As a Texan I'm obligated to concur on whataburger however if I'm being truthful their consistency is all over the map too. I'm pretty sure it's a result of store level execution and management. Oddly enough, I find the best ones are those located in pit stop towns between the major cities. They get enough traffic to stay fresh, they probably have low turnover, and the manager might be making a career of it. That how I rationalize it anyhow.

It's been spreading just a bit. There are now Whataburger locations in Phoenix, AZ.

I'm in Northern California, and Phoenix is also our closest Waffle House too.

Whataburger was recently purchased by a Chicago-based private equity firm so you may get your wish for an expansion.

FWIW Shipley Donuts recently got bought by PE too. I talked to them as a then potential franchisee and they have pretty big growth plans. If you're curious, it wasn't right fit for me now that PE is involved. I was interested as a casual absentee owner, but their growth plan doesn't really have much room for that anymore.