There’s a new #1 at the top of the nation’s favorite fast food chain list, and there’s a decent chance you’ve never even heard of it.
For years now, if you asked people to pick their favorite fast food restaurant, one chain reigned supreme. In fact, USA Today’s annual survey ranked Chick-fil-A at the top for almost a decade. But this year, we could call it a double surprise upset.
The famous chicken restaurant with its fancy two-lane drive-thrus and super-friendly customer service dropped not one but two slots.
New second-place: KFC!
The second-favorite restaurant in the 2024 survey turns out to be KFC. That’s a surprise because it didn’t rank in the top 10 at all last year. It’s also a surprise to me because many of the chain’s restaurants don’t give off the friendliest vibes.

I love KFC’s original recipe formula. But I learned a while back that there are times of the day, particularly in the early evening, when they stop cooking certain pieces of chicken. I prefer the chicken breast to the thigh. They always seem to have thighs cooked no matter what time of day it is. Breasts, unfortunately, are a different story.
Telling me that there’s a 20-minute wait for white-meat chicken tells me we’re no longer talking about fast food.
Bojangles has the same problem. But they’ve had it so often that I made multiple calls to their corporate customer service line. Not once — not once! — did anyone from their headquarters or even the franchises in question call me back. So they lost my business.
It hasn’t gotten quite that bad at KFC, although the nearest one to me is far enough away that I don’t make it there very often. When I have gone, though, the food is good.
Have you heard of this year’s top pick?
I’ll admit it: I’ve never heard of the favorite fast-food chain at the top of this year’s list. But when you consider its reach, I guess that’s not a surprise.
The top choice, Del Taco, has locations in only 16 states. There are none in South Carolina, so that would certainly explain why they wouldn’t immediately come to my mind. I haven’t even visited a Taco Bell in years, so I suppose Mexican fast food isn’t the first option that I think of when I’m looking for a fast food restaurant to visit.
USA Today’s report says Del Taco offers burritos, quesadillas, and nachos, also offers burgers and fries. It also has a breakfast menu, although my stomach doesn’t handle anything too exotic — and absolutely nothing spicy — early in the morning.
Chick-fil-A would easily beat those two in my list
Unlike many fast food restaurants, Chick-fil-A manages to hire people who act like they give a damn. In fact, they seem to be trained on specifically being polite. I wish other restaurants could muster that level of training. Hell, I wish people in general wouldn’t need that kind of training to begin with.
Chick-fil-A rarely makes a mistake when filling an order. Given the volume of traffic they serve, that in itself is a major accomplishment. There are few other restaurants who have the track record Chick-fil-A has when it comes to accuracy.
Add to that their employees’ attitudes and they’re a clear standout in my book.
It’s not that most other places are rude; but most aren’t as intentionally friendly. I’m sure that’s part of their training. But they make sure their employees exhibit it, when seems to be far too much of a hassle for most other restaurants.
As for burgers, my top pick might be Culver’s, but the price is an issue for me. They’re among the most expensive of the burger joints. If you add a milkshake to your order, you might pay close to $20. Yes, I’m cheap, but fast food shouldn’t cost that much. Then again, even McDonald’s, which used to be cheap, has jacked up its prices so quickly over the past several years — and dropped substantially in order accuracy — that I’m taking an extended break from the Golden Arches.
The chain In-N-Out came in fourth place in the survey right behind Chick-fil-A. I’ve tried an In-N-Out burger, but that was in California. I liked it very much, but California is a bit of a drive from the east coast. So I’ll have to admire them from afar.
We like Burger King’s Whopper meal. It’s about the only fast food place we go to. I love KFC, but the ones around here aren’t very clean and the people working there aren’t very good workers. My favorite thing at KFC was the buffet, but because of covid, they don’t have that any more