Roadtrip stops for food

I've had the discussion before with friends, and I always think it's an interesting one...

If you could only stop at a single highway exit for fast food, what three places would you want as your only options?  You need to account for all three meals, should factor in random other circumstances (like the fact that Sunday is a common travel day and Chick Fil A is not open, meaning you'd be down to two options if you chose it), and cannot cheat with combination places, like KenTaco Hut.

Top Three

For me, I'd probably take McDonald's, Bojangles, and Long John Silver's.  Between McDonald's and Bojangles, I more than adequately cover breakfast with hotcakes, chicken biscuits, and an option on sausage biscuits from each place.  For lunch and dinner, I'm covered from the burger angle, and leave myself three separate chicken options: battered nuggets from McNastys as well as chicken tenders OR cajun fried chicken with Bojangles.  While the Bojangles fries can be REALLY good or AWFUL, I think McDonald's consistently provides the best fry so I'm again covered if fries are the key to my meal.

The inclusion of LJS may seem controversial, as it certainly caters to only a specific desire, but I also recognize that every single trip I make in a car back to Pittsburgh, I plan exclusively around a stop for an order of mozzarella sticks and shrimp basket at Long John Silver's.  As long as you don't mind every fried item tasting ultimately the same, you can even make an argument that the fries consistently deliver excellence with a crispy outside and soggy middle!  Another random benefit here is that it will be invariably uncrowded as no one else seems able to tolerate the smell, much less the taste, of the food and the whole establishment.

Close

Burger King was my toughest omission, as I love their chicken fries and French fries, AND their containers make eating in the car quite easy.  Ultimately, I feel their breakfast lacks too much compared with McDonald's and I couldn't afford a one-trick pony when I was already selecting LJS.

Others

Wendy's does not put forth a good enough fry day in and day out to make the list.  Chick Fil A is only open 85% of the days of the week (and less when I realize that Sunday is a more than average day for travel for me).  Taco Bell is a non-factor.  Arby's lost me when they removed chicken fingers and went with mediocre popcorn chicken (and no breakfast hurts).  Kentucky Fried Chicken would be stronger if they ever brought back normal fries instead of the hideous potato wedges they currently serve. Sub places (Quizno's, Subway, etc.) just don't appeal to me that much.

What are your choices?