Hacking fast food

November 1, 2011 10:15 PM

Do you have favorite off-menu items you are able to get at fast food restaurants? As an example, I like to get a hamburger, egg and cheese croissant for breakfast at Burger King. I am successful at about half the restaurants I try to order it at. Do you have anything offbeat or non-standard that you successfully order?
posted by pjern to food & drink (43 answers total)

Are you looking for answers that do or don't include In-N-Out's not so secret menu?
posted by AMSBoethius at 10:22 PM on November 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

Starbucks short cappuccino. I've never been to a Starbucks that wouldn't make me one (though I'll confess I haven't ever tried at an airport pseudo-Starbucks), but the short size isn't on the menu, despite the fact that cappuccinos are best in those increments in my opinion. And if you're looking for In-n-Out answers :) grilled cheese with grilled onions.
posted by troublesome at 10:28 PM on November 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

That was totally what I was going to say, AMSBoethius.

I add and remove ingredients all the time, because I'm a picky eater. It helps a LOT to know how things are entered into the system (at the drive-through, watch to see the order the people typing things in use.) For instance, at Wendy's, saying "only" at the end of your list of changes, rather than at the beginning, greatly improves the odds of it actually getting entered the way you want it. I add tomatoes to Taco Bell tacos, I order things with "beans and cheese only," etc. I do pay a premium for adding tomatoes to a taco rather than getting a supreme taco no sour cream because the odds of getting a taco with ONLY sour cream are much too high.

One guy who used to come to the Wendy's I worked at always ordered an "extra large" Frosty. We charged him for two mediums (16oz cup) and put it in the Biggie cup he wanted to use (32oz.)
posted by SMPA at 10:31 PM on November 1, 2011

hash brown burger at whattaburger and jack in the box (remove the meat, add hashbrown). it's the perfect drunk food and it'd delicious.

i rebuild basically everything at taco bell - my favorite is probably double decker taco supreme with rice instead of beef.
posted by nadawi at 10:43 PM on November 1, 2011

Are you looking specifically for things that you can order by name that aren't on the menu, or sneaky menu tricks? There are more of the latter than the former.

I spent a while last year trying to get the legendary 10:35 at McDonald's. Serious Eats does a good run-down of it, but I found the secret was hitting up one particular Mickey D's frequently, so that they knew me. This may be more committment than you're looking for.

It's worth it, though.
posted by punchtothehead at 10:45 PM on November 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

The Mc10:35 is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for.... something that's not on the menu. I'm going to try that one tomorrow :)
posted by pjern at 10:48 PM on November 1, 2011

A couple of lists of secret menu items:

http://www.couponsherpa.com/ask-coupon-sherpa/secret-restaurant-menus-revealed
http://consumerist.com/2007/02/the-really-big-guide-to-secret-menu-items.html
posted by metric space at 11:10 PM on November 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

When I worked at Kentucky Friend Chicken (in NZ), we had lots of customers who would order a chicken breast and a hamburger, and ask us to dump the hamburger patty, remove the bones from the breast, and put the breast in the burger instead. We'd do it on a slow day, and we'd charge for 1 piece chicken + burger.

That was before KFC started doing burgers with real chicken, though, but I bet it works in fried chicken restaurants that don't use actual filets in their burgers.

We also had a lot of people ask for extra seasoning on the fries (sure), NO seasoning on the fries (to force us to cook fresh fries for them instead of scooping from the warmer), or to substitute drinks in combos with fries or salad (no).
posted by lollusc at 11:34 PM on November 1, 2011

At Chipotle you can get half portions of two different meats for no extra charge.
posted by grouse at 11:47 PM on November 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

As lollusc said, asking for "no seasoning" or "no salt" on the fries usually forces them to make a fresh batch just for you. Grab a salt packet at the condiment stand if they're available.

You can use the same trick to get them to, if not cook, at least assemble something fresh. If you order a bog-standard burger, you might get one that's been sitting assembled for 30 minutes. If you order "no pickles," they'll have to assemble a new one for you. If you order "extra pickles," they might just take the old burger, open it up, and add more pickles.

