As of Q3 2022, hamburgers, mashed potatoes, and cheeseburgers were the most popular American dishes in the United States. About 84 percent of respondents had a positive opinion of each of the three dishes.
Burger restaurants sector
Burgers remain to be among the most popular American dishes. The restaurant options for consumers vary from fast-food burgers in lower price segments to high-quality beef burgers in more expensive sit-down restaurants. Some restaurants also offer plant-based vegetarian or vegan burgers. There are approximately 89,000 businesses in the burger restaurant sector in the U.S. The market size of that sector is estimated to be approximately 150 billion U.S. dollars and employment continues to grow. About 2,289 people were employed in the burger restaurant sector in 2021 , as compared to about 1,818 people in 2012.
Drive-thrus in quick-service burger restaurants
A popular way to consume burgers is at quick-service burger chain restaurants. In the U.S., McDonald’s is the leading quick-service burger restaurant chain, generating more than four times as much revenue in systemwide sales as its next two competitors Wendy’s and Burger King, respectively. While burgers and other options on the McDonald’s menu can be eaten at a table within the restaurant, many customers also use the drive-thru option. It takes slightly less than five minutes at McDonald’s to order, purchase, and receive an option from the menu. By comparison, the fastest drive-thru restaurant is Taco Bell, where it takes about three minutes and forty seconds on average for customers. Many drive-thru restaurants now offer order confirmation boards, where customers can see the menu on a screen while making an order. With a share of almost 80 percent each, Taco Bell and McDonald’s have the highest share of order confirmation boards in the U.S. across their drive-thru restaurants in place.
