The Future of Fast Food

I have seen the future of the fast food industry…and it’s pretty awesome.

This past Thursday me and the boss, Barry Ritholtz, wandered into a space age-looking corner restaurant on 40th and Madison called 4Food.  I had never heard of it before but apparently it’s been open since the end of 2010.  I have a little pictorial for you below with some snaps from my iPhone…

First, here’s what the joint looks like from the outside…

First thing you notice upon entering is this massive menu board above the counter…

The way it works is, you pick your burger and the patty comes shaped like a ring with a hole in the center.  You get to fill it and top it.  This column explains it…

You have a ridiculous array of choices, endless really.  You pick a bun (brioche, whole grain, etc), a burger (beef, turkey, salmon, lamb, etc), then a filler for that center (vegetables, mac n cheese, so many to choose from), then a slice of something on top (bacon, avocado) then a cheese (goat cheese, cheddar, etc) and then a condiment (chili sauce, garlic mayo, etc).  Here’s a look at the menu…

The inside of the restaurant is very modern, spacious and fashion-forward.  Here’s a staircase that leads to a single table lofting above the main floor..

Anyway, while you wait for them to call your name to give you your burger, the tables are equipped with iPads (yes, iPads!) so you can play Angry Birds or log onto whatever you feel like.  Here’s Barry, probably trying to check his traffic on The Big Picture

OK, the food comes…and it’s delicious unless you order some hideous combination of meat, bread, topping, sauce.  I hooked it up, turkey burger filled with garlic spinach on a brioche bun with ketchup and manchego cheese.  Off the chain.  I forgot what Barry got but he loved his as well.  Here’s mine…

Finally, you get a super-detailed receipt, it shows you exactly how many calories you’ve consumed and a breakdown by ingredient on your burger…

4Food is gangsta.  I don’t know if it’s an everyday kind of place but I plan to add it to the regular rotation for lunch during the week for sure.  The company is doing some really aggressive social media stuff that I’ll just mention here briefly.  They’re blasting out a newsletter each week with their most popular burger based on how many customers have ordered it.  This is like a restaurant built by quants for quants!

They’ve also had some celebrities create burgers, like Pee-Wee Herman’s The Growing Boy burger (it’s got a scoop of chorizo hash in the ring of a beef patty).  There are trending burgers and tweet streams and whatnot on the company’s website, check it out below:

http://4food.com/

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. w88 commented on Sep 21

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/05/01/the-future-of-fast-food/ […]

  2. buy used suvs commented on Sep 23

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/05/01/the-future-of-fast-food/ […]

  3. https://bitcoineraonline.com commented on Oct 03

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More Info here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/05/01/the-future-of-fast-food/ […]

  4. 7lab pharma winstrol 50 review commented on Nov 14

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 33810 additional Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/05/01/the-future-of-fast-food/ […]

  5. fake rolex commented on Dec 29

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/05/01/the-future-of-fast-food/ […]

  6. from this source commented on Jan 05

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/05/01/the-future-of-fast-food/ […]

  7. Philips AJB3552/12 manuals commented on Jan 19

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/05/01/the-future-of-fast-food/ […]

  8. SINGER XL-400 manuals commented on Jan 24

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 81063 additional Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/05/01/the-future-of-fast-food/ […]