Also, in case you were unaware, Burger King has the "Off The Broiler" ("OB") option, which tells them to run your burger patty through the broiler fresh rather than using one that's been sitting in the warming trays for who knows how long.

Starbucks is obviously big on customization, so there aren't many secrets - whatever you can think up, they generally can do. I used to order a venti iced coffee, caramel syrup, caramel sauce, with room - basically a lighter, cheaper caramel macchiato, with more caffeine to boot. It suited me just fine since I can't drink a lot of milk.

Oh, there must be others that I've used, I know there are. If I think of them, I'll come back.
posted by WasabiFlux at 12:00 AM on November 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

Never thought about the "fresh" angle.

I can't tolerate McD's "beef" (nor their cheese) but I've had luck asking for a big mac with their sausage patties right about the breakfast/lunch switch time with "no cheese" (a few [dozen?] minutes before 11am, locally).

I actually liked the McRib, when they were available.

I think it really depends on availability of ingredients and the flexibility of the crew; timing is key to getting a lot of "non-menu" stuff, in addition to successful reparte with the crew. If you can speak their lingo, your chances of success improves.
posted by porpoise at 12:24 AM on November 2, 2011

Two that have worked for me on multiple occasions: The McGang Bang: It's McChicken sandwich shoved in between the patties of a McDouble burger. The Meat Cube @ Wendy's- it's a 4 beef patty burger.
posted by KingEdRa at 12:28 AM on November 2, 2011

I usually go to some coffee place and asked for steamed soy(a) milk with a shot of some sort of syrup -- it's not on the menu any of the places I go, but it's good!
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 12:56 AM on November 2, 2011

I often order tonic & grenadine to drink.
posted by amtho at 1:08 AM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

I once worked with a lass in a nightclub and after work we would go to a late-night diner kind of place. She would routinely order the Nachos - with EVERYTHING on the side.

So she would order a bowl of warm corn chips, a separate bowl of grilled cheese, a bowl of tomato salsa, a slightly smaller bowl of guacamole, an even smaller bowl of sour cream and a tiny little bowl of jalapenos. And then she would combine as she pleased.

Personally, in hot weather I like to order Iced Coffee but that means one or two shots of espresso over ice, small jug of cold milk on the side.
posted by evil_esto at 3:27 AM on November 2, 2011

Not fast food, but Italian restaurants in Europe often list a Hawaiian pizza on the menu. It always has cheese, pineapple, and ham. I love it, but I stopped eating meat ten years ago, so I started ordering it without the ham. Nothing special, but the trick is that a "pizza with cheese and pineapple" is often more expensive than a "Hawaii without ham", because they consider it as "basic + pineapple" one way and as "menu item - ham" another. It's sometimes only a tiny difference, but always makes me happy when I get the lower price. And yes, I probably do get a few bits of pineapple less that way - I don't care. It's all about the fun of feeling that I hacked a menu (and the delicious cheese/pineapple combo).
posted by easternblot at 3:33 AM on November 2, 2011

The real trick here is the social engineering, as others above have pointed out: if you have the staff onside they'll try to make it work for you. If you are just this fucking guy, and you alienate your server, you're going nowhere. Case in point.
posted by Meatbomb at 3:56 AM on November 2, 2011

Along the same lines as the "fries without salt", I used to order the lamb burger from my campus's fast food place so they would have to cook a fresh one, rather than serve me a manky beef burger that had been sitting under the heat lamp for an hour.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:58 AM on November 2, 2011

Not very impressive, but the only (apparently) vegetarian meal option at McDonald's outside of breakfast is to order a salad without the chicken. I was so excited when I realised they added the chicken after the order was made. And they then charge you less than the price listed on the menu.

The not at all secret 'short' size at Starbucks that someone has already mentioned is, to my mind, an appropriate size for a boring old coffee, too. (I think, though, that the 'short' is the small size outside of the US or North America.)

