, okay.
Taco Bell.
(10:05):
So, uh, never been.
bruce (10:07):
Don't like diarrhea,
mark (10:08):
not going.
Mm-hmm.
I guess that is the thing I have to say.
When I was a kid growing up in Dallas,there was a Taco Bell on Forest Lane
and it was near where I lived and Iloved Tex-Mex food and I didn't have
any money except for mowing yards.
So I will say that when I had acar in high school, I would go to
(10:30):
Taco Bell and I will honestly say.
That's the last time I've ever beento Taco Bell, so I doubt I've been to
a Taco Bell since I went to college.
bruce (10:38):
Well, I get it.
I mean, when I was that age, I loved KFC.
It's not even on this list, but Iloved KFC when I was a kid, so, oh, yes
mark (10:44):
it is.
You just don't know where it is yet.
Yes it is on this list.
Look
bruce (10:47):
down the whole list here.
Okay,
mark (10:49):
well, yeah, taco Bell.
So, I don't know, it's hard forme to even say, uh, bow Taco Bell.
And, um, also, I don't know, therearen't that many taco bells around
us are there, here, new England.
bruce (11:00):
I don't need Bell England.
Don't know that.
Any around here.
I mean I was growing up, we had somein Queens, but Right, there's, I
don't think there's any around here.
It always killed me in Dallas.
'cause Dallas was full when weused to go when you were older.
There's so many fabulous Hispanicplaces to go and get real tacos.
Yet we always tell your mom we want tacos.
And she go, let's go to Taco Bell.
mark (11:19):
Yeah, I know Bries and I do go to this place that is outside
of Hartford in West Hartford.
And when we're over there by the Costco.
And, uh, we, uh, go, it's a,it's a Mexican crude restaurant
and we go and have tacos andlemme tell you, it is not fancy.
Mm-hmm.
It's about as fancy as Taco Belland the tacos are not expensive.
They're super cheap, butthey're super delicious.
(11:40):
Yeah.
You can
bruce (11:40):
get it with like grilled heart.
mark (11:42):
Grilled tongue.
You can, you can gettongue tacos, which I love.
Okay, so the fifth most popularrestaurant, or the most successful
restaurant in the United Statesis Wendy's, and it's never had it.
It's fifth in terms of revenue, but ninth
bruce (11:53):
in
mark (11:53):
terms of the number of locations.
Bottom
bruce (11:55):
of my list.
Never been
mark (11:56):
okay.
You've never been All right.
I will say that I haven't been to Wendy's.
Since I was in college, but it wasthe standard thing in college when
they opened a Wendy's, I went toBaylor in Waco, and when they opened
a Wendy's across the street from themain campus, we would literally go
to dinner in the, in the dining room,eat, you know, on campus, on board.
(12:17):
And then about nine o'clock we wouldinevitably go to Wendy's and sit there
in Wendy's and have a Wendy's hamburger.
This was like.
Over and over again there.
The freshman 15 is a real thing.
15 pounds you put on a as a freshmanis a real honest to God thing.
That's probably thelast time I had Wendy's.
My parents lived on Wendy'sat the end of their lives.
There was
bruce (12:36):
a Wendy's in our town here in rural New England, and it closed, it couldn't,
it couldn't even sustain a Wendy's.
That's
mark (12:42):
how rural we are.
Is that the little town near,it's not even in our town.
It's in the, it's in that biggesttown, which is tiny near us, and they
did open a Wendy's and it closed back.
Down and now there's this poor guytrying to run a Peruvian restaurant in
there, which is just cracking me out.
It's never in there.
I mean, I feel sorry for him.
Peruvian restaurant in rural, and I
bruce (13:01):
thought we might go and get one of their whole grilled chickens one
night, but he's like $37 for a chicken.
mark (13:06):
Okay, so.
No.
So anyway, okay, the sixth biggestrestaurant in the United States in
terms of revenue, and it's the fourthin terms of the number of locations.
So it's really got more locationseverywhere than, uh, others.
And this is very near and dearto New England's heart is Dunking
bruce (13:21):
Donuts.
Uh, say it right, it'sjust Dunking Dunking.
They've changed their name.
It is dunking.
It's no longer donuts.
It's no longer part of the world.
Is that
mark (13:27):
really right?
They, they changed the name officially.
It's just dunking.
Okay.
Well Dunking.
So Dunking is it, and uh,
bruce (13:33):
it's near and dear to my heart.
I grew up with Dunking Donuts back whenit was Dunking Donuts, and I love them.
On Sunday mornings, my dad wouldgo get a big box of donuts, and
I love the cream filled ones.
But they've gotten so sweet.
It just tastes like sugar now.
Uh, it
mark (13:46):
does.
I was gonna say that, uh, my last blooddraw for a physical, I went, we went,
uh, you know, to have the blood drawand you can't eat beforehand and at
the end I was, I, I'm needle phobic.
This is more than you need toknow, but I'm needle phobic.
So I got through the blooddraw and we, we got out of it
and I was like, I'm gonna get.
Dunking Donuts.
Your reward has my rewardfor getting my blood draw.
(14:07):
I know it's ridiculous.
A blood draw.
But, uh, we stopped and we bought, Ithink we bought little donut holes.
The minis?
bruce (14:12):
Yeah, the dunk, the munchkins.
Is that what they call 'em?
Yeah, the munchkins.
I don't
mark (14:15):
even know the donut holes.
I'm going to use the bad words.
And, uh.
We got halfway home and wedidn't even eat what we bought.
They were too sweet.
It was, it
bruce (14:25):
was so sugary.
That's all it was, was sugary.
It was.
I didn't taste wheat.
I didn't taste the cake part of it.
It just tasted like sugar.
Okay.
mark (14:33):
So the seventh most popular restaurant in the United States in
terms of it's revenue, it's seventhin revenue, it's sixth in, the number
of its location is Burger King,and I want to say right up front.
I have never been
bruce (14:43):
Burger King got me through high school.
Alright.
I went to high school in middle,middle Manhattan on 46th and
Broadway, and there was a BurgerKing on 45th and sixth Avenue.
Okay.
And I would get Burger King probably threedays a week for lunch in high school.
mark (14:56):
Okay.
When I was a little kid, this is noton the list, but when I was a little
kid, there were dairy Queens inOklahoma where my grandparents lived.
And there were also Dairy Kingsand they were competing, of
course, they were, uh, chains.
And my grandmother wouldnot go to Dairy King.
She only went to Dairy Queen.
I like to think of this asher one feminist moment.
(15:16):
Her one glorious Steinem moment isthat she would only go to Dairy Queen.
Your
bruce (15:20):
grandmother and Gloria Steinem the same
mark (15:22):
sentence.
They are, they are, theymade to be together.
Okay, so.
The eighth most popular restaurantin the United States is the number
one restaurant in terms of its numberof locations, but it's eighth in
terms of revenue, and that is Subway.
bruce (15:35):
The only time I have ever had a Subway is the same
time you've had a Subway.
It was the morning your dad diedand I went out to get us all lunch.
mark (15:43):
That's right.
bruce (15:44):
And I went to Subway.
That's right.
And I brought us allback stuff from Subway.
mark (15:47):
You went to Starbucks to make coffee, and you also then went to Subway
and you brought Subway sandwiches back.
Did.
Bruce, literally, this is too grossto sustain a podcast, but Bruce
literally walked into the hospiceroom 30 seconds after my dad died,
and he came in with all this food.
Very proud of himself.
As I'm running out of the room to get thenurse, because dad has stopped breathing.
