Book Review: Fast Food Maniac by Jon Hein

ISBN: 0553418033
Published: February 2nd, 2016
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Read from April 8th to 10th, 2016
Synopsis from Goodreads:

The beloved personality from The Howard Stern Show celebrates American fast food, exploring the history and secret menu items of both national and regional chains, ranking everything from burgers and fries to ice and mascots, and offering his own expert tips on where to go and what to order.

Jon Hein is the ultimate fast food maniac, and in this book he draws on his extensive knowledge of, and love for, both nationwide chains and regional gems, from McDonald’s and KFC to In-N-Out Burger and Carvel. He digs into their origin stories; reveals secret menu items; includes best lists for everything from fried chicken and shakes to connoisseur concerns such as straws and biscuits; takes a nostalgic look back at the best giveaways, slogans, and uniforms; and even provides a battle-tested drive-thru strategy. With behind-the-counter looks at places like the Dunkin' Donuts headquarters and Nathan's original hot dog stand, Fast Food Maniac is the definitive, cross-country guide to some of America's best-loved guilty pleasures.

Review:

I find books that explore food, even fast food, to be fascinating. I'm not sure what it is that makes it so intriguing to me, but it's always a topic that will capture my interests. Because of that, I was excited to read this book.

The book doesn't go into much detail about any particular restaurant but instead provides a brief bit of knowledge about a wide variety of places. I would say that it's a fun book just to flip through and explore. I also found it interesting to see whether I agreed or disagreed with the rankings within the book, and I was surprised at how many of the restaurants I've never either heard of or been to, even within the national chains.

There were times when the tone of the book got a bit obnoxious to me. I think that had to do with the fact that you're flipping from restaurant to restaurant so quickly (because of how short the entries were) that eventually it just felt like too much. That's why I'd really recommend this book as something to flip through and read bits and pieces at a time. It's not something you want to sit down and read all at once, which is what I did.

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.