I went to Chili's and saw why the chain is competing with fast-food joints like McDonald's

Chili's is increasingly taking on fast-food chains like McDonald's.

Alex Bitter/BI Chili's keeps growing sales, providing more evidence of a successful turnaround.

It's also taking on fast-food restaurants like McDonald's .

I went to Chili's to see whether the sit-down restaurant is really a competitor to McDonald's.

Chili's is hot.

The restaurant chain continues to reap the rewards of its turnaround: Same-store sales grew 6% during the company's fourth quarter, parent company Brinker International reported on Wednesday.

That marks the 21st consecutive quarter that Chili's reported same-store sales growth, Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman said during the company's earnings call.

There are several aspects to Chili's turnaround .

The restaurant chain has adopted a cheeky posting style on social media, which has drawn in Gen Z diners.

It's also upgraded lots of outdated technology, such as the tablets that its waitstaff use to send orders to the kitchen.

Chili's is also competing with unlikely rivals: Fast-food chains.

Some of the chain's newest menu items appear to take on McDonald's classics like the Quarter Pounder , for instance.

"The customer reviews and social media comments have been excellent, declaring Chili's victorious for size, price, value, and taste versus fast food," Hochman said during the company's earnings call.

McDonald's latest quarterly comparable sales growth came in at 0.8% — a slower pace that CEO Chris Kempczinski attributed to execution problems, such as the rollout of its latest value menu.