Fast Food Menu Items With A Cult Following

Some folks are dedicated to the Taco Bell Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, while others live and die by the McDonald's McNugget. While we all have favorite fast food menu items, some inspire more passion than others, and that's when they rise to the level of cult favorite.

While exact sales numbers aren't available for the majority of these items, these are the fast food dishes that get people talking online, excited for annual releases and enraged when there is chatter of discontinuation (or petitions when they have been discontinued). These are the fast food menu items that have inspired trends. Can you imagine a KFC/Cheetos collaboration without the Doritos Locos Tacos? We think not. So read on to find out the 30 fast food menu items with cult followings.

There are your average sodas, and then there is Taco Bell's Mountain Dew Baja Blast. This bright blue tropical pop will hit store shelves from time to time, but if you want to get it on the regular, you have to hit up your local Taco Bell. This menu item is so beloved, the Tex-Mex chain has also rolled out the Baja Blast Freeze, a slushie version of the drink that pairs perfectly with burritos and tacos.

Starbucks first introduced cold foam nationwide in April 2018, allowing fans of foamy drinks to get their airy dairy fix with iced lattes and cold brews. The runaway hit of the cold foam launch is the Cascara Cold Foam. The aerated topping is sweetened with cascara, a natural sweetener that tastes similar to maple brown sugar. Cascara cold foam is a natural topper for the coffee chain's nitro cold brew, a chocolatey, creamy coffee that actually has no chocolate or cream in it. It's a decadent drinking experience that got such a cult following that Starbucks plans to have nitro taps in all of its company-operated U.S. stores by the end of 2019.

If you're looking for a retro drive-in restaurant with a cult favorite fizzy beverage, head to your local Sonic. The Cherry Limeade is the fan favorite item here, and this fruity, fizzy beverage is indeed the perfect blend of sweet, tart and bubbly. People are so obsessed with this drink that a quick Google search reveals dozens of copycat recipes, most of which feature Sprite, limes and cherry syrup.

A fast food menu item doesn't have to be old to have a cult following. Popeyes launched its first-ever chicken sandwich in August 2019, and the seasoned, fried chicken breast with pickles and mayonnaise or a spicy Cajun sauce on a soft brioche bun was an instant sensation. The fried chicken chain actually sold out of its chicken sandwiches nationwide less than three weeks later.

There's something particularly addictive about the guac at Chipotle. In fact, the chain claims that it sells nearly 50 million pounds of guacamole per year and goes through 450,000 avocados. People are so crazy about Chipotle's guac that the standard 4-ounce isn't enough. In September 2018, the fast casual Mexican chain launched a large size of its chips and guac. The 8-ounce serving reportedly is meant for three people, but you know folks are diving into this creamy, slightly tangy supersized dip all by themselves.

No meal is complete without a little bite of dessert at the end, and this is something that Subway knows well. That is why its stores have a small case of fresh, soft cookies right by the register. The best flavor is highly debatable if Twitter is any indication. Some swear by the classic chocolate chip, while others go nuts for the white chip macadamia nut, raspberry cheesecake or double chocolate. While prices and cookies available vary by store, we can probably all agree that there aren't many better ways to finish a meal than with a soft, warm cookie.

Arby's isn't your typical fast food restaurant. It doesn't serve burgers or chicken nuggets, and it doesn't serve standard shoestring french fries. Instead, the default shape of Arby's fries is arguably the best french fry shape: curly. Arby's curly fries are loaded with paprika, cayenne pepper, onion and garlic and offer up a zesty, punchy flavor that's wholly unique to this chain. Amp up your curly fries with some of Arby's Horsey Sauce.

One of the worst-kept secrets about In-N-Out is its "secret menu." The most famous item on this so-called secret menu is the Double Double Animal Style. Let's break down what this means. The burger patties at In-N-Out are quite thin, so hacking your order to make it a "double-double" means you'll get two patties. Meanwhile, "Animal Style" means your burger will come dressed with a sauce made of Thousand Island dressing mixed with grilled onions.

Every Lent, Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays, and it's a tradition for many observers to head to their local McDonald's and pick up a Filet-O-Fish. It's a simple sandwich, featuring a fish patty, bun, tartar sauce and slice of American cheese, but that is what makes it so popular. It's also one of the few pescatarian-friendly items on the menu. According to USA Today, McDonald's sells 25% of its Filet-O-Fish sandwiches every March for the Lent season, making it a bonafide seasonal fan favorite.

When the first Wendy's opened in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969, it had just five items on its menu, one of which was the frozen Frosty Dairy Dessert. Another original menu item, of course, was french fries. We don't know what brave soul first dipped his or her crispy fries into the chocolate milkshake-like dessert, but the salty and sweet combo is one for the ages. It perhaps works so well because Wendy's Frostys are so thick, you really can't sip them with a straw. Instead, you need to use a spoon — or a fry.

There's a joke about Dunkin' (formerly known as Dunkin' Donuts) being so popular in Massachusetts that there's one on every corner, but in one area of Revere, Massachusetts, there really are two Dunkin' locations across the street from each other. The state's obsession with Dunkin' has inspired 'SNL' sketches and songs. So what are people ordering at Dunkin'? As of 2017, the chain's most popular mobile order item was an iced coffee, we assume with plenty of cream and sugar.

Taco Bell has always been different because it's a major fast food chain without classic sandwiches or fries. But that all changed in January 2018, when it launched Nacho Fries. They were an instant sensation as the restaurant sold over 53 million orders of Nacho Fries in just five weeks. For now, Nacho Fries, while a fan favorite, are an elusive item, constantly disappearing and reappearing on Taco Bell menus. So, if you want to catch this seasoned potato side, you better keep your eyes peeled.

While there is no shortage of pumpkin spice products on the market, Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte may be the standard for the fall season. They do own the trademark on PSL, after all. The Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks has its own official Facebook group and devotees who anxiously await the release of this creamy, seasoned squash beverage every year. Starbucks seems to know it has a seasonal hit on its hands because the drink keeps coming back to Starbucks locations earlier and earlier, and while haters will keep hating on it, you can't argue with the cult of the PSL.

Wendy's has kind of a wild online presence, and that means that this fast food chain's chicken nuggets have gone viral numerous times over the past few years. One of the latest examples of this is when musician Chance the Rapper publicly wondered why the spicy nuggets were pulled from the menu and then got them to come back. Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets have a cult following for a reason — they have just the right amount of heat, a peppery yet crispy exterior and tender interior. Other nuggets quake in their presence.

Whoppers inspire a lot of passion in Burger King customers. Remember those mid-2000s ads where people freaked out when they were told the flame-grilled burger with pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, ketchup and a sesame seed bun was discontinued? Not every burger inspires that sort of passion, especially a no-frills one like the Whopper. But then again, not every fast food burger ranks among the most famous fast food menu items of all time.

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