To figure out who actually makes the best drive-thru burger in America, popular YouTube chef Joshua Weissman teamed up with burger expert Christian. They went on a massive road trip to buy, taste, and brutally rate the biggest names in fast food.
Watch their full road trip and taste test right here before we break down the final rankings:
The Rules of the Taste Test
They didn't just drive around ordering at random. To keep the whole experiment fair, every restaurant had to meet a few ground rules.
First, they had to be a major chain with a serious cultural presence. Second, they had to have a functioning drive-thru. Finally, they judged each burger on a strict one-to-ten scale, looking purely at three simple things: how it looks, how it tastes, and the overall texture.
The Worst of the Worst
Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Some of the most famous food chains in the country completely failed the test.
McDonald's handed over a burger that looked artificially produced and tasted mostly like mayo and pickles, earning a harsh 2 out of 10. Dairy Queen was even worse, serving up a cold bun with raw onions and zero texture for a painful score of 1.3. White Castle's famous sliders were soggy and lacked any real beef flavor. And Arby's? Their Wagyu Steakhouse burger sounded premium on paper but completely lacked salt and tasted deep-fried rather than grilled.
The Almost-Greats
A few places came incredibly close to perfection but missed the mark because of basic kitchen mistakes.
Wendy's Baconator looked amazing and had a great crunch, but the meat itself was desperately under-seasoned. Shake Shack easily had the highest quality ingredients, a perfect soft bun, and rich beef. If they had just remembered to salt the patty, they probably would have won the entire competition. Five Guys also put up a solid fight with amazing bacon, though the burger tended to fall apart too easily in your hands.
The True Champions
When it came down to the absolute best, two chains wiped out the competition by keeping things classic.
The Runner-Up: In-N-Out There is a massive reason this West Coast staple has a cult following. Their Double-Double, ordered Animal Style, delivered an amazing mix of textures. The heavily toasted bun, perfectly melted cheese, sweet caramelized onions, and the distinct flavor of real beef fat pushed it to a massive 8.7 out of 10.
The Surprising Winner: Steak 'n Shake The overall fast food crown went to Steak 'n Shake, and they won by nailing the absolute basics. The patty had a perfect, crispy sear, the meat was incredibly tender, and a long acidic pickle perfectly balanced the rich, greasy flavors. Averaging an 8.2 across the board for a standard menu item, they proved that a classic, well-executed burger beats fancy toppings every time.
How to Make the Ultimate Burger at Home
If you want to skip the drive-thru line entirely, Weissman broke down exactly how to make the perfect fast food style burger in your own kitchen.
Start with soft potato buns toasted in a pan with butter. For the meat, double-grind a mix of Chuck, Short Rib, and T-Bone steak, then smash it incredibly thin in a hot pan to build a crust. Use classic Kraft American cheese because it melts better than anything else. Top it off with a homemade In-N-Out style spread, thin sweet onions, and long dill pickles. Skip the lettuce and tomato entirely—they just water down the flavor of the beef.
The main takeaway from this whole experiment? A genuinely good burger is surprisingly simple. You just need fresh meat, a solid crust, a soft bun, and a heavy pinch of salt.