Hardee’s

All I wanted was a cold carbonated beverage. I should have stuck with the drive-​thru.
I’m not much of a fast-​food person, but from what I’ve read, as quickly as some chains are moving away from big menu offerings, Hardees seems to be going the opposite direction. When did they start offering a menu of things you’d find at the other fast food spots that don’t specialize in burgers or chicken?
I thought I had walked into a different place. All I could see was the menu of nachos, tacos, burritos, quesadillas and the like. Moreover, to make sure I became a victim of the marketing, that half of the menu had brighter colors and bigger pictures. Pavlov had the right idea, I guess. I should have stuck with the coke, but was intrigued enough to get a small order of the poppers. They aren’t the half jalapeño stuffed with cheese and deep-​fried though, or they would have been if you didn’t first take away the half jalapeño and then chop it into small pieces, mix it with cheese and deep-​fry that. It comes with ranch dressing. Not healthy, but still okay. Fortunately, it wasn’t enough to get me to start craving fast food, but was an interesting change of pace.
When I walked out it was then I noticed the Hardee’s sign had «Red Burrito» under it. There’s something else I didn’t know, a fast food place creating a sub-​specialty fast food place. Hard to be a marketing victim when you aren’t paying attention to it. So while I wasn’t manipulated when I walked in, I was by the time I walked out.
Next time, I’ll stop at a gas station. Take that — you marketers.