I want to see fast food diagrams.

December 9, 2013 10:28 AM

I really like those diagram posters they put up in fast food restaurants that show you the proper order of burger toppings, or the correct distribution of pepperoni slices per pizza. I'd like to see more of them, but Google is failing me. Maybe I just don't know the proper name for them. Surely somebody has a Tumblr of these or something, right? Ideally they'd include retro ones that go back a few decades. C'mon, hive mind, show me some taco assembly diagrams!
posted by Faint of Butt to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

"Top Secret Recipes" is exactly what you're looking for. Each copycat fast food recipe includes a diagram of its proper assembly (or at least they do in my old copy of the book).
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:33 AM on December 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Good try, MonkeyToes, but what I really want is the actual posters they put up in the restaurants. Ephemera, you dig?
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:37 AM on December 9, 2013

There's the Modernist Cuisine Burger.
posted by rossination at 11:13 AM on December 9, 2013

Here is one.

I believe it's official, but I think it may not be USian so it may not have the same look you're after. I know exactly what you want to find and can't believe it took me as long as it did to find this one. Great question!
posted by Room 641-A at 11:47 AM on December 9, 2013

Here is one from Wimpy Burger, a chain in the UK.
posted by ManInSuit at 11:55 AM on December 9, 2013

Hmmm... this came up with a Google for 'exploded view sandwich.' (Arby's, scroll down.)
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:56 PM on December 9, 2013

Best answer: we call them menu item build cards or build charts. here is one. a google image search turned up next to nothing and i think it's because most of this stuff is proprietary so it isn't readily available.
posted by ps_im_awesome at 1:05 PM on December 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Vintage German cheeseburger from the Chevy Diner.

I agree with ps_im_awesome that proprietary issues are in play.
posted by MonkeyToes at 1:08 PM on December 9, 2013

Best answer: I did some searches and found nothing. It's amusing how it's easier to find a flight manual of an F-18 in Google than a build chart of a Big Mac.
posted by crapmatic at 2:44 PM on December 9, 2013 [2 favorites]

Can't produce one for Wendy's but I can tell you the order:
White (Mayo)
Red (Ketchup)
Green (Pickles)
White (Onion)
Red (Tomato)
Green (Lettuce)

Unfun Fact: The "top" of the bun is called the Crown and the "bottom" is called the Heel
posted by wcfields at 11:13 AM on December 10, 2013

Response by poster: So, no Tumblr, eh? I guess they're too proprietary for people to be spreading them around. Oh, well. At least I know they're actually called "build charts" now, and knowledge is good.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:09 AM on December 23, 2013