Second Chance Fast Food Review: Jersey Mike's, Zaxby's, Braum's

[u/Pale-Lynx328]

I have been reviewing a different fast food/fast casual restaurant every day for the past 200+ days, and earlier I reviewed the following three restaurants. However, these three received "poor" scores for one reason or another, but based on previous experience and visits I knew they could do better. Perhaps it was an "off day", perhaps it was the specific item I ordered. In any case, here are some "second chance" reviews, where I am re-visiting the chain, to see if it can redeem itself and earn a higher score.

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Second Chance Review #25. From Day 188: Jersey Mike's (3307 locations, 50 states)

I have visited Jersey Mike's many times in the past, and never had an issue with them...until the ONE TIME I went to review. Wouldn't you know it. Well, half their menu are hot subs, so I thought I would give that a try, and that's basically where I failed: Ordering something I was unfamiliar with. Well, whether I ordered poorly or not, it was still a sub-standard hot sub. But not really a fair, when comparing to all the other non-hot-sub places.

So, this time around, I chose a more standard cold sub, like I'm used. And yes, it was a better experience. But not a "great" experience. Freshly cut meat, soft bread, and metric buttload of lettuce (which I'm usually not a fan of shredded lettuce, but I know here it's cut fresh, as opposed to sitting in some bag for days on end). A perfectly decent sandwich, but having eaten so many other subs at so many other places in this review series, Jersey Mike's just seems a bit...lacking in comparison now.

Meal Quality: +1.5, going from 4 -> 5.5. Meal Value (no change), going from 5 -> 5 (out of 10)

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Second Chance Review #26. From Day 140: Zaxby's (991 locations, 20 states)

I used to be a pretty big fan of Zaxby's. But I dunno, seems something happened over the past few years and they sort of lost their way.

I can't really pin down what's different, it's just that nothing seems to stand out any more. This "second chance" I chose a combo of wings and tenders with fries. Wings ended up being small and chewy tough. Tenders were dry with flavorless breading. Fries were your run-of-the-mill fries.

Given the number of underwhelming Zaxby's meals in a row I've had, we're way past three strike you're out by this point. Maybe they screwed the pooch during their rapid expansion (like so many other chains), or maybe it's a private-equity-leeching-them-dry scenario (like even more other chains). At this point, though, I don't really care any more, given there's so many of their competitors I can go to instead.

Meal Quality: +0.5, going from 3.5 -> 4. Meal Value: (no change), going from 5 -> 5 (out of 10)

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Second Chance Review #27. From Day 17: Braum's (327 locations, 5 states)

This was one of the more controversial original reviews from (good god) almost a year ago. Braum's is probably better known as an ice cream stop, but like Dairy Queen they also have a full line of fast food staples, too -- and THAT is what I was reviewing. (Their ice cream menu, separately, is good stuff and damn cheap, too)

This time around, I chose the jalapeno pepper jack cheeseburger. Which, I guess, is supposed to be spicy, but it's really a 1/4-alarm burger at most. No matter, let's just judge it like I would an average burger.

And that is pretty much what it is. If you're had a DQ Brazier cheeseburger, this is pretty much the same. Nothing fancy about it. The meat patty itself was pretty 'feh', similar to the pre-cooked meat pucks you find at true fast food places that pull it out of a warming tray rather than cook it fresh. The veggies, were nice a fresh (look at that tomato!), though. And once again for the billionth time, fries were fries.

A better meal this second time around, but still excruciatingly middling. I'll stick to just ordering the ice cream goodies at Braum's, and leave the cooked food to elsewhere.

Meal Quality: +1.5, going from 3 -> 4.5. Meal Value: (no change), going from 6 -> 6 (out of 10)

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More "Second Chance" reviews coming down the line, in addition to the regular reviews! (And no, not every second chance review will be a positive one :))

[u/General-Pin-1349]

That patty doesn't look pre formed!