The One Fast Food Trend Reddit Has Had Enough Of

While it might make you feel in-the-know, don't be surprised if asking for secret menu items gets you a side-eye these days. Whether it's "animal style" everything at In-N-Out or Starbucks' butterbeer Frappuccino, the growing list of secret menu hacks you need to know is suffering from the law of diminishing returns. If you frequent Reddit food subs, you're bound to see users disparaging the increased ubiquity of secret menus.

On one AskReddit forum, a user asked the community to share food trends that they want to disappear. Among the top answers was menu hacks and secret menus, with u/Junior-Lobster3377 stating, "It's not a secret menu item, you just bought like three different things and put them together and called it a secret menu item." Besides, secret menus aren't even secret anymore, as noted by u/furthestpoint, "When there is a section on the menu called 'secret' or 'off' menu, someone's lost the plot in a big way." This was perhaps a jab at the "Not So Secret Menu" listed on In-N-Out's website.

These days, secret menus are seen less like clever insider knowledge and more like corporate branding. In a r/innout subreddit post about In-N-Out's secret menu, u/Brando43770 commented, "Yup, it's part of the branding and marketing of the company. [To] make people feel like they know more than others."

The menu hacks you see online often put undue toll on service workers tasked with figuring out complex recipes. An r/starbucks subreddit post discussing the Starbucks secret menu detailed how customers may become hostile if baristas are unfamiliar with their order. As u/GriffinRaynor explained, "I just wish people understood we're trained on our menu, not what they see on the Internet. As long as you can give me the recipe, it's cool, but otherwise, please order from the menu. It's right there."

So, are those overhyped secret menu items not worth trying? Conscientious consumers may read the hate online about certain secret menu trends and wonder if they should steer clear altogether. However, much of the ire comes from customers not knowing what they're ordering. When secret menu items go viral, some customers mistakenly assume that every employee at a large chain like Starbucks is well-versed on what the item is and how it's made — and this isn't the case.

If you're really craving a secret menu item, it's helpful to learn the recipe. Knowing what's actually in that Starbucks cookie butter shaken espresso before reaching the front of the line takes a lot of burden off the staff. There's a chance that some locations won't be able to accommodate you, but it can't hurt to ask as long as you're polite.