By Haley Laurence

Buttermilk biscuits are the pride of Southern cooking. Everyone has a closely-guarded family recipe, and every Southerner knows that biscuits out of a can are a no-no (especially if company is coming).

But sometimes, we just don't have time to make biscuits the way that granny would like us to, and we go to the nearest fast-food drive-thru to get our fix.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

So we decided to rank the biscuits for you.

I traveled to eight fast-food establishments in the Birmingham area Wednesday morning to pick up plain biscuits to try. No sausage; no chicken; not even jelly. I tried the biscuits right after I got them from the drive-thru menu, then tried them again after I got to the office. I also took extras to the office for second opinions. These biscuits were thoroughly vetted, I can promise you.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

We visited places that have at least a few locations in Alabama and are open at breakfast. (That nixed chicken places like Popeye's, KFC and Church's.)

Our list of places we visited:

Bojangles

Burger King

Chick-fil-A

Hardee's

Jack's

McDonald's

Milo's Hamburgers

Whataburger

OK, OK, now that we have that over with, how did they rank? We start with the worst and end with the best:

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8. Burger King

Biscuits aren't exactly the staple of Burger King's breakfast menu. The fast-food giant's offerings focus on the their Croissan'wiches, but they also have a few basic biscuit choices.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

The verdict?

There's a reason Burger King doesn't advertise these biscuits more: They're kind of horrible. After I ordered a few plain biscuits, the sweet cashier gave me a "bless your heart" look and asked again if I wanted something on it. She knew what I was getting into.

One good thing I can say: The biscuit was super warm when I got it. But the biscuit itself is bland and gummy, and I got the worst aftertaste. When I tried it again later, I noticed it had a horrible smell, and I made my colleagues I dislike smell the biscuit just to make their day worse.

There's always Crossian'wiches.

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7. Whataburger

I was a little scared when I pulled into Whataburger. Their sign was advertising the jalapeno cheddar biscuit, and I couldn't help thinking, "If the regular biscuit is tasty, why do we need it stuffed with jalapenos?" (Cheese is fine. Everything is better with cheese.)

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

The verdict?

Whataburger serves one OK hockey-puckish biscuit. It tastes a little too dry and flour-y, and is all-in-all just totally average. If you plop some fried chicken and honey butter on it (Whataburger's specialty), the result is heavenly, but by itself? You better get some jelly.

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6. Milo's

Milo's, the Birmingham-based regional chain, is well-known for its saucy burgers and so-sweet tea. But does the beloved restaurant's biscuits own up to its lunch/dinner counterparts? I really wanted to see.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

The verdict?

This was one unique-looking biscuit. (Just look at it!) Milo's has some equally unique breakfast offerings, such as Conecuh sausage biscuits and chicken-cheese biscuits, but how does just their biscuits stack up? The answer: Yep. There's a kick to the biscuit that definitely makes it unique -- although it'd be hard to order it without Conecuh sausage. (Because everything is better with Conecuh.) Read more about Milo's here.

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5. McDonald's

McDonald's has been doing the breakfast thing for a while now. In 1972, they introduced the world to the McMuffin and led the way for fast food restaurants offering breakfasts. But do their biscuits stand the test of time? I tried them out to see.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

The verdict?

McDonald's biscuit is crumbly and golden brown and delicious. Yeah, they're not better than your grandma's, but they get the job done.

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4. Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A is a staple in the South because they know chicken -- and breakfast. So it was natural that we made a stop at the Georgia-based chain to grab a couple -- OK, four -- biscuits.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

The verdict?

Oh, y'all. Chick-fil-A could forget the chicken in my usual chicken filet biscuit and I wouldn't be too mad. I'm usually focused on the chicken so I haven't really noticed how stellar the biscuit is -- the tops of the biscuits were perfectly brown and crumbly. And afterward, there was a buttery, sweet aftertaste. Yes, please.

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Huntsville Times file

3. Jack's

Jack's Family Restaurants have a reputation for serving some seriously stellar breakfasts. And with an a.m. menu that consists of plenty of biscuit combos -- country steak, smoked sausage, bologna and more -- we were prepared to be wowed.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

The verdict?

Just look at this biscuit. Jack's does not disappoint. These treats are the perfect proportion of crumbly-meets-flaky, fluffy goodness, and guess what? When I got it it was fresh and warm, but it tasted even better cold. You can pile some jelly on these, but you don't need to -- nor will you want to.

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Photo courtesy of Bojangles

2. Bojangles

Bojangle's, a North Carolina-based chain, is known for serving breakfast all day. So surely they have some great biscuits, right?

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

The verdict?

Bojangle's serves a super-large, super-crumbly biscuit with some seriously crispy edges. I found crumbs from the biscuit everywhere -- in my hair, on my shirt -- throughout the day, that's how crumbly it was. (I may have eaten some of those crumbs. Don't judge.) This is a biscuit that your granny isn't going to raise her nose at.

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1. Hardee's

Hardee's has a long-standing reputation of having really incredible breakfast. And let me tell you: It didn't disappoint.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

The verdict?

Hardee's biscuit is just absolute butter heaven. They're hot and buttery and flaky and goodness gracious, even though I grew up on these, I forgot how good they are. The paper was soaked in butter -- sweet, glorious butter -- so make sure to grab some extra napkins. And when I ate one later, it still tasted heavenly.

Give me one of these (along with a pair of stretchy pants) every day, and I'll be absolutely happy.

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

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