(16:10):
And, um, it was so funny 'causehe was just so proud of himself
and I, as I pass him in thishallway of this beautiful hospice
facility, I literally say Dad died.
Said as I'm running past him.
And, uh, it's funny now, itwasn't funny at the moment.
And so after the nurse came inand, you know, we ascertained
that in fact he had passed away.
Then we went down to oneof their beautiful lobbies.
(16:32):
This place in Dallas was crazy.
We went out there.
Beautiful lobbies and we satthere and ate Subway tarbucks.
It was the only time tarbucks I've everhad it Tarbucks coffee, and I think that
might be the only time I've had it andI can't, I cannot even remember that.
That's what you brought.
Mm-hmm.
I know I sat in that lounge and atesomething, but I don't even remember.
Okay.
The ninth most popularrestaurant in the United States.
Ninth and Hertz of revenue.
10th in terms of the number ofits locations is Domino's Pizza.
bruce (16:55):
I had it, uh, for a brief period when I moved to Cleveland, Ohio,
and I was living in Shaker Heights,
mark (17:02):
unfortunate Cleveland Sojourn.
bruce (17:04):
I was living in Shaker Heights and I had just moved in.
The furniture was delivered.
It was about six o'clock.
I was hungry.
And my neighbor in the buildingsaid Domino's delivered.
So I called them and they were sonice when I told 'em I just moved in.
They sent me like free sides andfree extras and coupons for pizzas.
So I just kept ordering fromDomino's for about six months.
mark (17:23):
Okay.
And I'm gonna say right up front,I have never been to Domino's.
I've never had a DominosPizza that I know of.
I mean, maybe when dad died, you gota Domino's Pizza and I didn't know it.
Um, as far as I know, I've never beento Domino's, so I can't tell you.
I have a reverentialattitude toward pizza.
Pizza to me is one of the divine foodgroups, and I don't know, Domino's, just,
(17:46):
I'm too scared of it, so I've never been.
I have to say that I lived in New YorkCity, the home of a slice for 10 years
with Bruce, and I actually had one slice.
Once.
Oh my God.
So I, I will tell you that I'mso reverential about pizza.
I wouldn't even go intoNew York slice places.
Slice.
Oh my God.
But there no
bruce (18:06):
ma, there's no bad pizza in New York.
That's the thing about New York.
Even
mark (18:12):
the pizza I had was not good.
It was, it was gummy and gross.
I didn't like it.
No.
Okay, we're moving on the 10th mostpopular restaurant in the United States.
10th in terms of also itsrevenue, but 16th in terms of
the number of its location.
And you might know whyits revenue is high.
When I tell you this is Chipotle, that's'cause most people find it expensive.
(18:32):
It is expensive.
So maybe that's why it's down the listin terms of the number of locations,
but up in terms of its revenue
bruce (18:38):
of all the fast food that's available out there when I go
to airports or anything else.
I will go to a Chipotle.
I've had it before.
Right.
It's, it's okay.
Um, I don't, I'm neverafraid of getting sick.
I'm never remember when
mark (18:50):
we wanted to go to Chipotle with my brother and he wouldn't go.
My brother is Nuia and hewouldn't, he made us go to Q Dobo
instead because it was cheaper.
He wouldn't go to Chipotlebecause that was fancy.
Mm-hmm.
So.
We would, we missed out on the Chipotle.
I have, I've had Chipotle a handfulof times, and I have to say that
everything I've had is okay.
Yeah, I mean, that's fine.
There's, there's nothing thatis grand, but you're right.
(19:13):
Going to a rest, uh, a restaurant,going through an airport or
going fast through train stationor something like that, it's.
It's a fine thing to happen.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
The 11th most popular restaurant in theUnited States, I have a story about it.
It's 12th in terms of its revenue,but eighth in terms of its location.
So when you figure it out and do all themath on it, it comes out as the 11th.
Most popular is Pizza Hut.
(19:35):
Never
bruce (19:35):
been.
Um, even I have my limits with pizza.
Oh, okay.
And gee, I will not standards.
mark (19:41):
I do.
Okay.
My grandmother, the same onewho would only go to Dairy
Queen, she loved Pizza Hut.
This is in the seventies,and she didn't know.
What it was called.
So she always called that Pizza Hut.
So we were always going to PizzaHut and, but that's back in the
day when you couldn't pre-order.
So it was this whole thingabout, oh, it takes forever.
So she would literally bring snackyfood in her purse because it would
(20:05):
take so long for the pizza to come.
And so we would sit there at the tablesneaking snacks out of her burgers.
Did they?
Salads or appetizers.
We, I came from a very middle classhome and we couldn't afford such things.
So we had pizza at Pizza Hutand then that's all we had
is the pizza at Pizza Hut.
(20:25):
Uh, so my upbringing was not fancyto say the little, but there also
bruce (20:30):
wasn't Pizza Huts in New York when I was growing up.
We were growing New York.
It was.
Real pizza places withItalian pizza places.
I mean, I'm
mark (20:36):
so old that I remember when there was a huge thing between Pizza Hut
and Pizza Inn, and it was this wholerivalry thing about which you liked.
And I remember in high schoolthose whole discussions about
Pizza Hut versus Pizza Inn.
It's the whole thing.
Okay.
The 12th most popular restaurantin the United States, which is
15th in terms of its location,then 17th in terms of its revenue.
But again, when you do all the math out,it comes out as the 12th most popular.
Is Popeye's and I have never been.
bruce (20:58):
Never been.
Don't even know what they sell.
I think.
Fried chicken.
Fried chicken.
Do they have burgers too?
mark (21:02):
I am not sure.
Isn't this funny?
Here's two establishedfood writers with 37 Co.
Salmon.
I don't
bruce (21:08):
even know what they have.
mark (21:09):
I've never been.
Okay.
The thirteenth's most popularwe're moving on is Panera Bread.
It is the 11th most popularin terms of its revenue.
It makes the 11th mostrevenue of any chain.
It's the 24th in terms of its numberof locations, which tells you that it.
Lives up to his reputation.
For some people that it's expensive.
Yeah, so they're making a lotof money on what they sell.
bruce (21:30):
It is expensive, it's high end, but I find Panera Bread to be bland.
The bread is soft.
The bread doesn't very softtaste like great soft bread.
The sandwiches, the meats, all that,you know, industrial, processed meat.
So I don't really think I'mgetting anything extra for the
extra money I'm spending there.
Um, but I've had it in a pinch.
I'll get their chickensalad on some bread.
(21:52):
But
mark (21:52):
yeah, I get the Turkey sandwiches.
I, I mean our dog, oh my God.
Here's a story for you.
So our dog, our dog likes Panera Bread.
No he doesn't, but he was playingaround in the backyard with Bruce and
they were chasing the ball and Brucewas chasing the ball back and forth.
And sometimes Bruce pretends to throw itone way and then throws it another way.
Well, once he did this and our colleague.
Ran the wrong way.
He ran the way that Bruce was faintingand not the way he was actually throwing
(22:14):
the ball and ran straight headfirst intoa big stone wall, and he was injured.
He was limping on a front leg anda back leg, and we were scared
that something was really wrong.
And so I had to go tothe vet emergency room.
Believe me, you're spending money.
The dog is fine, everythingis fine, but it took hours
of x-rays and all this stuff.
So I took myself to PaneraBread and I have to say.
(22:36):
I had a Turkey sandwich.
I had one of the half halves, like a smallcup of soup and a half a Turkey sandwich.
It wasn't bad.
