The "last" Burger Chef Logo How did Burger King help start Burger Chef?  Why are they gone now?  Find out by listening to this episode of Fast Food History. Burger Chef was a fast food chain that began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak in 1973 had 1,050 locations, including some in Canada. The chain featured several signature items, such as the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers.  It was sold to Hardee's in 1982 and was...

KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) was the first Fast Food chain to feature something other than burgers, fries and hot dogs. Founded by Col. Harland Sanders in Corbin Kentucky in the 50's when Sanders was 65 years old. Ever heard of 'Kentucky Beef'  or KFC Eleven?  You will in this episode of Fast Food History. Also hear about Dave Thomas and how he helped build KFC before founding Wendy's and about the first Franchisee, Pete Harmon in South Salt Lake, UT and how he invented the famous...

The McRib is back at McDonald's for a limited time and Fast Food History is back as well. Hopefully for a less limited time :) The McRib is a barbecue-flavored pork sandwich periodically sold by McDonald's It was invented by the same guy that invented the McNuggets when there was a Chicken shortage.  It was first sold in 1981 and comes and goes from the menu from time to time (unless you are in Germany where it's on the menu all the time) To find where the McRib might be on sale, check...

A brief history of the Frankfurter, Weiner, Hot Dog, Coney, Pisa and about 100 other names for the good old Hot Dog. This is part one covering (sort of) the invention of the hot dog as we know it, the Icelandic Hot dog, the world record hotdogs and more. Next week, Col. Sanders and KFC on Fast Food History.

How was the Double-Decker Hamburger born? Today we talk about Big Boy, in all it's different regional chains. Not exactly fast food but, as you will hear, they may be getting back to that. Find out how a 10 stool hamburger stand turned in to a National brand and even international.  (279 in Japan Still).  Also, how "Big Boy" has two completely separate companies today that hold the trademark for Big Boy.       Making of the Big Boy in different "Big Boy"...

The Coney Island Dog is  NOT the Coney Island dogs sold by Nathan's and others on Coney Island in New York, but the hotdogs sold across Michigan and other places by Greek and Macedonian immigrants. Chili (or coney sauce) on a quality hotdog with Onions and Yellow Mustard (Catchup is for Fries!) Coney Island Hotdogs are available Mostly in Michigan, but also in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas mostly.  Also in Vegas at the D Casino (American Coney). Next week we will go over...

Anyone remember the Kewpee Hotel Hamburger Chain? Me either, but it turned into a great local chain in the SE Michigan (Flint) area. Today on Fast Food History, we learn about the Halo Burger chain and how it came from the Kewpee Burger chain.

Ground Beef and Bread, put it together and you get a fast food staple. Find out who claims to have invented the hamburger, some famous burgers and the world's most expensive burger. The word hamburger comes from Hamburg, Germany's second-largest city. In German, Burg means "castle". The word HAM in hamburger is from the old German word hamma, which is a bend in a river. The word Hamburger in German is someone from Hamburg, similar to frankfurter and wiener, names for other meat-based foods...

The subject of a movie and the place that was responsible for the popularization of the Hamburger. Voted Time Magazine's most influential burger joint, America's first fast food place, White Castle. Today on Fast food history. White Castle is privately held, debt-free and has been run by the same family for nearly 100 years. Starting in 1921, White Castle has grown to around 420 stores in the Midwest, Greater New York City area, and Las Vegas. Next week:  The History of the Hamburger. ...

What do Car Factories, Hockey, Baseball, mushrooms and the Civil Rights movement have to do with Little Caesars Pizza? Find out today on Fast Food History. Today we go over the history of the fastest growing pizza chain in the world. We also talk about Mike Ilitch, founder of Little Caesars and how Little Caesars Pizza and Ilitch Holdings Inc. are a very giving company. Ilitch Holdings owns (privately held) Little Caesars, The Detroit Red Wings, Detriot Tigers, Blue Line Foodservice,...

Of course, we are starting with the big one… With 36,900 McDonald's locations is by far the king of fast food in the world. Only Subway has more locations, but McDonald’s is a much bigger brand with much larger sales than Subway. McDonald’s is the quintessential fast food place.  It might not have been the first and it may not be the best, but if you grew up anytime in the last 60 years, you have grown up with McDonald’s in one way or another and we talk about it’s history today on Fast...

I'm thinking I am going to do a podcast about Fast Food History. As a fast food connoisseur, I really like digging into the history of these places (past and present). This will likely be a side-project. In other words, don't expect a TON of episodes or any kind of schedule.