It’s three o’clock, school’s out, and students at St. Paul Academy and Summit School are ready for an after school snack. Finding something cheap to eat on the way home is easy, with a fast food chain every mile, but which one has the best food? The fast food restaurants reviewed are McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, Arby’s, and Burger King.

Hamburger
Wendy’s- 4.5/5
Dairy Queen- 4/5
Burger King- 2.5/5
Arby’s- N/A
McDonalds’- 2/5

Nothing is better then a fresh burger, but most fast food restaurants receive their burgers frozen. When burgers are shipped to Wendy’s, they aren’t frozen, and that freshness is reflected in the taste. Similarly fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, and sauce complement the burger nicely. For other burgers, such as the McDonald’s burger, lackluster flavors disappointed. Wendy’s also had the hottest burger, whereas the ones at McDonald’s and Burger King were lukewarm at best. Wendy’s is a bit farther away from SPA, so for students looking for convenience, the second best burger was from Dairy Queen, within walking distance from school.

Fries
Wendy’s- 3.5/5
Dairy Queen- 3.5/5
Burger King- 2.5/5
Arby’s- 4.5/5
McDonald’s- 4/5

The McDonalds fries are known throughout the SPA community, and everywhere else, for being hot, salty and fried to perfection. For the curly fry lovers, Arby’s has curly fries that even surpassed McDonald’s in heat and in flavor.

Shake
Wendy’s- 4.5/5
Dairy Queen- 2/5
Burger King- 4.5/5
Arby’s- 3.5/5
McDonald’s- 1.5/5

Dairy Queen is famous for its variety of delicious frozen treats, and its shakes are memorably tasty. Wendy’s, however, known for its Frosty, had the best shake. The Frosty is slightly thicker than a shake, and is available in chocolate or vanilla. If you want a traditional shake which you can drink through a straw easily, Burger King had the best and most easily drinkable option.

Dietary Restrictions
Wendy’s- 0.5/5
Dairy Queen- 3/5
Burger King- 4/5
Arby’s- N/A
McDonald’s- N/A

Largely at fast food restaurants, vegetarians are out of luck, but, out of every restaurant, one did offer a veggie burger. Burger King offers a veggie burger, even though it isn’t clearly shown on the menu. Wendy’s claims to offer a veggie burger but in reality it is just a bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, melted cheese and some sort of sauce. Vegetarians can also order the veggie quesadilla from Dairy Queen. People with Celiac Disease, though, are out of luck at every one of these restaurants, with none of them offering a gluten free bun.