I mean, I sat there and played socialmedia on my phone and it was okay.
I mean, would I go outta my wayto get a Panera Bread sandwich?
No, but I know why it has.
The reputation it has.
Mm-hmm.
It also was expensive.
bruce (22:54):
Yes, it is.
mark (22:55):
It was even expensive for my half, half thing.
Okay.
So the 14th possible restaurant inthe United States 13th in terms of
its revenue, but 14th in terms ofits number of locations, is Sonic.
I have a story about Sonic too.
bruce (23:06):
Never been there.
Okay.
Never see.
mark (23:08):
Bridge had never been to half these places.
I've never been to some of them,but Bridge has never been to half.
Uh, here's my story about Sonic.
When I was a kid, my paternalgrandmother lived in rural
Oklahoma and she loved Sonic.
And we would go get Sonicsin Ardmore, Oklahoma.
We would drive and get SonicHamburgers, and my mother would throw a.
(23:30):
Fit in the car on our way to getthem, because Sonic Hamburgers had
mayonnaise and my mother had this thingabout no mayonnaise on hamburgers.
She hated it.
She thought Mustard was theonly proper T, but she's
bruce (23:41):
wrong too.
It's ketchup, blah.
mark (23:43):
So they're both wrong.
Okay, blah, blah, blah.
What killed me about this is asshe got older, my mother would
only eat mayonnaise on hamburgers.
So even though when I was a kid,she threw fits about going to
Sonic because of the mayonnaise.
Later in life, that's allshe ate was mayonnaise.
Hamburgers.
So I guess people do change.
Mm-hmm.
In terms of Sonic, I don'treally remember much about Sonic.
(24:05):
I have to say I still remember it inArdmore that they came out to your car.
bruce (24:08):
Oh.
Is that one of those places back then with
mark (24:10):
roller skates?
Well, I don't remember roller skates,but I remember they came out to your car.
Would they hang a tray on yourwindow or they just gave you the bag?
Wasn't um, what was the placea and w root beer that would
like hang the trail then window?
No, they would just hand you the bag.
Mm-hmm.
That's what I rememberat the Sonic in Amoy.
And we're talking, this islike the early seventies.
Finally, we're gonna end at the15th most popular restaurant in the
United States, 14th in terms of itsrevenue, 12th in terms of its number
(24:33):
of locations, which tells you aboutthe inexpensiveness of the food.
There's more of these, but they'remaking less revenue, so they're
really cutting their margins thin.
And that's KFC.
bruce (24:44):
Yeah, it used to be called Kentucky Fried Chicken, right?
They wanted to get rid of thefried part, and maybe they wanted
to get rid of the Kentucky part.
I don't know.
I So now it's just KFC.
When I was a kid, I lived on it, loved it.
It was great.
I don don't think what they're
mark (24:58):
sad about rebranding it.
I, I wonder if they're sadabout, I mean, because now
bruce (25:03):
sad a corporation.
Sad.
I know, I know.
That's why I don't knowwhat you're asking.
I
mark (25:07):
know, but Kentucky Fried now, when they changed that, uh, how do I say this?
When they changed that 20 yearsago to KFC, you know, they were
trying to make it more national.
Now everybody's into kind of a localcuisine, and so I thought, oh, this
is like chicken fried in Kentucky.
Suddenly it seems much more romanticizedor I idealized or something.
(25:28):
It's also shorter.
bruce (25:29):
KFC is.
Easy.
It, it's short, it's, it's dunking.
I mean, you want to getreally short and quick.
You could do so much morewith the logo with KFC.
It is.
It is.
Yeah.
But I used to love it, but
mark (25:39):
you
bruce (25:39):
know.
mark (25:39):
Okay.
Now I don't.
This is a place I've never been.
Mm.
So I grew up in a family.
That fried chicken, mymother made fried chicken.
My grandmother's, both of them.
Fried chicken.
I never had KFCI, I don't know.
It was, it was considered anathema inmy family because, you know, somebody
would bring, so, okay, here's my story.
On the hottest weekend of August,my father's family would have
(26:01):
a family reunion at Lake Murrayoutside of Ardmore, Oklahoma.
And we would sit on a concreteslab when it was a thousand degrees
outside and have this family reunion.
It was horrible.
And, uh, swim at.
Elephant rock in Lake Murray and somebody,inevitably, some great aunt or somebody
would bring a bucket of KFC and mygrandmother was always appalled because
(26:26):
she would've been up since 4:00 AM fryingchicken that she brought that was her own.
I mean, I would've gone for
bruce (26:32):
her fried chicken, of course.
Right.
And she was, she my choice.
Just always
mark (26:35):
appalled.
bruce (26:36):
KFC is not, was never my.
Favorite, I loved it, but when we werea real treat, my dad would go a chicken
delight, and that was, I don't even knowwhat that is, the best fried chicken ever.
mark (26:46):
I don't even
bruce (26:47):
know what that is.
It was, I think it was a local chain.
If it's, if you are listening to thisand you knew of a chicken delight outside
of Queens in New York, let me know.
mark (26:54):
Okay, well, I don't know.
Again, KFC was consider.
Bad because again, some gradient, andlet me tell you just to tell you where
I'm from, where I come from, I'm talkingabout women named Thelma and Myrtle.
So it's either Thelma or Wilma.
Fay or Myrtle would bring KFC.
This is where I'm from, people.
(27:15):
And uh, there you go.
I have Wilma Faye, I always wanted toname one of my dogs, Wilma Faye, but
bruce (27:21):
name one Wilma one.
mark (27:22):
No, no, no.
It's gotta be the whole thing.
Wool Mae.
So, uh, that's a podcastabout, uh, the most popular
restaurants in the United States.
I know, it's crazy.
We just thought we'd go down it and seewhat we thought about them and whether
we'd been, it's amazing between thetwo of us, how many of them we haven't.
Mm-hmm.
Been to.
Since these are such popular placesto be, oh, I'm just a food snob.
(27:43):
What can you say?
Uh, I don't know that I'm a food snob.
I just at times haven't everbeen around these kind of places.
Okay.
About Domino's.
I'm a slob.
A snob?
Well, I'm a slob too, but I'malso a snob, uh, about Domino's.
But other ones I don't know.
I've been a lot as akid, not so much as an.
So that's the rundown.
Uh, let me say that, uh, we'rereally glad you're with us.
(28:03):
If you could review this podcast, ifyou could rate it, if you could give
us a rating, even like great podcastthat helps us in the analytics, you
know, we're not supported otherwise,so that is the way that you can support
us and we really appreciate that.
Sorry for this being so US-centric.
I know we have a lot of Canadianand Australian listeners, um,
but you know, we should put
bruce (28:23):
Tim Horton's on
mark (28:23):
there.
Oh, hor.
And maybe coming up this list,rising up this list even as we
speak in the United States, givenwhat Tim Hortons is doing here.
Uh, so anyway, uh, sorry it was a bitUS centric, but, uh, so it is, uh, we'll
move on to something else next weekin the podcast if you subscribe to it.
And thanks for doing that.
So as is tradition.
(28:44):
The last segment of this podcast, what'smaking us happy in food this week?
bruce (28:51):
Something that is in the refrigerator that is
going to be cooked tonight.
Crispy skinned pork belly.
mark (28:57):
No, it's related to what I was gonna say, but not exactly.
And
bruce (29:01):
so we have friends coming for Chinese food tonight and I
am making this Cantonese Sue.
And it is.
