World's Top Fast-Food Restaurants

The Chef: Restaurateur Danny Meyer has shaped New York City’s discerning dining scene with hot spots Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, and The Modern.

Fast Food 411: Shake Shack, a take-out kiosk in leafy Madison Square Park (and now Upper West Side), has a cult following among Gotham burger geeks. In 2009, Meyer opened another outpost at Citi Field baseball stadium.

What to Order: ShackBurger (served with American cheese, tomato, lettuce, and “Shack Sauce” in an old-fashioned wax paper wrapper) and a “hand-spun” chocolate-and-peanut-butter custard shake. At Citi Field, the Shack-cago (all-beef) Dog with the works and a sprinkle of celery salt.

The Chef: Former musician/pizza maker Guy Martin was credited with resurrecting Le Grand Véfour—one of Paris’s oldest and most storied restaurants—in 2000, when it was the only restaurant to earn three stars from the annual Red Michelin Guide.

Fast Food 411: At Miyou, his sleek upscale “sandwicherie” located at his Ninth Arrondissement kitchen atelier, Martin serves made-to-order salads, baguettes, and wraps—some accented with sweat-inducing ingredients like wasabi.

What to Order: Any of Martin’s vegetarian sandwiches (think crusty baguettes with goat cheese, eggplant caviar, and tomato-honey) are good bets.

The Chef: Rick Bayless is often credited with introducing Americans to more refined south-of-the-border cooking at his Chicago restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobampo (a favorite of the Obamas).

Fast Food 411: Ablaze in poppy colors, Frontera Fresco specializes in gringo-friendly Mexican street food: tortas, tacos, huaraches, small-batch salsas, and Mexican beer.

Where to Find It: Macy’s in Chicago; San Francisco; Costa Mesa, CA; Skokie, IL.

What to Order: Sweet corn and green chile tamale; chorizo quesadilla; mango limeade.

The Chef: Best-known stateside for his expletive-filled Fox reality show Hell’s Kitchen, pugnacious perfectionist Gordon Ramsay claims no fewer than 16 Michelin stars and 15-plus fine restaurants.

Fast Food 411: Ramsay kicked it down a notch with his London pubs (The Narrow, Warrington, and Devonshire), but made his cooking even more accessible in 2008 with Plane Food, located past security in Heathrow’s Terminal 5. There’s a reasonable sit-down à la carte menu, but it also sells gourmet “plane picnics” for takeout.

Where to Find It: Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport.

What to Order: Picnic fixins’ include tiger prawn salad with soy sesame dressing; truffle-laced roast beef sandwiches; pear cheesecake tart.

The Chef: Anita Lo worked at New York’s Bouley and Chanterelle before opening her own restaurant, the Michelin-starred Annisa.

Fast Food 411: Plump dumplings filled with everything from Thai basil to Callebaut chocolate emerge from giant metal steamers at this sit-down/take-out Chelsea favorite. There’s also a Rickshaw Dumpling truck that makes scheduled stops around the city. (Get Twitter updates @RickshawTruck.)

What to Order: Lo’s take on Hudson Valley Peking duck dumplings; braised pork sliders; green tea milkshake.

The Chef: Grill master/Iron Chef Bobby Flay cornered the market on southwestern cuisine in New York City in 1991 with Mesa Grill, then expanded to Las Vegas and the Bahamas.

Fast Food 411: It was only a matter of time before the host of the Food Network show Throwdown! and Boy Meets Grill opened an all-American burger joint, or four—most of which are mall-side, with 10 burger options at each.

Where to Find It: Lake Grove, NY; Eatontown, NJ; Paramus, NJ; Mohegan Sun, CT (opening in July).

What to Order: A Crunchburger (with double American cheese and potato chips); sweet potato fries with honey-mustard horseradish sauce; blueberry-pomegranate milkshake.

The Chef: Paul Bocuse, who basically invented nouvelle cuisine, is arguably one of the 20th century’s greatest chefs and best known for his famous Mont d’Or restaurant, L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges.

Fast Food 411: In 2008, Bocuse, at the age of 82, opened Ouest Express in Lyon. The futuristic boîte is divided into six food themes: Bread, Fresh, Hot, Sweet, Coffee, and Drink.

What to Order: Fresh goat cheese, sun-dried tomato, and olive tapenade sandwich on country bread; French fries; waffle with Chantilly cream.

The Chef: Wolfgang Puck, famed founder of L.A.’s Spago, moved on to create 20-plus fine restaurants, Vegas franchises, and cookbooks.

Fast Food 411: Puck Express serves his eponymous California cuisine with comfort foods like gourmet mac-and-cheese.

Where to Find It: 35-plus U.S. outlets, including Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis.

What to Order: Smoked salmon thin-crust pizza; Chinois chicken salad; side of four-cheese macaroni al forno; crème brûlée.

The Chef: Heston Blumenthal’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Fat Duck, in Bray, Berkshire, is a perennial favorite on acclaimed “best restaurant” lists and is famous for unusual dishes like bacon-and-eggs ice cream.

Fast Food 411: British roadside institution Little Chef enlisted Blumenthal to overhaul its unhealthy menu and outdated brand. If diners like the Hampshire offerings, Little Chefs across the country could soon see more breakfast-inspired desserts on the menu.

What to Order: The revamped Olympian Breakfast—now with lower sodium and fresh ingredients—includes he-man servings of free-range pork sausage and eggs, gourmet black pudding, roasted field mushrooms, and Heinz baked beans (of course).

The Chef: Spanish molecular gastronomist Ferran Adrià captured the world’s attention in the 1990s; today, landing a seat at his Michelin three-star restaurant El Bulli is the culinary equivalent of winning the lottery.

Fast Food 411: Created in partnership with Madrid’s NH Hotels, Fast Good restaurants share a candy-colored aesthetic and Adrià’s vision for simple fast food made with high-quality ingredients: fries sizzled in the finest Spanish olive oil or artisanal serrano ham.

What to Order: The “Italian” veal burger with arugula, tomato confit, and melted Gorgonzola; fig yogurt smoothie; white and dark chocolate “foams.”