FROM VILLAGE VOICE

5 Reasons Why Fast Food Deserves to Die

By Billy Lyons Thu., Aug. 29 2013 at 9:30 AM

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Categories: Chain of Fools, We're So Over

Billy Lyons

Colonel Sanders smiling image, once a symbol of fast food's popularity, is now a source of ridicule

Umami Burger is the latest gussied up burger joint to take New York by storm, and it joins a long list of fast casual darlings like Shake Shack and Five Guys Burgers and Fries. And if those other spots had yet to get the point across, the arrival of the L.A.-based chain in New York cements it: Consumers expect more from quick service restaurants, including great quality food, comfortable surroundings, and lightning-fast service with a genuine smile. And that means fast food as we know it is dying a well-deserved death. Here's why we can't wait to usher it right out the door:

Billy Lyons

No one looks happy waiting in line at McDonalds

5. Fast food joints offer employees the bare minimum

If you're headed for McDonald's or Burger King today, take note: Fast food workers are striking across the country, and New York City's industry members will hit the streets to protest low wages and demand the right to unionize. This is just the latest proof that fast food workers are underpaid and really pissed off about it, and we should find a way to alleviate their woes. Trying to make a living on less than $10 an hour is difficult anywhere in this country, but it's borderline impossible here. While no one is arguing that the guy taking your burger order should be compensated like a brain surgeon, if you've ever been at Penn Station at 2 a.m., you know what a lot of these employees have to face. Showing the front lines a little love when it comes to a paycheck can go a long way, especially in terms of better service. There's a difference between saying the word "welcome" and sincerely meaning it, and it's a only a couple of bucks.

Billy Lyons

Marketing is what many fast food companies choose to spend their efforts on

4. Marketing, not quality, was where the money went

The marketing and PR budgets for fast food corporations are significant. There's always a new commercial telling us how putting a burger on a friggin' pretzel roll is going to blow our minds. Remember the disaster that was the Arch Deluxe? And no matter how many commercials I see for Long John Silvers, all I see is Fast Times at Ridgemont High's Judge Reinhold throwing out catch of the day boxes in his Captain Hook outfit. (The McRib gets a pass here, since it's annual appearance is important to those of us who think it's too much of a pain in the ass to go to that one location in Jersey that has it on the menu at all times.) This time and money could be better spent on finding a way to create a better, healthier burger.

3. Chef Jamie Oliver convinces us that it can be better

Leave it to a naked chef to help uncover the truth about what's used to make burgers. WhileShake Shack used a Pat LaFrieda blend from day one, other chains got by on pink slime. Oliver publicly shamed McDonald's back in 2011 for using the ingredient ammonium hydroxide, and he's been on a tirade since, boldly lashing out at a hand that could feed him considerably well. And as a result, McDonald's altered its recipe. Talk about payoff.

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