Fast Food Restaurant Picks and Pans in Santa Maria, CA

Not all fast food joints are created equal. Even when looking at the same restaurants in the same city you can see significant differences. Living in a town, you find fast food restaurants that you like and others that you know to avoid. In Santa Maria I can name three that you should definitely avoid. I'll follow that up with three that you can't go wrong with.

First, and the worse, is the Taco Bell located next to the local movie theater, off south Bradley Road. My family has a running joke- we're seeing how many visits in a row that they'll get our order wrong. So far it's five. Even if the order somehow gets filled correctly, you'll have to worry about the food quality. Our tortillas are often stale, and the eating area is often so disgusting that you have to wonder how much effort they put into food safety and cleanliness. The last time I was there one of the employees was making out with her boyfriend in the eating area, then proceeded to take free food orders from her 4 friends. Why do we still go? Well, it's just so darn convenient!

Next, avoid the Burger King located at the Main Street exit off Hwy 101. The food quality is sometimes very poor. We're talking stale buns, cold meat, you name it. Also, they'll make almost no attempt to get your order right if you're going through the drive-thru.

I don't mean to pick on Taco Bell, but the third fast food restaurant I would recommend you avoid in Santa Maria is the Taco Bell on south Broadway. The place looks aged and dreary. Some of the employees are not friendly, though to be fair they have several that are very nice. Last, they are not top notch when it comes to getting orders correct.

So where to go? There are really many good fast food restraints in Santa Maria. One that comes to mind is Orcutt Burger on south Broadway. They are a locally owned establishment and it shows. They have a large menu and the food is wonderful. Try the zucchini fries in ranch- they're wonderful!

Another great fast food restaurant is the In-N-Out Burger by Costco. Like every other In-N-Out I've been to, they have good food and great service. I wish their fries we're not so tiny, but I'll get over it.

The best McDonalds in the area is the newer one in Orcutt, on Clark next to Albertsons. The employees are friendly, the food is good and fast and the premises looks clean. There wasn't room for McDonalds to build a play area, so you'll need to visit the McDonalds by Costco for that.

A few others you might want to try are the Carls Jr. in the mall, the Arbys on south Broadway, and the Wendys by Home Depot.

So that's it. Hopefully this review will save you from a bad meal- or a bad experience.