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@Thrillist
#TheFasties

Last week we had the honor of attending The Fasties, Thrillist‘s First-Ever Fast Food Awards, held at SubCulture in SoHo. The night essentially celebrated the world of fast food with 16 curated categories, honoring our favorite chains, dishes, and fast food trends of the year.

Who should be crowned the best fried chicken sandwich and do plant-based burgers really taste like beef, were all the talk in the fast food world in 2019. These thought provoking questions and others, were answered during the tongue-in-cheek award show, which was hosted by YouTube stars David So and Tim DeLaghetto of Thrillist’s Send Foodz.

The Fasties “Hopes to be a deep-fried riff on traditional award shows, with enough special sauce to make it something uniquely their own: a playful culmination of Thrillist’s longstanding, widely consumed editorial fast food coverage.”

Credit: Thrillist

Some of the many highlights of the evening included a massive fast food spread (think 3 tables long), the Fashions…I mean it was NYFW, and Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest winner Miki Sudo downing, get this, 14 Burger King Burgers, 3 Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supremes, 2 bowls of Domino’s pasta, 2 whole Domino’s pizzas, an order of Domino’s wings, 2 Burger King milkshakes, and 2 Burger King Hershey Pies, all within the taping of the show.

Credit: Thrillist

Favorite clips included the White Castle Lifetime Winner, a Lifetime Achievement Award for Ketchup, a hilarious Memoriam for foods that didn’t make it to 2020, and one featuring top YouTube Foodie Reviewer Daym Drops.

Daym Drops, Hosts David So and Tim DeLaghetto
Credit: Thrillist

There was even a ball pit!

Credit: Thrillist

Thrillist remains committed to covering the latest and greatest in food. So it makes sense that the winners were selected by Thrillist’s editorial team, who divided the categories amongst themselves to taste and assess all the restaurant items nominated. Nominees included Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, McDonalds, In-N-Out Burger, White Castle,  and Taco Bell, JUST to name a few.

Meghan Kirsch, Thrillist’s Chief Content Officer said of The Fasties “Thrillist has a long history covering fast food, and since we are a brand who loves to geek out and take fun seriously, we thought it would be fitting for us to give this often overlooked tasty cuisine the proper celebration it deserves.”

Credit: Thrillist

2020 Fasties Categories and Nominees:

Best Fried Chicken Sandwich
Popeyes – Chicken Sandwich
Chick-fil-A – Chicken Sandwich
McDonald’s – Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Carl’s Jr. – Big Fillet Chicken Sandwich
KFC – Crispy Colonel Sandwich

Best Burger
Culver’s – ButterBurger Cheese
In-N-Out Burger – Double Double
McDonald’s – Quarter Pounder With Cheese
Whataburger – Double Meat Whataburger
Wendy’s – Dave’s Double

Best Plant-Based Burger
White Castle – Impossible Slider
Carl’s Jr. – Beyond BBQ Star
Carl’s Jr. – Beyond Famous Star With Cheese
A&W – Beyond Burger
Burger King – Impossible Whopper

Best Fries
Arby’s – Curly Fries
McDonald’s – Fries
Chick-fil-A – Waffle Potato Fries
Taco Bell – Nacho Fries
Checkers/Rally’s – Famous Seasoned Fries

Best Taco
Del Taco – The Del Taco
Taco Bell – Crunchy Taco
El Pollo Loco – Chicken Taco Al Carbon
Jack in the Box – Taco
Taco John’s – Crispy Taco

Best Dessert
Yoshinoya – Cheesecake
Taco Bell – Cinnamon Sticks
Wendy’s – Frosty
Culver’s – Vanilla Custard
Jollibee – Peach Mango Pie

Best Chicken Tenders
Raising Cane’s – Chicken Fingers
Popeyes – Tenders
Culver’s – Original Chicken Tenders
Chick-fil-A – Chick-n-Strips
Long John Silver’s – Chicken Tenders

Best Breakfast Sandwich
Subway – Bacon, Egg, and Cheese
Chick-fil-A – Chicken Biscuit
Wendy’s – Breakfast Baconator
Taco Bell – Breakfast Crunchwrap with Bacon
McDonald’s – Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle

Best Sauce
Culver’s – Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Chick-fil-A – Chick-fil-A Sauce
Raising Cane’s – Cane’s Sauce
McDonald’s – Honey Mustard
Whataburger – Spicy Ketchup

Best New Menu Item of the Year
Popeyes – Chicken Sandwich
Burger King – Impossible Whopper
KFC Kentucky – Fried Wings
Taco Bell – Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme
Chick-fil-A – Mac & Cheese

​​​​​​Best Coffee
Culver’s
Chick-fil-A
McDonald’s
Sonic Drive-In
Jack in the Box

Regional Chain of the Year
Culver’s
In-N-Out Burger
Del Taco
Whataburger
Bojangles’

Chain of the Year
Popeyes
Burger King
Chick-fil-A
Wendy’s
White Castle

Menu Item of the Decade
Taco Bell – Doritos Locos Taco
KFC – Double Down
White Castle – Impossible Slider
McDonald’s – Szechuan Sauce
Popeyes – Chicken Sandwich

Lifetime Achievement Award

Most Valuable Pickle (MVP)

Voting was also open for The Fasties People’s Choice:
Best Dessert
Best Fries
Best Taco
Best Coffee
Best Breakfast Sandwich

The Fasties premiered on Thrillist.com and YouTube on February 19th. Want to see if your favorites won? WATCH THE FASTIES HERE!

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