Pork belly that is roasted in theoven till the skin is bubbly and
crisp and you have to start the daybefore and you salt it and you let
it dry out all the moisture, andyou let it sit in the refrigerator
overnight to dry out the skin.
Then you give it a little brush ofvinegar and roast it for half hour,
(29:23):
then brush it with oil and roastit another half hour, and it's.
Skin gets bubbly and crispy andit's delicious and that's what's
gonna make me happy tonight.
mark (29:30):
Okay, well, so what's making me happy in food this week is also a
pork belly, but that is last weekendwe had some friends over for just
a really ca casual, I know this ishow casual, but Bruce made Korean
food and he made this Korean stirfry that is kimchi and pork belly.
And you sliced the pork bellyreally, really thinly so that
it's quickly stir fried, right?
Mm-hmm.
And then you stir fry itwith kimchi and it was.
(29:53):
It was good.
So hot.
It was, uh, several of us, well therewere four of us, but two of us at
least, were running for Kleenexes'cause our nose were running.
Um, it was so hot, butit was so delicious.
And the kimchi was our own from thebook called Can, and it was hot.
That's part of it.
It was hot.
bruce (30:09):
So not only did you use the hot kimchi, that I added a ton of gochugaru
flakes for the extra, the extra jeans.
It was good.
mark (30:16):
Much eat white refined rice anymore, but dishes like that,
call for white refined rice.
Mm-hmm.
Because they're the white rice issweet and those dishes are so hot.
The sweet kind of helpswith how hot they're, okay.
So that's the podcast for this week.
Thanks again for being a part of it.
It was a little indulgent, but okay.
So it goes, thanks for being apart of it and we appreciate your
being with us on this journey.
bruce (30:37):
Every week we tell you what's making us happy in food.
So please go to our Facebook group,cook me with Bruce and Mark, and tell us
what's making you happy in food this week.
'cause we want to know.
Wanna know what's making you happyand we'll continue to share what
makes us happy with food hereon cooking at Bruce and Mark.
Hey, I am Bruce Weinstein and this is the podcast Cooking with Bruce and
mark (00:04):
Martin.
And I'm Mark s Scarborough.
And together with Bruce, we havewritten 37 cookbooks, not counting
Bruce's two knitting books, notcounting my memoir, not counting books.
We wrote for celebrities, which wecan't talk about except one because
they forgot a confidentiality agreement.
Dr.
Phil.
They forgot that.
Mm-hmm.
I like to think that, uh, it'sjust one of many mistakes he's
made over the course of his career.
bruce (00:24):
Mm-hmm.
But we emphasis on many.
mark (00:25):
Ye many, but we are not talking about any of that in this episode.
This episode of our podcast about foodand cooking is going to be about the top
chain restaurants in the United States.
And we're gonna go down the list of whatare the absolute top restaurants in the
United States and whether we've been tothem and what do we think about them?
And you might be surprisedby these answers.
(00:45):
Uh, and we have some very strongreactions to some of these.
Mm-hmm.
So, uh, we're gonna talk through that.
And what are the top, let's say about15 restaurants in the United States?
Based on both sales andnumber of locations.
We've got a one minute cookingtip and we'll tell you what's
making us happy in food this week.
So let's get started.
bruce (01:07):
Our one minute cooking tip.
Never overmix a batter.
Whether you're making pancakes orbanana bread, it doesn't matter.
Leave the batter.
Slightly lumpy.
Most cake batters, slightly grainy.
Exactly.
You don't wanna activate theweak gluten and begin to stretch
them out and make it tough.
mark (01:25):
In our, in our book Alamo and other books that we've written, Alamo,
which is this ice cream cake pairingbook where every recipe is for a
cake and an ice cream to go with it.
Anyway, in that book, makea big deal about you cannot.
Overmix the butter and the eggs,but you can definitely overmix
it once you add the flour.
Mm-hmm.
That you could, once that butter and eggsare starting to cream together, you, you
(01:49):
can walk outta the kitchen and, I don'tknow, take the dog out to the, to, to
pee in the backyard and come back in.
But in terms of, uh, working withthe flour, the minute it goes in
the second you no longer see a pieceof dry white flour have to stop.
But even if it's grainy,
bruce (02:05):
there's a reason Most recipes say mix them in by hand.
Right?
Because you don't want to overmix itor you're gonna have a tough cake.
mark (02:12):
And lemme say just so we're gonna make this longer than one minute,
as we always do, but let me justsay that you rarely mix it by hand.
bruce (02:19):
I rarely do.
I will put the, uh, flour,the dry ingredients.
In my stand mixer and I put it onthe lowest possible setting, and as
soon as it is mixed in, it's done.
And it's on slow, slow, slow.
And it barely, barely mixes, right?
But unless you're really comfortable,you know, watching your mixer and
knowing that moment, it's done to a band,
mark (02:39):
right?
Right.
Your pancake battershould be slightly lumpy.
Your cake batter and brownie batter,et cetera, should be slightly grainy.
Okay, that's our one minute cooking tip.
Let me just say that we are here everyweek and we'd love for you to be with
us, so don't forget to subscribe tothis podcast so that you don't miss an
episode of cooking with Bruce and Martin.
We're delighted and very gratefulthat you've chosen us in a giant
(03:01):
landscape of podcasts and, um,we don't, we're so old school.
We don't even have a videocomponent to this podcast.
Nope.
This is just an old audiopodcast, which is so pandemic.
I can't explain it, but Okay.
It is what it is, andthanks for being with us.
Okay.
Up next our list of the top 15 or sochain restaurants in the United States.
bruce (03:27):
Okay.
You handed me this list.
I did and, and I wasactually a little shocked.
Um, you said, did I wanna actuallysee the list before we met or not?
I did.
mark (03:36):
Oh, well this is behind the scenes stuff.
Yeah.
But yes, I did because I, I, I wonderedif Bruce wanted to have an honest
reaction or he wanted to see the
bruce (03:43):
list.
Well, it was funny 'cause when you toldme we were doing the top restaurant
chains, I missed the word chains.
I just heard the toprestaurants, United States.
mark (03:50):
Oh, you said we're gonna do like five star dining?
Well,
bruce (03:52):
I wasn't sure.
You said the restaurants that make themost money, that have the most visitors.
So you handed me this list, I'm like.
Everything is so downscale,but it's not surprising.
No.
I mean, no, no, no.
It's a country of 320 million people.
Right.
They gotta eat somewhere
mark (04:06):
more than that, I think.
But anyway, I, what we wanna dois what we're gonna, I'm gonna
tell you what they are and the,the, this is a rubric I worked out
through research, and these are the.
Top 15 or so restaurantsin the United States.
And then I'll tell you what,they are ranked in terms of
revenue and number of locations.
It's not the same.
So like the number one restaurant isnumber one in revenue, but it's not
(04:27):
number one in the number of its locations.
So I'll tell you that and thenwe'll kind of respond to it.
I wanna know like, has Bruceever been, have I ever been
in, what do we think about it?
Okay, so here we go.
The number one restaurant inthe United States is McDonald's
bruce (04:38):
Kel Sapr.
mark (04:38):
Without a, without a single doubt, it is the number one in revenue.
However.
It is number three in terms ofthe number of locations mm-hmm.
Of McDonald's.
So, uh, have you ever been to McDonald's?
bruce (04:51):
Uh, not since I was a child.
Oh, not since you were a
mark (04:54):
child?
Mm-hmm.
I guess that's a similar answer for me.
Not since I was a child and
bruce (05:00):
I'm talking like six, seven years old, and that was.
