Fast Food Archives : The Retro Network

Burger King Brings Back 90s Anime Energy With Dragon Ball Super Menu

Burger King’s new Dragon Ball Super menu brings themed meals, collectibles, and a big dose of 90s nostalgia for fans who grew up with Dragon Ball Z.

What Happened To Our Fast Food?

Mickey Yarber

Fast food used to be fast, cheap, and dependable. Now it’s slower, pricier, and trying to be fancy, and we miss the simple drive thru magic we grew up with.

How McDonald’s Created the Most Famous Kids Meal in America

Mickey Yarber

The Happy Meal turned a simple trip to McDonald’s into a childhood event, offering kids a cardboard box filled with food, fun, and some of the most unforgettable toys of the 80s and early 90s.

The Magic of a McDonald’s Happy Meal

Mickey Yarber

Opening a Happy Meal felt like a tiny celebration, the kind of moment that could turn an ordinary day into something you’d remember long after the toy disappeared.

Burger King’s Forgotten ‘Fine Dining’ Experiment in the 1990s

Mickey Yarber

Burger King’s early 90s Table Service brought popcorn appetizers, Dinner Baskets, new sides, and Bob Uecker and Dan Cortese ads to a slower, friendlier fast‑food experience.

When KFC Tried to Build a Roast Beef Empire

Mickey Yarber

For a brief moment in the 1960s, the Colonel tried to expand his kingdom with Kentucky Roast Beef, a forgotten venture that proved not every roadside dream could match his famous chicken.

McDonald’s is Bringing Back the Iconic Fried Apple Pie For a Limited Time

Walter King

For many Generation X kids and early millennials, a trip to McDonald’s came with one unforgettable treat. The fried apple pie. It had a shatter crisp crust, a bubbling cinnamon apple filling, and a reputation

Inside the Hardee’s Fried Chicken Experiment of the 90s

Mickey Yarber

Hardee’s fried chicken arrived in the 90s with bold ambition, borrowing a beloved recipe and chasing new customers before fading away. It remains one of fast food’s most memorable lost experiments.

McDonald’s Pizza: A Slice of Fast Food History

Mickey Yarber

McDonald’s Pizza was the chain’s bold attempt to reinvent family dinner, a fast food experiment that sparked curiosity, slowed drive thrus, and became one of the most enduring legends in menu history.

Growing Up With the BK Kid’s Club

Mickey Yarber

The BK Kid’s Club turned a simple kids meal into a full‑blown membership. One burger, one toy, and a plastic card later, every kid felt like they belonged to the coolest cartoon crew in fast‑food history.

The Short Life of McDonald’s Arch Deluxe

Mickey Yarber

The Arch Deluxe was McDonald’s big swing at a grown up burger in the 1990s, a premium experiment that arrived with huge hype and vanished just as quickly, remembered today as one of fast food’s most ambitious misfires.

Burger Chef: The Forgotten Giant of Fast Food Innovation

Mickey Yarber

Before McDonald’s became the face of fast food, Burger Chef helped shape the industry with flame‑broiled burgers, bold innovations, and the very first kids’ meal, leaving behind a legacy far bigger than its vanished storefronts.

The Retro Resurgence Podcast – Episode 30 | Top 5 Fast Food Happy Meal Promotions

Chad Droze

Happy December Listeners! Episode 30 drops NOW! In our new retro news segment, Recurrent Events – a concept borrowed from our dearly departed retro bud Jason Gross – Current Events for Retro Minds, Ken discusses an upcoming

McDonald’s Halloween Magic: Buckets, McNuggets, and the Golden Age of Spooky Promotions

Mickey Yarber

For kids growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, Halloween wasn’t just about costumes and candy, it was about the thrill of seeing your favorite brands get spooky. And few did it better than McDonald’s.

Halloween Boo Buckets Return To McDonald’s On October 21st

Walter King

Summer isn’t even over, but McDonald’s is already preparing for fall by announcing the highly anticipated return of one of its most iconic seasonal items. As many brands lean into pumpkin spice lattes and fall spice-flavored treats,

McDonald’s Is Launching a New Adult Meal Featuring the Legendary Characters From the Past

Walter King

McDonald’s is bringing back nostalgic characters to launch a new adult Happy Meal, which will include a new limited-edition shake. Ronald McDonald, Birdie, Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, Fry Friends and Grimace, whose birthday meal went viral after its