Mac's Drive-In is the kind of place that makes people argue about whether nostalgia counts as a flavor. It does. This seasonal roadside stand on Waterloo-Geneva Road has been serving burgers, hot dogs, and soft-serve ice cream to Finger Lakes families for generations, and the consistency is the point. You order at the window, eat at the picnic tables, and watch the traffic on Route 5/20 go by. Back-to-back Gold for Best Fast Food in 2023 and 2024, plus Silver nods for Best Lunch Spot and Best Outdoor Dining, tell the story: Mac's owns this category in the northern Finger Lakes.

The menu is classic roadside — burgers, dogs, fries, onion rings, and a soft-serve ice cream program that is the real reason half the cars pull in. This is not a place that needs a paragraph about the sourcing of its beef. It needs a paragraph about the specific pleasure of eating a cheeseburger outside on a July afternoon while your kids drip ice cream on the picnic table. Mac's is seasonal, typically open from spring through early fall, and the line on a warm Saturday tells you the opening date better than any website. If you are driving between Geneva and Waterloo and the sign says open, stop. It is one of those Finger Lakes rituals that you either grew up with or adopt immediately.