That was the last time I had a McDonald's.
mark (05:05):
Well, I mean, uh, we did, we talked about this in the
last episode of the podcast.
We did stop and get a Diet Cokethere, and I will say that this
is really terrible and not a goodadvertisement for McDonald's.
But I will say that when you're travelingaround the rural United States, for
example, when we're crossing throughrural Nevada on our way to Utah,
McDonald's is always a place for aclean restrooms, very clean bathrooms.
(05:26):
So there you go.
But
bruce (05:27):
you wanna get in and out of there fast, otherwise you
close, stink, like McDonald's.
So there, there is, you know, it'slike when you go to a mall and
there's that aroma that kind ofmakes you wanna linger and shop.
No, that,
mark (05:39):
that aroma is instant headache for me.
I, I walk in the door of amall and have a headache,
bruce (05:43):
but McDonald's has the aroma.
That's different.
mark (05:46):
Yeah.
And
bruce (05:46):
it clings.
mark (05:47):
Um, well, I suppose, um, okay.
The number two restaurantchain in the United States,
and it is number two in both.
In terms of its revenue and interms of its number of locations.
So this one is truly,number two is Starbucks.
bruce (05:59):
Okay.
I go to Starbucks a lot andI like Starbucks, but here's
what I think about Starbucks.
mark (06:05):
You go to Starbucks so much.
Mm-hmm.
That they have your money stored in theirapp and you give them money that they
hold on, float through their app, go on
bruce (06:16):
$10 is what I keep on my Starbucks.
Go on.
mark (06:18):
Yeah,
bruce (06:18):
sure.
That way I can.
Order in advance.
And when I get there, it is ready.
And I don't have to wait in line withthose people waiting for their Starbucks.
But Starbucks, it's good.
It's okay, but it's consistent.
So Starbucks is likehaving a gas fireplace.
mark (06:34):
Oh, now you're, now you're backing up.
No, I like Starbucks.
bruce (06:37):
Yeah, you do.
I do like Starbucks, but Ilike it because I know what I'm
gonna get and it's consistent.
And again, it's like a gasfireplace and you can have it.
Everywhere you go.
Okay.
Okay.
It's okay.
It's not the best.
Alright,
mark (06:48):
I'm gonna cut you off and say I hate Starbucks.
I know you do.
So I, Bruce is much more thebig snob than I am in terms
of food, but I hate Starbucks.
I hate the taste of the coffee.
First of all, I do not understandwhy I need 175 liters of coffee.
I, I do not understand this.
The giant sizes, and I never doany of the, I don't know, lime
(07:13):
syrup, popcorn, fluffy soda.
There's no coffee in those.
I don't, I never do that stuff,but when I have the coffee, I.
I just think it tastes burned, andI think it tastes like the crap that
my father would have in the office.
My father had this idea that you madea pot of coffee in his office in the
morning, and you didn't drink it tillabout 2:00 PM so it sat there and oxidized
(07:37):
on the burner and got stronger andstronger and more and more bitter and.
I think that's what Starbucks tastes like.
Well,
bruce (07:43):
that's how your father grew up.
And because his father boiledhis coffee like that did.
So your father was used to that.
But if I'm faced in a situation wherethere's a Starbucks downstairs in
my hotel or right next door, and theonly other coffee is that horrible
little machine that's sitting in the.
Hotel room, I'll
mark (07:57):
take the machine.
bruce (07:58):
Oh, you don't know what people have done in that machine.
Oh,
mark (08:01):
stop.
bruce (08:01):
I'm going to Starbucks.
Oh,
mark (08:02):
stop.
Um, in case you don't know, thereis a whole subculture of people
who use the coffee maker in amotel room to wash their underwear.
They put their underwear in itand run hot water through it.
It's a whole thing.
Mm-hmm.
So, okay, number three.
Number three restaurant in theUnited States is Chick-fil-A.
And it is number threein terms of its revenue.
(08:23):
But here's what's interesting.
It's number.
18 in terms of the number of locations.
So it's way down the list in termsof how many Chick-fil-A's there are,
but it is number three in revenue.
It tells you
bruce (08:33):
they're selling a lot at each one.
I've never been,
mark (08:36):
I've never been,
bruce (08:37):
no.
And I don't want this to becomepolitical, but they do have.
They do have a whole philosophythat I do not agree with.
mark (08:43):
Yeah, and this is, what's it, I, I'm gonna just stop and
talk about this for a minute.
I remember very clearly the firsttime I got on Facebook and I, I,
this is, you know, years ago when Ifirst got on Facebook and, um, I was,
you know, being myself and I post,I think this is back during George.
Bush the second.
Second term.
Mm-hmm.
And I posted something incrediblypolitical and it didn't get
(09:06):
posted more than an hour before.
My literary agent called me personallyand said, what are you doing?
Do you only wanna sell books?
Do people who agree with you,or do you wanna sell books And.
I was so dumbfounded by this, and itwas the first time it really hit me
that, wait a minute, if you're runninga business or you're trying to sell
something, you know, maybe you shouldjust keep your nose out of things
(09:29):
and just be positive and et cetera.
And I, this is the problem with somethinglike Chick-fil-A, and again, I don't
wanna get, uh, a political either.
Why make political identitiescentral to who you are?
I don't,
bruce (09:42):
it hasn't hurt them, though.
They're number three in income.
No,
mark (09:45):
it hasn't hurt them.
In, in, it is number three in, in incomeand I have never been to a Chick-fil-A.
Okay.
Number four on the list is Taco Bell.
And Taco Bell is the fourth interms of the revenue it generates.
But fifth, in terms of the number oflocations across the United States, uh,
we'll get to the fourth biggest in termsof location in a minute, but, okay.
Taco Bell.
(10:05):
So, uh, never been.
bruce (10:07):
Don't like diarrhea,
mark (10:08):
not going.
Mm-hmm.
I guess that is the thing I have to say.
When I was a kid growing up in Dallas,there was a Taco Bell on Forest Lane
and it was near where I lived and Iloved Tex-Mex food and I didn't have
any money except for mowing yards.
So I will say that when I had acar in high school, I would go to
(10:30):
Taco Bell and I will honestly say.
That's the last time I've ever beento Taco Bell, so I doubt I've been to
a Taco Bell since I went to college.
bruce (10:38):
Well, I get it.
I mean, when I was that age, I loved KFC.
It's not even on this list, but Iloved KFC when I was a kid, so, oh, yes
mark (10:44):
it is.
You just don't know where it is yet.
Yes it is on this list.
Look
bruce (10:47):
down the whole list here.
Okay,
mark (10:49):
well, yeah, taco Bell.
So, I don't know, it's hard forme to even say, uh, bow Taco Bell.
And, um, also, I don't know, therearen't that many taco bells around
us are there, here, new England.
bruce (11:00):
I don't need Bell England.
Don't know that.
Any around here.
I mean I was growing up, we had somein Queens, but Right, there's, I
don't think there's any around here.
It always killed me in Dallas.
'cause Dallas was full when weused to go when you were older.
There's so many fabulous Hispanicplaces to go and get real tacos.
Yet we always tell your mom we want tacos.
And she go, let's go to Taco Bell.
mark (11:19):
Yeah, I know Bries and I do go to this place that is outside
of Hartford in West Hartford.
And when we're over there by the Costco.
And, uh, we, uh, go, it's a,it's a Mexican crude restaurant
and we go and have tacos andlemme tell you, it is not fancy.
Mm-hmm.
It's about as fancy as Taco Belland the tacos are not expensive.
They're super cheap, butthey're super delicious.
