Hardee’s

So on Tuesday, July 1st the Hardee’s down the road finally opened. It opened after a pretty long construction process to convert the old Donato’s Pizza place. The Donato’s holds a big memory in my head because the one and only time we ate there was immediately after seeing the house that we ended up buying. Even the good memories feel bad…but oh well…on with it…

I decided to stop by on opening day (something I would almost NEVER do normally, but I felt an urge) and went through the drive-thru. I cannot even remember the last time I ate at a Hardee’s, in fact, I’m pretty sure that when I last did it wasn’t owned by Carl’s Jr. So it was a completely different restaurant.

First thing I must say is that their burgers are HUGE, I’m guessing that is why they call them “thickburgers.” They had 1/3 and 1/2 pound burgers and I don’t normally order a quarter pounder at McDonald’s unless I’m really hungry! However, these large “thickburgers” are made with 100% Angus beef, which is a definite plus.

I decided to order a number 2 combo which consisted of their “Original 1/3 lb thickburger” fries and a drink. The flavor of the “thickburger” was excellent and the toppings were fresh. As I said before 1/3 lb is a large burger and the bun was a total disappointment. By about the 3rd bite I was already wearing part of the burger because the bottom side of the bun was shredded. I, being a regular burger eater, immediately flipped the burger over, but even that trick only worked for so long. Soon I was left with a mess of a burger that looked like I had eaten the bun first.

The french fries were definitely NOT a disappointment. Large, thick cut, skin on fries that had a nice snap to them. They were seasoned well and maybe had a little too much salt dumped on them. I would have to have their fries a few times to see if this is just a training issue, or a recipe issue.

I have attempted so far to keep from comparing Hardee’s to Whataburger (which I already reviewed here) but I can go no further.

The employees, while friendly, seemed rushed (even though the drive-thru was not busy) and I had to repeat my order a few times. I will give them some leeway since they did just open, but so far they are light years behind Whataburger! Also, the french fries don’t even come close to the fresh fries served at Whataburger, and remember that nifty little pack that had a napkin, salt, pepper and a mint at Whataburger? Hardee’s didn’t even bother to give me a single napkin to deal with their mess of a burger.

Finally, this Hardee’s has a HUGE design flaw that I just do not understand in this day and age. It only had one drive-thru window! They spent months completely gutting the Donato’s Pizza and reconfiguring it, I don’t see how adding an extension for a second window would have been that difficult! McDonald’s has had the two window thing down to an art for many years and Whataburger used that additional window to have another chance to tell me to come back soon!

I really enjoyed the flavors of the all the food and think that after a few weeks of being open it will be even better, but I’m not sure how often I will be there because the burgers are just way too big for a regular fast food meal.