24 Fast-Food Restaurants We Wish Were in the U.S.

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One of America’s most influential — and sometimes controversial — exports is fast food. America’s contemporary fast-food industry was born on Sept. 13, 1921 in Wichita, Kan., when Walter A. Anderson teamed up with Edgar Waldo “Billy” Ingram to open the first White Castle. In the next 15 years, White Castle would open seven more locations, expanding to other mid-Western markets. The McDonald brothers came onto the scene nearly twenty years later, followed by Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King (then Insta-Burger King) in the ‘50s and Wendy’s in the ‘60s. The fast-food fad accelerated from there, making way for our new national pastime: instant fried gratification.

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