Starbucks has re-jiggered their menu, but despite the menu listing prices by cup size, they used to charge by the tea bag, so ordering a grande with one tea bag cost as much as a tall (the menu assumed two tea bags and listed it as the same price as a venti). This worked at Tully's too for a while, but they put a stop to it before Starbucks, citing the (supposedly non-negligible) variance in the cost of cups. (Of course, the margin on tea is insane.) I never worked out what was up at Peets. They only have one price for tea. It defaults to two tea bags. I guess sometimes they ask and give you the second, because I end up with random Peets tea in my backpack.
posted by hoyland at 5:20 AM on November 2, 2011

I make something called the Affrogurto - plain frozen yoghurt from one place, and an espresso from the coffee shop across the road.
posted by zamboni at 5:45 AM on November 2, 2011 [2 favorites]

Chipotle will make pretty much anything you want from the ingredients they have on hand if they're not super busy. I get steak quesadillas pretty regularly.

Similarly, Potbelly is pretty accommodating, I'm a big fan of the "Chicken Cordon Bleu", basically just their chicken sandwich with swiss cheese and a slice of ham.
posted by Oktober at 6:11 AM on November 2, 2011

Not very exciting, but I always get: McChicken, no mayo, add mustard. Makes it less gross and they have to cook it for you.
posted by smackfu at 6:13 AM on November 2, 2011

Not really a "secret menu" item, but I occasionally order a Big Mac with chicken sauce (mayo) instead of mac sauce.
posted by asnider at 6:15 AM on November 2, 2011

I used to live near a hipster coffee shop that had Tang (the orange drink made from powder) on the menu, and they were always confused but compliant when I would ask for it made with hot water. It was my favorite winter beverage as a kid. Just be careful that people don't start calling you "the hot tang girl."

Also, from any chain delivery place I've ever tried, you can order a cheese pizza with no sauce, and a couple sides of marinara, for a lot cheaper than the equivalent volume of cheesy breadsticks. Tastes marginally different, but still hits all the cheesebread-dipped-in-tomato-sauce buttons of deliciousness.
posted by vytae at 6:35 AM on November 2, 2011 [3 favorites]

Dairy Queen does have a method to charge for "extras" in a blizzard. I've been pretty successful getting them to make me custom blizzards using this.
posted by anastasiav at 6:43 AM on November 2, 2011

I worked at a Dairy Queen in the 80s and we had a whole list of recipes for defunct, no longer on the menu DQ treats. I only remember two: the Jack and Jill sundae (hot fudge and marshmallow) and the Double Fudge Nutty, which has hot fudge and hot caramel with chopped pecans. The latter is my go-to at the DQ. I always order a sundae with HALF hot fudge/HALF caramel. About half the time they'll do it that way and charge just for a regular sundae + pecans, the other half of the time, they charge for two sauces. (They're supposed to charge for two sauces.) The best part is that even if they just charge you for a regular sundae, you usually get twice the sauce.

I get a small because I'm dainty, but if you get a large, you are basically getting one of their "Royal Treats" (I forget what it's called when it's the expensive version) for the price of a sundae.

You can do the same thing with a large sundae, hot fudge and Spanish peanuts to have a cheaper Peanut Buster Parfait.
posted by looli at 6:50 AM on November 2, 2011

I guess the "fresh" angle has been pretty well covered, but I always order a Filet-o-Fish without cheese so it comes out piping hot.
posted by HotToddy at 7:27 AM on November 2, 2011

Not fast food but if you are in any Mexican place you can always order Huevos con Chorizo.
posted by mmascolino at 8:46 AM on November 2, 2011

When I was a broke college student / vegetarian, it was popular amongst our crowd to go to Don Pablos and order the "Fajita hot set & cold set."

This was their code for all the condiments and sides that come with the fajita. Essentially, what you get is tortillas, rice, beans, lettuce, onions and pico de gallo. We would roll up our own bean + rice burritos. You got all of this for like $3.

Add in the free chips and salsa, and you've got some serious cheap eats.

