Five best fast food choices in Des Moines

4. Cheeseburger at B-Bop’s

Everybody has their favorite fast-food burger. Mine is B-Bop’s, especially when enjoyed in good weather on the patio, listening to piped-in top 40 music from before I was born — it’s a schtick to be sure, but a fun one.

Sometimes I wonder why these babies don’t have their cult following, like In-n-Out Burgers in California. They’re almost as good (though because both local franchises are limited to their states, I’ve never done a side-by-side tasting).

I’m not even sure why I like these things so much. It may boil down to that dab of mayonnaise they put on the burger alongside the catsup, mustard, onion, pickle, lettuce and tomato. When the catsup and mustard mooshes together with the mayo, the result is something akin to a bonafide sauce.