In Defense Of: Arby's

Disclaimer: Neither the author of this post, nor the owners of the blog it is posted on, received any form of compensation for the following content. Frankly, if a large fast food chain is stooping to purchase the content of this blog and its tens of monthly page views, they are probably in a lot of trouble. I can assure you this came to the author while she was enjoying Arby's seasonal special of two fish sandwiches for $5. We felt it prudent to preempt any concerns our faithful commenters may have. Feel free to criticize the gross violation of scope of this post, or our willingness to lump brand names and marketing into the morass that is pop culture.

"I'm so hungry, I could eat at Arby's"

"If I can keep down Arby's, I can keep down you..."

"A possum drowned in the pool. You have any garbage bags?"
"Just throw it over the fence. Let Arby's worry about it."

These are all quotes from The Simpsons. Clearly, someone on the writing staff of the show has a problem with the fast food restaurant chain. Although the jokes are funny in the context of the episodes, I've never understood the hate for Arby's from that show.

Frankly, I've often enjoyed eating there. When they are well made, their Beef and Cheddar sandwiches are probably my favorite fast food sandwich. Occasionally I think of one of their standard roast beef sandwiches with both Arby's and Horsey sauce on it, and my mouth will almost start to water.

Now perhaps my fondness for Arby's comes from my midwestern upbringing. After all, when you have to drive a half hour to get more than one fast food choice, and one of them is Arby's, maybe you learn to love what may very well be subpar foodstuffs. Perhaps the dull midwestern diet of bland dishes made of meat and potatoes makes you appreciate any spiciness, even if it comes in a vague horseradish form. Perhaps it is just nostalgia, warm, happy thoughts of eating roast beef and curly fries after losing another match at the weekly East Central Illinois Chess League contests.

Perhaps the writer(s) had a bad experience at Arby's. Sometimes they aren't the most consistent of restaurants. On more than one occasion they've been out of insignificant things such as roast beef, curly fries, or jamocha shakes. And as much as I love them, Beef and Cheddars can be down right disgusting if not prepared right. Frankly, they've been disappointing enough recently that I've pretty much switched over to the regular roast beef, or the fish sandwiches when they are in season. Perhaps they just need to give the place another shot.

All I know is that after I bit off more than I could chew on the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails last December, the roast beef and seasonal peppermint shake from the Arby's in Ellijay, GA helped bring me back from the land of weary hikers. I mean, where else was I going to go, Hardee's? I wasn't THAT desperate*.

*This only applies to Hardee's after breakfast. I'm still not certain why they don't just serve breakfast all day there. Those biscuits are delicious.