(11:40):
Yeah.
You can
bruce (11:40):
get it with like grilled heart.
mark (11:42):
Grilled tongue.
You can, you can gettongue tacos, which I love.
Okay, so the fifth most popularrestaurant, or the most successful
restaurant in the United Statesis Wendy's, and it's never had it.
It's fifth in terms of revenue, but ninth
bruce (11:53):
in
mark (11:53):
terms of the number of locations.
Bottom
bruce (11:55):
of my list.
Never been
mark (11:56):
okay.
You've never been All right.
I will say that I haven't been to Wendy's.
Since I was in college, but it wasthe standard thing in college when
they opened a Wendy's, I went toBaylor in Waco, and when they opened
a Wendy's across the street from themain campus, we would literally go
to dinner in the, in the dining room,eat, you know, on campus, on board.
(12:17):
And then about nine o'clock we wouldinevitably go to Wendy's and sit there
in Wendy's and have a Wendy's hamburger.
This was like.
Over and over again there.
The freshman 15 is a real thing.
15 pounds you put on a as a freshmanis a real honest to God thing.
That's probably thelast time I had Wendy's.
My parents lived on Wendy'sat the end of their lives.
There was
bruce (12:36):
a Wendy's in our town here in rural New England, and it closed, it couldn't,
it couldn't even sustain a Wendy's.
That's
mark (12:42):
how rural we are.
Is that the little town near,it's not even in our town.
It's in the, it's in that biggesttown, which is tiny near us, and they
did open a Wendy's and it closed back.
Down and now there's this poor guytrying to run a Peruvian restaurant in
there, which is just cracking me out.
It's never in there.
I mean, I feel sorry for him.
Peruvian restaurant in rural, and I
bruce (13:01):
thought we might go and get one of their whole grilled chickens one
night, but he's like $37 for a chicken.
mark (13:06):
Okay, so.
No.
So anyway, okay, the sixth biggestrestaurant in the United States in
terms of revenue, and it's the fourthin terms of the number of locations.
So it's really got more locationseverywhere than, uh, others.
And this is very near and dearto New England's heart is Dunking
bruce (13:21):
Donuts.
Uh, say it right, it'sjust Dunking Dunking.
They've changed their name.
It is dunking.
It's no longer donuts.
It's no longer part of the world.
Is that
mark (13:27):
really right?
They, they changed the name officially.
It's just dunking.
Okay.
Well Dunking.
So Dunking is it, and uh,
bruce (13:33):
it's near and dear to my heart.
I grew up with Dunking Donuts back whenit was Dunking Donuts, and I love them.
On Sunday mornings, my dad wouldgo get a big box of donuts, and
I love the cream filled ones.
But they've gotten so sweet.
It just tastes like sugar now.
Uh, it
mark (13:46):
does.
I was gonna say that, uh, my last blooddraw for a physical, I went, we went,
uh, you know, to have the blood drawand you can't eat beforehand and at
the end I was, I, I'm needle phobic.
This is more than you need toknow, but I'm needle phobic.
So I got through the blooddraw and we, we got out of it
and I was like, I'm gonna get.
Dunking Donuts.
Your reward has my rewardfor getting my blood draw.
(14:07):
I know it's ridiculous.
A blood draw.
But, uh, we stopped and we bought, Ithink we bought little donut holes.
The minis?
bruce (14:12):
Yeah, the dunk, the munchkins.
Is that what they call 'em?
Yeah, the munchkins.
I don't
mark (14:15):
even know the donut holes.
I'm going to use the bad words.
And, uh.
We got halfway home and wedidn't even eat what we bought.
They were too sweet.
It was, it
bruce (14:25):
was so sugary.
That's all it was, was sugary.
It was.
I didn't taste wheat.
I didn't taste the cake part of it.
It just tasted like sugar.
Okay.
mark (14:33):
So the seventh most popular restaurant in the United States in
terms of it's revenue, it's seventhin revenue, it's sixth in, the number
of its location is Burger King,and I want to say right up front.
I have never been
bruce (14:43):
Burger King got me through high school.
Alright.
I went to high school in middle,middle Manhattan on 46th and
Broadway, and there was a BurgerKing on 45th and sixth Avenue.
Okay.
And I would get Burger King probably threedays a week for lunch in high school.
mark (14:56):
Okay.
When I was a little kid, this is noton the list, but when I was a little
kid, there were dairy Queens inOklahoma where my grandparents lived.
And there were also Dairy Kingsand they were competing, of
course, they were, uh, chains.
And my grandmother wouldnot go to Dairy King.
She only went to Dairy Queen.
I like to think of this asher one feminist moment.
(15:16):
Her one glorious Steinem moment isthat she would only go to Dairy Queen.
Your
bruce (15:20):
grandmother and Gloria Steinem the same
mark (15:22):
sentence.
They are, they are, theymade to be together.
Okay, so.
The eighth most popular restaurantin the United States is the number
one restaurant in terms of its numberof locations, but it's eighth in
terms of revenue, and that is Subway.
bruce (15:35):
The only time I have ever had a Subway is the same
time you've had a Subway.
It was the morning your dad diedand I went out to get us all lunch.
mark (15:43):
That's right.
bruce (15:44):
And I went to Subway.
That's right.
And I brought us allback stuff from Subway.
mark (15:47):
You went to Starbucks to make coffee, and you also then went to Subway
and you brought Subway sandwiches back.
Did.
Bruce, literally, this is too grossto sustain a podcast, but Bruce
literally walked into the hospiceroom 30 seconds after my dad died,
and he came in with all this food.
Very proud of himself.
As I'm running out of the room to get thenurse, because dad has stopped breathing.
(16:10):
And, um, it was so funny 'causehe was just so proud of himself
and I, as I pass him in thishallway of this beautiful hospice
facility, I literally say Dad died.
Said as I'm running past him.
And, uh, it's funny now, itwasn't funny at the moment.
And so after the nurse came inand, you know, we ascertained
that in fact he had passed away.
Then we went down to oneof their beautiful lobbies.
(16:32):
This place in Dallas was crazy.
We went out there.
Beautiful lobbies and we satthere and ate Subway tarbucks.
It was the only time tarbucks I've everhad it Tarbucks coffee, and I think that
might be the only time I've had it andI can't, I cannot even remember that.
That's what you brought.
Mm-hmm.
I know I sat in that lounge and atesomething, but I don't even remember.
Okay.
The ninth most popularrestaurant in the United States.
Ninth and Hertz of revenue.
10th in terms of the number ofits locations is Domino's Pizza.
bruce (16:55):
I had it, uh, for a brief period when I moved to Cleveland, Ohio,
and I was living in Shaker Heights,
mark (17:02):
unfortunate Cleveland Sojourn.
bruce (17:04):
I was living in Shaker Heights and I had just moved in.
The furniture was delivered.
It was about six o'clock.
I was hungry.
And my neighbor in the buildingsaid Domino's delivered.
So I called them and they were sonice when I told 'em I just moved in.
They sent me like free sides andfree extras and coupons for pizzas.
So I just kept ordering fromDomino's for about six months.
mark (17:23):
Okay.
And I'm gonna say right up front,I have never been to Domino's.
I've never had a DominosPizza that I know of.
I mean, maybe when dad died, you gota Domino's Pizza and I didn't know it.
Um, as far as I know, I've never beento Domino's, so I can't tell you.
I have a reverentialattitude toward pizza.
Pizza to me is one of the divine foodgroups, and I don't know, Domino's, just,
(17:46):
I'm too scared of it, so I've never been.