I haven't tried this in years, so it may not still be applicable.
posted by teriyaki_tornado at 9:14 AM on November 2, 2011

At Dairy Queen, I like getting dipped cones in a cup instead of a cone. They can't dip the cup, so they end up pouring the chocolate coating on, and you end up getting more.
posted by Metroid Baby at 9:26 AM on November 2, 2011

The two types of eggs on McDonald's breakfast sandwiches are interchangeable, you just have to ask. "Folded" egg is the homogenous scrambled-type patty, "round" is the fried egg with distinct white/yolk. Ordering the opposite of what normally comes on a given sandwich actually changes the taste pretty significantly.
posted by owtytrof at 9:31 AM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

This may sound disgusting, but don't knock it until you try it: The Jack in the Box Taco Burger.

Basically it's a Big Cheeseburger with a taco on it. The seasoned beef plus the psuedo-crispiness of the shell really compliment the ketchup and cheese flavor. It's delicious.

I've never had a Jack in the Box employee know what I'm talking about when I try to order it, though, so I basically just order a Big Cheeseburger and 2 tacos and build it myself.
posted by shovel_mage at 9:42 AM on November 2, 2011

The local pizza place has a few specialty pizzas including a chicken Alfredo pizza and a seafood Margherita pizza. They're right next to each other on the delivery menu so one night I just got a wild hair and asked if I could get the seafood pizza but with the Alfredo sauce instead having it Margherita style. It is now my all time favorite pizza. The only issue is that it must have about a million calories, what with all the butter and cream and cheese in the Alfredo. It is very rich, but just jaw-dropping delicious, and only $10.99.
posted by Toekneesan at 10:01 AM on November 2, 2011

Another tip on the dipped cones at DQ: this summer the guy after me ordered his with extra chocolate in the bottom of the cone. They put some of the dipping chocolate in before they fill it with ice cream and then dip it at the end like normal. This way the chocolate at the bottom hardens and prevents the ice cream from leaking out the bottom of the cone.

I haven't been back to try it myself but it just sounds brilliant.
posted by kyleg at 11:20 AM on November 2, 2011

Taco Bell:

I'll have a cheese Quesadilla. Subtract the Jalapeno sauce. Add Beef.

I'll have another cheese Quesadilla. Subtract the Jalapeno sauce. Add Bean.

Or, in POS terminal language: 1 Q-CHZ - CJSC + BF, 1 Q-CHZ - CJSC + BN.

I'll have two beef chalupas. No Sour Cream. No Lettuce, No Tomatoes. Add Three-Cheese. Now add more Three-Cheese. Now add more Three-Cheese. Now add more Three-Cheese.

I'm a man who loves his cheese.
posted by The Confessor at 12:43 PM on November 2, 2011

There is such a thing as the Octo-Stacker at Burger King.

It is, apparently a terrible, terrible idea.
posted by valkyryn at 3:11 PM on November 2, 2011

When we were kids, my brother and I would order "jelly biscuits" for breakfast from McDonald's and Hardee's. It was just the biscuit that you get a sandwich on, but plain, buttered, and with a packet of grape jelly. I thought it was amazing that they did not advertise this delicacy on the menu!
posted by jabes at 3:12 PM on November 2, 2011

I always get the Tuxedo at Starbucks. Usually, they know what I'm talking about- half white choc, half dark.
posted by saul wright at 4:57 PM on November 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

This isn't too crazy, but I am quite fond of Jack in the Box's breakfast biscuit with bacon instead of sausage, and a soda instead of coffee. At 2 AM, this is perfect hangover food.
posted by the essence of class and fanciness at 9:52 PM on November 2, 2011

or rather, drunk, pre-hangover food.
posted by the essence of class and fanciness at 9:53 PM on November 2, 2011

starbux, a medium coffee in a large cup topped with soy (or cream or whatever), plus ask esp for cold soy, so you can drink the damn thing sometime today...
posted by dancestoblue at 7:35 PM on November 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

This may be more relevant to Canadians: I found out recently that Tim Hortons has a "garden vegetable sandwich" made with the cream cheese of your choice, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Apparently it used to be a menu item and was made with a garden vegetable cream cheese (which they've discontinued), and is fattier than the chocolate glazed doughnut at 23g (16-18 when made with light plain or strawberry).
posted by Kingsk at 9:12 PM on November 5, 2011

Have you seen this Reddit thread?
posted by runningwithscissors at 2:06 PM on November 9, 2011