Dick's Drive-In

Dick Spady and two partners opened Dick’s Drive-In in Seattle’s Wallingford neighbourhood in January 1954, and the menu has barely changed since: hamburgers, hand-cut fries and milkshakes. There are no substitutions, burgers are cooked well done, and the line moves fast because nobody is customising anything.

Dick’s is also famous for how it treats its staff: employer-paid health insurance, a matched retirement plan and college scholarships for employees who stay six months. Esquire called it the most life-changing burger joint in America in 2013, and Macklemore filmed part of a music video at the Capitol Hill location.

A dozen or so drive-ins, all around the Seattle area.

• Sonic Drive-In (United States, since 1953). Order through a speaker from your car and a carhop brings the burger. Also built on beef, cheese and a double stack.
• Elevation Burger (United States, since 2005). The Virginia chain that called itself the first organic burger joint, with fries cooked in olive oil. Also built on beef, cheese and a double stack.
• 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, cheese and a double stack.
• A&W Restaurants (United States, since 1919). America’s oldest drive-in chain, and the burger that lost to bad maths. Also built on beef, cheese and a double stack.