I have to say that I lived in New YorkCity, the home of a slice for 10 years
with Bruce, and I actually had one slice.
Once.
Oh my God.
So I, I will tell you that I'mso reverential about pizza.
I wouldn't even go intoNew York slice places.
Slice.
Oh my God.
But there no
bruce (18:06):
ma, there's no bad pizza in New York.
That's the thing about New York.
Even
mark (18:12):
the pizza I had was not good.
It was, it was gummy and gross.
I didn't like it.
No.
Okay, we're moving on the 10th mostpopular restaurant in the United States.
10th in terms of also itsrevenue, but 16th in terms of
the number of its location.
And you might know whyits revenue is high.
When I tell you this is Chipotle, that's'cause most people find it expensive.
(18:32):
It is expensive.
So maybe that's why it's down the listin terms of the number of locations,
but up in terms of its revenue
bruce (18:38):
of all the fast food that's available out there when I go
to airports or anything else.
I will go to a Chipotle.
I've had it before.
Right.
It's, it's okay.
Um, I don't, I'm neverafraid of getting sick.
I'm never remember when
mark (18:50):
we wanted to go to Chipotle with my brother and he wouldn't go.
My brother is Nuia and hewouldn't, he made us go to Q Dobo
instead because it was cheaper.
He wouldn't go to Chipotlebecause that was fancy.
Mm-hmm.
So.
We would, we missed out on the Chipotle.
I have, I've had Chipotle a handfulof times, and I have to say that
everything I've had is okay.
Yeah, I mean, that's fine.
There's, there's nothing thatis grand, but you're right.
(19:13):
Going to a rest, uh, a restaurant,going through an airport or
going fast through train stationor something like that, it's.
It's a fine thing to happen.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
The 11th most popular restaurant in theUnited States, I have a story about it.
It's 12th in terms of its revenue,but eighth in terms of its location.
So when you figure it out and do all themath on it, it comes out as the 11th.
Most popular is Pizza Hut.
(19:35):
Never
bruce (19:35):
been.
Um, even I have my limits with pizza.
Oh, okay.
And gee, I will not standards.
mark (19:41):
I do.
Okay.
My grandmother, the same onewho would only go to Dairy
Queen, she loved Pizza Hut.
This is in the seventies,and she didn't know.
What it was called.
So she always called that Pizza Hut.
So we were always going to PizzaHut and, but that's back in the
day when you couldn't pre-order.
So it was this whole thingabout, oh, it takes forever.
So she would literally bring snackyfood in her purse because it would
(20:05):
take so long for the pizza to come.
And so we would sit there at the tablesneaking snacks out of her burgers.
Did they?
Salads or appetizers.
We, I came from a very middle classhome and we couldn't afford such things.
So we had pizza at Pizza Hutand then that's all we had
is the pizza at Pizza Hut.
(20:25):
Uh, so my upbringing was not fancyto say the little, but there also
bruce (20:30):
wasn't Pizza Huts in New York when I was growing up.
We were growing New York.
It was.
Real pizza places withItalian pizza places.
I mean, I'm
mark (20:36):
so old that I remember when there was a huge thing between Pizza Hut
and Pizza Inn, and it was this wholerivalry thing about which you liked.
And I remember in high schoolthose whole discussions about
Pizza Hut versus Pizza Inn.
It's the whole thing.
Okay.
The 12th most popular restaurantin the United States, which is
15th in terms of its location,then 17th in terms of its revenue.
But again, when you do all the math out,it comes out as the 12th most popular.
Is Popeye's and I have never been.
bruce (20:58):
Never been.
Don't even know what they sell.
I think.
Fried chicken.
Fried chicken.
Do they have burgers too?
mark (21:02):
I am not sure.
Isn't this funny?
Here's two establishedfood writers with 37 Co.
Salmon.
I don't
bruce (21:08):
even know what they have.
mark (21:09):
I've never been.
Okay.
The thirteenth's most popularwe're moving on is Panera Bread.
It is the 11th most popularin terms of its revenue.
It makes the 11th mostrevenue of any chain.
It's the 24th in terms of its numberof locations, which tells you that it.
Lives up to his reputation.
For some people that it's expensive.
Yeah, so they're making a lotof money on what they sell.
bruce (21:30):
It is expensive, it's high end, but I find Panera Bread to be bland.
The bread is soft.
The bread doesn't very softtaste like great soft bread.
The sandwiches, the meats, all that,you know, industrial, processed meat.
So I don't really think I'mgetting anything extra for the
extra money I'm spending there.
Um, but I've had it in a pinch.
I'll get their chickensalad on some bread.
(21:52):
But
mark (21:52):
yeah, I get the Turkey sandwiches.
I, I mean our dog, oh my God.
Here's a story for you.
So our dog, our dog likes Panera Bread.
No he doesn't, but he was playingaround in the backyard with Bruce and
they were chasing the ball and Brucewas chasing the ball back and forth.
And sometimes Bruce pretends to throw itone way and then throws it another way.
Well, once he did this and our colleague.
Ran the wrong way.
He ran the way that Bruce was faintingand not the way he was actually throwing
(22:14):
the ball and ran straight headfirst intoa big stone wall, and he was injured.
He was limping on a front leg anda back leg, and we were scared
that something was really wrong.
And so I had to go tothe vet emergency room.
Believe me, you're spending money.
The dog is fine, everythingis fine, but it took hours
of x-rays and all this stuff.
So I took myself to PaneraBread and I have to say.
(22:36):
I had a Turkey sandwich.
I had one of the half halves, like a smallcup of soup and a half a Turkey sandwich.
It wasn't bad.
I mean, I sat there and played socialmedia on my phone and it was okay.
I mean, would I go outta my wayto get a Panera Bread sandwich?
No, but I know why it has.
The reputation it has.
Mm-hmm.
It also was expensive.
bruce (22:54):
Yes, it is.
mark (22:55):
It was even expensive for my half, half thing.
Okay.
So the 14th possible restaurant inthe United States 13th in terms of
its revenue, but 14th in terms ofits number of locations, is Sonic.
I have a story about Sonic too.
bruce (23:06):
Never been there.
Okay.
Never see.
mark (23:08):
Bridge had never been to half these places.
I've never been to some of them,but Bridge has never been to half.
Uh, here's my story about Sonic.
When I was a kid, my paternalgrandmother lived in rural
Oklahoma and she loved Sonic.
And we would go get Sonicsin Ardmore, Oklahoma.
We would drive and get SonicHamburgers, and my mother would throw a.
(23:30):
Fit in the car on our way to getthem, because Sonic Hamburgers had
mayonnaise and my mother had this thingabout no mayonnaise on hamburgers.
She hated it.
She thought Mustard was theonly proper T, but she's
bruce (23:41):
wrong too.
It's ketchup, blah.
mark (23:43):
So they're both wrong.
Okay, blah, blah, blah.
What killed me about this is asshe got older, my mother would
only eat mayonnaise on hamburgers.
So even though when I was a kid,she threw fits about going to
Sonic because of the mayonnaise.
Later in life, that's allshe ate was mayonnaise.
Hamburgers.
So I guess people do change.
Mm-hmm.
In terms of Sonic, I don'treally remember much about Sonic.
(24:05):
I have to say I still remember it inArdmore that they came out to your car.
bruce (24:08):
Oh.
Is that one of those places back then with
mark (24:10):
roller skates?
Well, I don't remember roller skates,but I remember they came out to your car.
Would they hang a tray on yourwindow or they just gave you the bag?
