Tuesday, 17 August 2010 10:02 Dine & Cook Staff Report

Fast food chain Wendy's takes the top spot on Zagat's fast food survey, beating out 136 major dining chains.

According to the Zagat Survey, Wendy's is this year's "Top Food Champion," dominating the mega-chain category. Also holding onto its title is west coast burger chain In-N-Out Burger, which again takes "Top Food" among Large Chains.

New to the survey is regional seafood chain, Bonefish Grill, which took top food honors in the "Full-Service category," while Ben & Jerry's prevailed in the "Quick-Refreshment category."

America's most popular fast food joint, McDonald's. Wins for "Best Breakfast," "French Fries," "Value," "Child Friendliness" and "Drive Thru." When it comes to burgers, Five Guys takes the top spot and respondents rated Starbucks Ranks as the number one place for coffee.

"It's virtually impossible to live anywhere in America without having a fast food chain outlet in the neighborhood. We know that these chains play an important role in feeding our population," said Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey. "That's the reason why we undertook this survey and why we believe the results are so important."

Consumers also rated healthy fast food options and Subway wins this year's "Mega-Chain category," while Jamba Juice's all natural fruit smoothies helped them take the prize in the "Quick-Refreshment category." Jason's Deli won for healthy options among large chains and Bonefish Grill's specialized seafood menu was judged most healthy in the full-service category.

This year's survey covered 97 major fast food chains and 39 full service chains, 6,518 reviewers submitted their thoughts on ZAGAT.com. On average the reviewers dined at chain outlets 10.7 times per month. The survey respondents weighed in on everything from chicken and cheeseburgers to smoothies and seafood, separately rating each chain on the quality of its Food, Facilities and Service using Zagat's signature 30-point scale.

The survey results divided the chains into four categories: Large (up to 5,000 U.S. outlets), Mega (over 5,000), Full-Service (with table service), and Quick-Refreshment (focusing on beverages, ice cream and the like).

Highlights of the full survey:

Best Burger             Best French Fries         Best Milkshakes
1) Five Guys            1) McDonald's             1) Dairy Queen
2) In-N-Out Burger   2) Five Guys                2) Cold Stone Creamery
3) Wendy's             3) In-N-Out Burger      3) Sonic Drive-in
4) Burger King         4) Wendy's                 4) Chick-fil-A
5) McDonald's          5) Burger King            5) Ben & Jerry's

Five Dollar Foot-long: Zagat surveyors looking to "eat fresh" have chosen Subway as the Most Popular in the Mega-Chain category. This year, the uber-popular sandwich franchise beat out McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King, which came in second, third and fourth, respectively. Other winners in the Popularity category include Panera Bread (Large Chains), Starbucks (Quick-Refreshments) and P.F. Chang's (Full-Service).

Category Winners: Here is a list of some of our other category winners:

Fast-Food Chains
Best Fried Chicken: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
Best Grilled Chicken: Chick-fil-A
Best Fish: Long John Silver's
Best Salads: Panera Bread
Most Child-Friendly: McDonald's
Best Value: McDonald's

Full-Service Chains
Best Steak: Outback Steakhouse
Best Pasta: Maggiano's
Best Breakfast: Cracker Barrel
Best Seafood: Bonefish Grill
Best Desserts: The Cheesecake Factory
Most Child-Friendly: Chuck E. Cheese's

On the web: http://www.ZAGAT.com/fastfood