For Science

Some of you might remember that before leaving for Europe I did a post (found here) about comparing the taste of fast food between America and Europe. Well, I did it, though the results were not quite what I expected. My original hypothesis was that fast food from places like McDonald's and Burger King tasted better in Europe than the same fast food from the same companies here in America. While generally true, my testing of European fast food yielded mixed results. In France, the McDonald's burgers and fries tasted almost the same as those in America, while in the Balkans, most notably Sarajevo in Bosnia, the taste and quality was higher. I didn't eat at McDonald's or Burger King in Istanbul, though I did try out Shake Shack, which was good, but not worth the price I paid for it. In Italy I only got fast food once or twice and I don't remember it standing out. Fast food in Spain was largely better than what I got in France, but I was primarily going to Burger King, whereas in France I mostly ate at McDonald's, so the comparison is flawed to begin with. I'm not sure how many times I ate fast food over the course of the whole trip, but it was definitely higher than the 2012 journey. The things I do for science.

So, what conclusion did my research lead me to? I've revised my claim that fast food is always better in Europe to instead say that it is generally better. Quality varies from country to country, with cultures that have a stronger meat tradition in their cooking tending to produce superior burgers.