Wasn't um, what was the placea and w root beer that would
like hang the trail then window?
No, they would just hand you the bag.
Mm-hmm.
That's what I rememberat the Sonic in Amoy.
And we're talking, this islike the early seventies.
Finally, we're gonna end at the15th most popular restaurant in the
United States, 14th in terms of itsrevenue, 12th in terms of its number
(24:33):
of locations, which tells you aboutthe inexpensiveness of the food.
There's more of these, but they'remaking less revenue, so they're
really cutting their margins thin.
And that's KFC.
bruce (24:44):
Yeah, it used to be called Kentucky Fried Chicken, right?
They wanted to get rid of thefried part, and maybe they wanted
to get rid of the Kentucky part.
I don't know.
I So now it's just KFC.
When I was a kid, I lived on it, loved it.
It was great.
I don don't think what they're
mark (24:58):
sad about rebranding it.
I, I wonder if they're sadabout, I mean, because now
bruce (25:03):
sad a corporation.
Sad.
I know, I know.
That's why I don't knowwhat you're asking.
I
mark (25:07):
know, but Kentucky Fried now, when they changed that, uh, how do I say this?
When they changed that 20 yearsago to KFC, you know, they were
trying to make it more national.
Now everybody's into kind of a localcuisine, and so I thought, oh, this
is like chicken fried in Kentucky.
Suddenly it seems much more romanticizedor I idealized or something.
(25:28):
It's also shorter.
bruce (25:29):
KFC is.
Easy.
It, it's short, it's, it's dunking.
I mean, you want to getreally short and quick.
You could do so much morewith the logo with KFC.
It is.
It is.
Yeah.
But I used to love it, but
mark (25:39):
you
bruce (25:39):
know.
mark (25:39):
Okay.
Now I don't.
This is a place I've never been.
Mm.
So I grew up in a family.
That fried chicken, mymother made fried chicken.
My grandmother's, both of them.
Fried chicken.
I never had KFCI, I don't know.
It was, it was considered anathema inmy family because, you know, somebody
would bring, so, okay, here's my story.
On the hottest weekend of August,my father's family would have
(26:01):
a family reunion at Lake Murrayoutside of Ardmore, Oklahoma.
And we would sit on a concreteslab when it was a thousand degrees
outside and have this family reunion.
It was horrible.
And, uh, swim at.
Elephant rock in Lake Murray and somebody,inevitably, some great aunt or somebody
would bring a bucket of KFC and mygrandmother was always appalled because
(26:26):
she would've been up since 4:00 AM fryingchicken that she brought that was her own.
I mean, I would've gone for
bruce (26:32):
her fried chicken, of course.
Right.
And she was, she my choice.
Just always
mark (26:35):
appalled.
bruce (26:36):
KFC is not, was never my.
Favorite, I loved it, but when we werea real treat, my dad would go a chicken
delight, and that was, I don't even knowwhat that is, the best fried chicken ever.
mark (26:46):
I don't even
bruce (26:47):
know what that is.
It was, I think it was a local chain.
If it's, if you are listening to thisand you knew of a chicken delight outside
of Queens in New York, let me know.
mark (26:54):
Okay, well, I don't know.
Again, KFC was consider.
Bad because again, some gradient, andlet me tell you just to tell you where
I'm from, where I come from, I'm talkingabout women named Thelma and Myrtle.
So it's either Thelma or Wilma.
Fay or Myrtle would bring KFC.
This is where I'm from, people.
(27:15):
And uh, there you go.
I have Wilma Faye, I always wanted toname one of my dogs, Wilma Faye, but
bruce (27:21):
name one Wilma one.
mark (27:22):
No, no, no.
It's gotta be the whole thing.
Wool Mae.
So, uh, that's a podcastabout, uh, the most popular
restaurants in the United States.
I know, it's crazy.
We just thought we'd go down it and seewhat we thought about them and whether
we'd been, it's amazing between thetwo of us, how many of them we haven't.
Mm-hmm.
Been to.
Since these are such popular placesto be, oh, I'm just a food snob.
(27:43):
What can you say?
Uh, I don't know that I'm a food snob.
I just at times haven't everbeen around these kind of places.
Okay.
About Domino's.
I'm a slob.
A snob?
Well, I'm a slob too, but I'malso a snob, uh, about Domino's.
But other ones I don't know.
I've been a lot as akid, not so much as an.
So that's the rundown.
Uh, let me say that, uh, we'rereally glad you're with us.
(28:03):
If you could review this podcast, ifyou could rate it, if you could give
us a rating, even like great podcastthat helps us in the analytics, you
know, we're not supported otherwise,so that is the way that you can support
us and we really appreciate that.
Sorry for this being so US-centric.
I know we have a lot of Canadianand Australian listeners, um,
but you know, we should put
bruce (28:23):
Tim Horton's on
mark (28:23):
there.
Oh, hor.
And maybe coming up this list,rising up this list even as we
speak in the United States, givenwhat Tim Hortons is doing here.
Uh, so anyway, uh, sorry it was a bitUS centric, but, uh, so it is, uh, we'll
move on to something else next weekin the podcast if you subscribe to it.
And thanks for doing that.
So as is tradition.
(28:44):
The last segment of this podcast, what'smaking us happy in food this week?
bruce (28:51):
Something that is in the refrigerator that is
going to be cooked tonight.
Crispy skinned pork belly.
mark (28:57):
No, it's related to what I was gonna say, but not exactly.
And
bruce (29:01):
so we have friends coming for Chinese food tonight and I
am making this Cantonese Sue.
And it is.
Pork belly that is roasted in theoven till the skin is bubbly and
crisp and you have to start the daybefore and you salt it and you let
it dry out all the moisture, andyou let it sit in the refrigerator
overnight to dry out the skin.
Then you give it a little brush ofvinegar and roast it for half hour,
(29:23):
then brush it with oil and roastit another half hour, and it's.
Skin gets bubbly and crispy andit's delicious and that's what's
gonna make me happy tonight.
mark (29:30):
Okay, well, so what's making me happy in food this week is also a
pork belly, but that is last weekendwe had some friends over for just
a really ca casual, I know this ishow casual, but Bruce made Korean
food and he made this Korean stirfry that is kimchi and pork belly.
And you sliced the pork bellyreally, really thinly so that
it's quickly stir fried, right?
Mm-hmm.
And then you stir fry itwith kimchi and it was.
(29:53):
It was good.
So hot.
It was, uh, several of us, well therewere four of us, but two of us at
least, were running for Kleenexes'cause our nose were running.
Um, it was so hot, butit was so delicious.
And the kimchi was our own from thebook called Can, and it was hot.
That's part of it.
It was hot.
bruce (30:09):
So not only did you use the hot kimchi, that I added a ton of gochugaru
flakes for the extra, the extra jeans.
It was good.
mark (30:16):
Much eat white refined rice anymore, but dishes like that,
call for white refined rice.
Mm-hmm.
Because they're the white rice issweet and those dishes are so hot.
The sweet kind of helpswith how hot they're, okay.
So that's the podcast for this week.
Thanks again for being a part of it.
It was a little indulgent, but okay.
So it goes, thanks for being apart of it and we appreciate your
being with us on this journey.
bruce (30:37):
Every week we tell you what's making us happy in food.
So please go to our Facebook group,cook me with Bruce and Mark, and tell us
what's making you happy in food this week.
'cause we want to know.
Wanna know what's making you happyand we'll continue to share what
makes us happy with food hereon cooking at Bruce and Mark.
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