14 Fast Food Secret Menu Items You're Better Off Avoiding Altogether

It's no secret that many fast food workers are annoyed when you order secret menu items. Sometimes, they may not even really know what you're asking for, and even if they do, those secret menu items may take a lot more time or effort to prepare than anything on the standard menu. In general, it's probably best to assume that it's at least a little bit rude to order most secret menu items at fast food joints.

However, there are some secret menu fast food items that aren't just annoying to the workers; they also don't make much sense from the customer's perspective. Perhaps they don't taste that good, or maybe they just don't offer much bang for your buck. Either way, you'll want to steer clear of these off-menu items to ensure the best possible fast food experience. Let's take a closer look at the fast food secret menu items you're better off avoiding altogether.

Grilled cheese is one of the easiest dishes to make at home. Even if you have essentially no cooking abilities at all, there's a good chance that you can still whip up a decent grilled cheese. That being said, there may be a time when you're craving a grilled cheese and just happen to be out and about. Luckily, you can get one by asking for "just cheese and bread" at McDonald's.

However, you're not likely to be too impressed by the results. After all, if you order cheese and bread, that's exactly what you're going to get: a slice of melted cheese or two on a burger bun. It may not taste bad, per se, but it's definitely not as delicious as basically any of McDonald's on-menu items, and you'll be left spending your hard-earned cash on a worse version of something you could've just made at home. Unless you're really, really craving a grilled cheese and can't find a pan to make one yourself, this secret menu item is a no-go.

In-N-Out Burger is known for its "not so secret" menu, which is why it is probably the best fast food restaurant to order from. After all, the employees are probably already aware of exactly what you're asking for. However, there are additional secret menu items that don't appear on the chain's official website, including the In-N-Out Burger Tomato Wrap. This sandwich comes from the deepest recesses of our keto nightmares. It's a burger that replaces the buns for — you guessed it — slices of tomato.

Not only is this burger basically impossible to eat (because tomatoes are slippery and slimy and absolutely do not function well as buns), but it's also incredibly bland. After all, that much tomato just isn't that flavorful, especially when you can't really add seasoning to the slices without making things even messier. If you're trying to avoid carbs, you're better off opting for a lettuce bun.

If you're like us, then you see countless fast food secret menu item suggestions every time you go on social media, and the Dunkin' blueberry cobbler has been all over our feeds. Since so many people suggest it, you may think it's worth giving it a try. However, we found that it's arguably the worst of Dunkin's secret menu items. If you want to try one for yourself, you'll order an iced coffee with a blueberry shot and two butter pecan shots. Then, you can decide whether you want to add dairy milk, oat milk, or cream.

No matter which milk variety you choose, though, chances are, you're going to find that this drink falls flat. There's not enough blueberry flavor in the mix, so you might want to switch up the recipe and add more if you're really trying to capture that blueberry cobbler flavor profile. We recommend skipping this option altogether and ordering something else instead.

There are some fast food secret menu items that just don't taste that good, which is why you should avoid ordering them. And there are others that should be downright embarrassing to order, thanks to their offensive and unfunny names. The McDonald's McGangBang happens to fit into both categories. If you want to get a taste of what this sandwich is all about, your best bet is to simply order a McChicken and a McDouble, although you will have to build the sandwich yourself. Basically, you just have to put the McChicken inside the McDouble, then chow down. But really, why would you want that?

The flavors here don't really work that well together, and the main problem is that you're going to be eating a lot of bread. Here's an idea: Why not just order both of these sandwiches and eat them separately? You'll get a much less messy burger, and you'll never have to think about the strange and inappropriate name of this bastardized sandwich ever again.

Arby's is known as the kind of fast food restaurant you visit if you want to eat a lot of meat. But the secret menu item known as the Meat Mountain is taking things just a bit too far, if you ask us. There is an unholy amount of meat on this sandwich — so much, in fact, that you may not even be able to get your mouth around the whole thing. Order the Meat Mountain, and you'll get a sandwich that comes with ham, roast beef, bacon, chicken tenders, turkey, and pastrami, along with a few slices of cheese (although not enough, compared to the amount of meat you're eating).

We think it goes without saying why this is a sandwich you should avoid. It might just put you on the couch for the day with a terrible stomachache in a meat-induced coma. It's a secret menu item that just feels gimmicky and not one that you'd actually want to indulge in for the purpose of enjoyment.

Sometimes, you go to a fast food restaurant when you're really, really hungry and you want to eat as much food as you can physically stuff in your mouth. We've been there, and we understand ordering accordingly. But sometimes, it's better to just order two separate sandwiches than to subject yourself to a burger that's absolutely piled high with too much meat. That's exactly what you're going to get if you order the Burger King Quad Stacker. As the name suggests, it contains four beef patties along with four slices of cheese, plus bacon.

A good burger has a solid ratio of meat to bread to toppings, and the fact that the Quad Stacker comes with so many beef patties just throws that ratio off completely. The result is a messy, hard-to-eat burger that's just a lot to take in, even for the most avowed meat lovers on the planet.

Burgers, sandwiches, and sides aren't the only things you'll see on fast food secret menus. Sometimes, you'll come across a drink, even at joints that aren't known for their drinks. Enter Sonic's Dr. Pepper Orgasm. This is another fast food secret menu item that we just don't want to ask for simply because of the way it sounds. Luckily, though, this one isn't too exciting, so you don't have to feel like you're missing out on anything. The drink is a combination of Dr. Pepper, Powerade, and lemonade. Do you actually have to go to Sonic to get a taste of this concoction? No — technically, you could make it at home. But it just happens to be a favorite of many Sonic fans.

