BJ Novak says his famous friends are ‘relieved’ when he suggests a fast-food restaurant

When it comes to his celebrity friends, BJ Novak says “everyone” is a fast food fan.

“I think it is often the place where people want to go in secret, the fast food or the familiar place,” said the Office alum tells PEOPLE. “A lot of times you want to pick the cool new place, but deep down you’d rather be at Chili’s or McDonald’s. And whenever I suggest that, people are so happy and relieved.”

In 2021, Novak partnered with Michelin-starred chef Tim Hollingsworth to launch an immersive dining experience called Chain, offering fresh takes on popular dishes from fast-food and fast-casual restaurants. Then, in December 2023, the duo debuted ChainFEST, the first gourmet food festival hosted by a chain, which they documented for a new Roku Original special.

In Chain restaurants: All-star dishes (Streaming on July 12) Viewers will also see Hollingsworth reinterpret eight popular products from Chili’s, Red Robin, Panda Express, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Pizza Hut, Pepsi and Dunkin’. Celebrity guests appearing include Chrissy Teigen, Rachel Bilson and Josh Peck.

Regarding the popularity of fast food, Novak says: “It has a great unifying effect.”

“We all grew up with it. It’s the same all over the country, often all over the world, and it’s sort of the greatest hits. It’s almost like jokes or folk songs that just evolve over time. It’s like the world comes together around the things that everyone is drawn to, and it’s almost like McDonald’s is a collective imagination in some ways.”

“And then it was perfected and shaped into nostalgic memories for everyone,” he adds.

For Hollingsworth, Chain offers an opportunity to relive his earliest memory of good food: eating a pan pizza at Pizza Hut during a flash flood in Houston.

““I still remember the red cups and the Tiffany lamps, being a little kid and just smelling the buttery crust of the pan pizza,” says Hollingsworth, who also runs the Otium restaurant in Los Angeles.

Novak says there are two restaurants that evoke nostalgia for his childhood.

“It’s a tie between IHOP as a teenager, getting pancakes at 11 p.m., there’s just no better feeling in the world,” he says. “And also, my best friend Amir worked at Dunkin’ Donuts when I was growing up outside of Boston, so I loved visiting him there when it closed, and we could all take home free doughnuts.”

“And then we threw them at the house of his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend,” Novak adds with a laugh.

Lately, the actor has had new favorite restaurants – one of them, not surprisingly, is the West Coast burger joint In-N-Out, which is popular with Hollywood stars.

“In-N-Out really means a lot to me,” he says. “When I moved to California, it was kind of my new religion.”

Novak is also a big Starbucks fan because of his caffeine needs, as he loves the chain’s consistency.

“I drink a lot of coffee, and caffeine is a very powerful drug, so I want to know that the amount I drink every day is exactly the same,” he says. “And so when I travel – it’s like getting my daily vitamin – I know that Starbucks Venti is exactly the same everywhere in the world.”

“I don’t want any drug company to give me any arbitrary amount of stimulants,” he jokes.

Hollingsworth’s favorite fast food place is Taco Bell: “I don’t know exactly why, but it’s one of those places I’ve been going to for so many years in my life, and it’s still this guilty pleasure for me to come home late from work one night, call my wife and say, ‘Hey, do you want some Taco Bell?'”

Hollingsworth worked at the French Laundry for 13 years, including four as executive chef. He says his Taco Bell addiction didn’t stop even when he was cooking at the legendary, upscale California restaurant.

“I didn’t eat a ton of fast food during that time, but I still went to Taco Bell,” he says. “That was my only stop. I ordered the same thing every time. It was two Taco Supremes, Nacho Bell Grandes with jalapeños, a brisket iced tea, cinnamon rolls, and that’s still my order today.”

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Fast food connoisseurs are known for customizing their meals with special menu tricks – and the two also told us some of their favorites.

“Ordering well-done fries at In-N-Out is a good trick,” Novak says. “At McDonald’s, when they ask, ‘What sauce for the McNuggets?’ they say, ‘All of them.’ That’s the key. But I think ‘Just ask for what you want’ is the general mantra.”

“For me, it’s definitely grilled onions at In-N-Out and well-made fries,” says Hollingsworth, who adds that he sometimes gets into “a little argument” at the McDonald’s drive-thru.

“I love their caramel sundaes, but when I ask for a Caramel McFlurry, they say, ‘Oh, we don’t have that.’ I say, ‘But you can make that because you have everything?’ Sometimes it doesn’t work out, but most of the time it works out.”

Chain restaurants: All-star dishes will be available to stream on the Roku Channel on July 12.