The nation's best burger is at In-N-Out Burger, according to a new survey of fast-food restaurants by Zagat.
The California-based chain won top nods for its burger in the survey of 6,107 consumers. Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's and Whataburger rounded out the top five. The second annual survey of fast food looked at both full service and traditional fast food chains. In the full service category, Red Robin won for its burgers, followed by Ruby Tuesday, the Cheesecake Factory, Steak 'n Shake and Chili's Grill and Bar.
McDonald's won for best fries, Panera Bread for salads and KFC for fried chicken.
See which coffees won after the jump.
McDonald's also won for best value menu and best value.
In the grilled chicken category, Chick-fil-A won for its offerings. Starbucks came out on top for its coffee, followed by Dunkin' Donuts, Peet's Coffee & Tea, McDonald's and Caribou Coffee.
Top Fast Food Chains
By Sara Bonisteel
In-N-Out Burger
This Irvine, Calif., fast-food chain won top honors in the 2008 Quick-Track Awards of Excellence, grabbing "excellent" overall ratings from 60 percent of the survey's participants. The chain finished in the top three of eight of the 15 categories surveyed.
Matt York, AP
Raising Cane's
Based in Baton Rouge, La., this new chicken-tenders chain garnered 59 percent "excellent" approval on overall customer satisfaction. Must have something to do with the sweet tea and Texas toast.
Bill Haber, AP
Giordano's Pizza
This Chicago pizza favorite received a 56 percent "excellent" rating in the 2008 survey for its gooey stuffed pizza touted by the chain as "world famous."
laffy4k, flickr
Chick-fil-A
The Atlanta-based chicken chain, renowned for its sandwiches and waffle fries, made the grade with 55 percent "excellent" approval.
Chick-Fil-A
Panera Bread
This St. Louis-based bakery-café, which serves up artisan breads and hot panini, ranked fifth in the 2008 Quick-Track Awards of Excellence, winning 54 percent "excellent" ratings from diners.
Panera, LLC.
Chipotle
The Denver-based home of the burrito bowl scored 52 percent "excellent" ratings in the survey of 93,800 diners.
Chipotle.com
Pei Wei
The 2007 overall excellence winner dropped to seventh place in the 2008 survey, but the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based chain still won a respectable 51 percent "excellent" rating for its pan-Asian flavors.
Cassandra Shie, AOL
Firehouse Subs
A Jacksonville, Fla., favorite blazed to eighth place in the 2008 survey, winning a 51 percent "excellent" rating from fans of its hot specialty subs.
firehousesubs.com
Taco Tote
El Paso's Mexican grill, Taco Tote, made its way to the fast-food superlative list with a 50 percent overall "excellent" rating from diners in the survey.
Getty Images
Qdoba
This Wheat Ridge, Colo.-based burrito chain rounds out the overall Top 10 in the 2008 Quick-Track Awards of Excellence with a 49 percent "excellent" rating from customers.
Business Wire/AP
The survey ranked everything from top ice cream (Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops) to smoothies (Smoothie King), and ranked restaurants in a "Top Food" category. On the fast food front, In-N-Out Burger won among large chains, Wendy's took top nods for mega chains and Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops won for quick-refreshment shops. P.F. Chang's China Bistro won the top food nods for full-service chains.
[Via Zagat]
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