If you ask us, it's not really worth paying a premium for this drink at Sonic specifically. Plus, all of those sugary drinks combined simply results in an extra-sweet beverage that's not all that appetizing. Give it a try if you're looking for something different to sip on the next time you're at Sonic, but we think you're safe to skip it entirely.

For some reason, some fast food eaters specifically try to avoid bread in their sandwiches. For some, that may be for health reasons, but we don't really think that's why anyone is ordering McDonald's Big McChicken. This is basically a Big Mac made with chicken patties in place of the buns, which makes for a super meaty, arguably odd-tasting sandwich that you only have to try once before you vow to never, ever try it again.

That much meat — even if you're getting both beef and chicken — is overwhelming when you eat it all in one sandwich. Plus, that hot, greasy chicken is going to make for an especially messy meal. Finally, it's also going to cost you more than you probably want to pay at a fast food joint, since you'll have to order a Big Mac along with three McChickens. You can always order the Chicken Big Mac if you're looking for something similar that's on the real menu.

In-N-Out Burger's Flying Dutchman may be one of the most pointless fast food secret menu items of all time. It's a Double-Double burger, but without the buns or toppings (besides the cheese). So, yes, that means that you're simply getting two beef patties, two slices of melted cheese, and that's it (although some people ask for grilled onions). Sure, it might be a good option if you're on a super-restrictive diet that only allows you to eat meat and cheese, but why would you even pay for fast food if that were the case? It actually doesn't cost much less than Double-Double, either, so you're really not getting much bang for your buck.

Besides the fact that it just doesn't make much sense to order from a cost perspective, this dish (because it's not even really a burger) is really, really boring. Without any toppings (apart from the occasional onion), spreads, or even bread, it absolutely falls flat on the flavor front. 

For some reason, people who order off of fast food restaurants' secret menus seem to really, really like excessive amounts of meat, and that's exactly what you're going to get if you decide to order the Wendy's Meat Cube. The name tells you everything you need to know about what's going on with this sandwich. Basically, you'll ask for four whole patties (which are square) on your Wendy's burger. That amounts to a full pound of meat, which, when stacked on a bun, does in fact make a cube-like shape. 

It's no secret why this is a fast food secret menu item we think you should avoid: It's simply too much meat. If you're really that hungry, just order two double burgers, and you'll have a much more pleasant Wendy's burger-eating experience.

Have you ever wished your quesadilla could be crispier? Maybe if you're like us, you've never even thought about it, but for those who are on the hunt for that extra layer of crunch, there's the Taco Bell double grilled quesadilla. Yes, it's grilled for double the amount of time a normal quesadilla at Taco Bell is grilled for, as the name suggests. In theory, it sounds like this could be delicious if you're a real texture fiend. However, we still think this is a fast food secret menu item you could just as easily avoid.

According to some reviews, the double grilled quesadilla tasted just like a standard one. Perhaps the staff is just trying to get through the long lines of customers waiting for their food and doesn't want to be bothered to tend to a quesadilla for twice as long, but there's a good chance you're going to be disappointed with this secret menu item.

If you've ever wanted your Dunkin' drink to inexplicably taste like you're eating a bowl of ultra-sweetened and too-fruity cereal, then you've probably been waiting to try the Dunkin' Captain Crunch Coolatta your entire life. This secret menu item is best for those who prefer fruitier drinks, but even if you fall into that camp, we don't think it's really worth ordering. If you do want to try it, you should order a strawberry Coolatta with shots of raspberry, blueberry, and cream, the latter of which gives it its milky, cereal-like quality.

Once you give this drink a sip, though, you'll realize just how sour it is. Sure, a little bit of acidity can be a good thing, but here, it's absolutely overpowering. You can always doctor it by adding more cream to lessen that intense sourness, but technically, it'll no longer be a Captain Crunch Coolatta. Ultimately, we think it's not worth ordering in the first place.

Once again, we have yet another burger that contains far too much meat. It's the In-N-Out Burger 4x4, and as you might have already guessed, it contains four beef patties. Basically, any time you're trying to pile this much meat on a burger, it's not going to taste that great, since the flavor and texture balance is all messed up. The meat-to-bread ratio is off, and the toppings seem flimsy and insufficient by comparison.

You can still get a burger that packs a ton of protein from In-N-Out. The 3x3, which contains three patties, has more than enough meat. If you're really hungry, you can opt for two Double-Doubles, which gets you the same amount of beef in more manageable portions. But unless you want to wake up in the middle of the night with a bad case of the meat sweats, we recommend leaving the 4x4 alone.

Can't choose between a burger, a chicken sandwich, and the iconic Filet-O-Fish at McDonald's? Then you might want to try the Land, Sea, and Air Burger from McDonald's secret menu. Essentially, you'll want to order a Big Mac, a Filet-O-Fish, and a McChicken all at once, then assemble the sandwich yourself. Simply put the Filet-O-Fish and the McChicken into the Big Mac, removing buns as you see fit. (If you don't, you're going to end up with a ton of bread on your burger.) Then, you're going to have to find a way to fit the whole thing in your mouth, which doesn't seem like an easy task.

Sure, the idea here is interesting, but when it all comes together, this burger is just a mess. There's just too much going on: The tartar sauce from the Filet-O-Fish is going to clash with the Big Mac sauce, and there are really no coherent flavors to bring everything together. Not only does it not really make sense from a flavor perspective, but it's also expensive and downright difficult to eat. This is a fast food secret menu item that you can feel totally comfortable skipping.