Burgerville

George Propstra opened the first Burgerville in Vancouver, Washington, in 1961, and the chain has never strayed far from home. Every location sits within a short drive of Portland, and on highways leaving its territory there are billboards warning that the next Burgerville is roughly 24,700 miles away, the long way round the planet.

What sets it apart is how local and seasonal it is for a drive-thru. The cheese is Tillamook, the onion rings use Walla Walla sweet onions when they are in season, and the milkshake flavours follow the Northwest harvest: strawberries, blackberries, hazelnuts, pumpkin. It was also an early adopter of wind power, and in 2018 its workers formed the only federally recognised fast-food union in the United States.

Around 40 restaurants, all in Oregon and southwest Washington, most of them around Portland.

• Burger King (United States, since 1953). Flame-grilled since the 1950s, and still defined by one burger. Also built on beef and cheese.
• Sonic Drive-In (United States, since 1953). Order through a speaker from your car and a carhop brings the burger. Also built on beef and cheese.
• Braum's (United States, since 1968). An Oklahoma burger and ice cream chain that milks its own cows and bakes its own buns. Also built on beef and cheese.
• Jack's (United States, since 1960). Alabama’s home-grown fast-food chain, where biscuits share the menu with the Big Jack. Also built on beef and cheese.