Whataburger

[Smellin Salt]

As a native Texan, some of my earliest memories involve Whataburger. I love Whataburger. It's always been a matter of pride that me and Whataburger share the same birth city, Corpus Christi, Texas.

As a youngster, I remember the Whataburger on 14TH street in Kingsville, Texas. Since those days, I have always seen Whataburger as a step above any "fast food" burger out there. I absolutely love that I can walk into a Whataburger at 7 AM and order a burger. So the sellout to a Chicago investment company hit me hard.

I tried to maintain a wait and see attitude. Well, I can confirm the worst. The food quality and portion size are down.

Monday before Christmas I walked into the same Whataburger I have visited many times and ordered my usual. 38 minutes later, I had my burger and fries, which I had ordered to go. (I never go through the drive through, just a thing).

My order was wrong, not like I got somebody elses order, just wrong. Nothing what I had asked for happened. The burger was noticeably smaller ,and was the worst burger I've ever had from Whataburger.

It hurts me to the core to say this, but I'm done with Whataburger. It's right up there with McDonalds as far as I'm concerned/

[CodeToad]

“shrunk to the size of a slider”

Yeah, Culvers isn’t exactly a full sized burger.

[SamAdams76]

Yes, I get my buns in the bakery section of the supermarket or at the bakery itself. Those are made fresh and you have to use them right away. The ones in the aisles with expiration dates a week or more out - that's not good! Full of preservatives and even added sugar.

I also find it disgusting the way the fast food joints slather condiments on their burgers. Yes, you can ask for them plain but then you realize just how thin and tasteless those burger patties are.

A really good burger does not need condiments other than maybe a thick slice of cheese and some sautéed onions or mushrooms. Or bacon.

[CodeToad]

I like a little mayo and pickles, and sometimes a fried egg. That’s it. A carnivore sandwich.

[Openurmind]

“Giving up on a favorite hamburger place because they got an order wrong? And the fact you waited over 30 minutes makes me think the real problem here is you”

You are blaming the victim here. I would do the same... We live in a society where the business model is to “take your money first”, and then treat their customers like cattle and not truly even care about customer service at all, let alone care about repeat business. The only way to fix this growing trend is if more accommodated their flawed business model and just never went back.

Boycotting with our dollar is the only power left for the people to combat this insane direction in society... We should exercise this much much more often than we do and stop paying them to disrespect us as patrons and valued customers. It is absolutely quite reasonable to expect fair customer service and a fair product for our money in EVERY case or never give them another dime.

[oldtech]

Many of the burger chains mentioned are not available in our area, so I have a limited experience from which to draw. The best I have had that I can think of right quick are Five Guys.

[wildbill]

Say it aint so,, Joe” I don’t have a Whataburger conveniently near me so I plan errands to pass one. I hope your experience is a one-off at a poorly run franchise.

[Svartalfiar]

The burger was noticeably smaller ,and was the worst burger I've ever had from Whataburger.

I'm afraid I have to agree. I almost always get the Monterey Melt, in all its delicious greasy goodness. But the toppings have almost completely disappeared, I have to get extra sauce and extra onion fajita mix, and it's still not as good as when they first started selling 'em.

Other burger places just aren't quite the same experience as Whataburger used to be.
In-N-Out is ok, but nothing special and there's very limited options. Not worth it at all if you have to wait in line.
White Castle is delicious, but not in Texas.
Jack-in-the-Box is decent, but nothing there really stands out except the two tacos (not just $1 anymore), but that's not a burger.
Sonic is good, but again, there's nothing amazing like the Monterey Melt.
DQ and Braum's both have some good options, but just not awesome burgers at the same level.
Rodeo Goat is really good, but I only know of three DFW locations. They aren't widespread. Definitely try them out if you're in this area! Not really fast food though. (One order of fries is good for two people, by the way.)
Five Guys is decent, but overpriced.
Fuddruckers is really good, but that's not a fast-food burger. It's a sit-down restaurant.

[RedQuill]

**ALERT**
For all you DFW folks. “Stop & Get One”. the BEST burger you will ever have. Local sourced beef. “Mo” will build you one out of Wagyu if you want. Cooked how you want it—rare?...No problem. Tomato, onion lettuce sliced after you order. Over 100 kinds of root beer and beer-beer. North Richland Hills, TX. Send me a message after your life has changed. ;0)

[Svartalfiar]

So is “Stop & Get One” the name of the place? Or are you saying to stop at the unnamed restaurant and get a burger from them?

But I’m in Rowlett/Rockwall area, so it may be a while until I make it to that side of town.

[Don W]

Well, evidently your tastebuds are very different from mine.

Sonic is the absolute bottom of my list, DQ just above. JITB just beats DQ.

Never tried Braum’s or Rodeo Goat.

White Castle is OK, WB...meh. Five Guys good but overpriced. LOVE their fries, though.

In-N-Out is far and away the best, for my taste.

[slouper]

Had the same experience in Dallas. Ordered my usual, cheeseburger, rings and a shake. Took 25 minutes, burger was much smaller, cold and dry. Not the big juicy burger of days gone by.
Just goes to show, everything good eventually goes down the tubes. No more Whataburger for me. They had a pretty good run though.

[Fledermaus]

Loved it living in Arlington in the mid 80s

[Fledermaus]

It’s a required taste for tacos. Old Calif street taco.

[wildbill]

Fuddruckers is still good, letting you build your own burger with lettuce, tomatoes and other stuff.

But the size of the burger is way down from the original in San Antonio

[Svartalfiar]

Well, evidently your tastebuds are very different from mine.

Sonic is the absolute bottom of my list, DQ just above. JITB just beats DQ.

Never tried Braum’s or Rodeo Goat.

Good thing too, cause if everyone had my taste buds, there's be a LOT of places going out of business! I'm not too picky, but a lot of places are just meh. I'll eat there, but only if it's a place someone else was wanting to go. My usual go-tos are pretty few.

Sonic's not bad, burgers are about middle of the road. But their drink menu/specials are pretty good, and their breakfast burritos aren't bad for a quick pickup on the go.

Braum's is close to DQ, but also includes a mini-grocery and sells their own line of dairy products. Ice cream is about equal to Blue Bell.
Then Rodeo Goat, like I said, only has a couple locations in the Dallas area, so I don't expect too many people the have been there. One of the best burger places though, lots of options, good huge fries, and an actual beer selection instead of just Bud Light and maybe Shiner.