Yeesh! All we need....

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

My area of East Austin is probably 5 to 1 locals over chains, whereas a place like South Park Meadows is probably mostly chains. It's is highly dependent on when a particular area was first developed.

I'd say most of Austin is 5:1 local to chain restaurant, IMO. East Austin is more like 20:1 from what I can see.

I wonder if anyone has done a ranking of cities with the highest per capita local restaurants? I know Austin has a ridiculously high per-capita restaurant ratio anyway... and with so many being local, I'd imagine it would probably rank pretty dang high, if not at the top.

[ScoPro]

In and Out absolutely sucks. I've had better at Short Stop.

The last In and Out we went to in Dallas the burger was average, the fries inedible, and the chocolate shake was like whipped up Elmer's Glue. Terrible ripoff, IMO.

The one we ate at in Las Vegas wwasn't any better.

Gimme Whataburger anytime.

Olive Garden? Their lasagna is ok, so it'll do. But I wouldn't go out of my way to find one.

[neddy]

They were not always chains and they were local somewhere at some point, Rudy's and then Macaroni Grill were both SA locals before chaining out.

[homeinatx]

Generally, I fear I am the nightmare of many waiters. I am a committed omnivore, but I ask about everything I eat. I tend to avoid chains, largely because they are more likely to buy food from agribusiness lackeys like Sysco. My dietary preferences are delicious and locavore in that order. I think food is a massively important ethical and political issue. In the U.S., I won't eat anything with corn or soy in it, except for the primary product themselves: corn on the cob or edamame, though I will make an exception in Texas for house-made tortillas. I always ask if the corn or soy was grown with Monsanto seed, and if I get an affirmative answer - which is not often as mostly people have no clue, but it is an important pedagogical exercise - I will order something else. As a general rule of thumb, if the fish was farmed, I won't eat it - chain or mom and pop restaurant. Beef is invariably safer than chicken - agribusiness has yet to find a way to produce beef equivalent to a battery farmed chicken, though I always ask about hormones and antibiotics in beef, lamb and turkey. I told you I was a waiter's nightmare. Chipotle is a chain that generally tries to use local farmers and 5 Guys is a hamburger chain that uses real potatoes to make french fries ( though historically they are a Belgian invention), and humanely grown and killed beef. We are lucky in Austin to have a long growing season and many terrific farmer's markets as well as grocery stores committed to fresh and local produce. God bless HEB, sometimes. Local is always better and when I see a chef from an Austin restaurant shopping at Boggy Creek farms on a Saturday morning, I am much more likely to patronize his or her restaurant. The guys from Wink, Olivia, Foreign and Domestic are there quite often. When the chain guys start doing the same, I will start eating there too. (I am not holding my breath)

[sanmiguel]

I ate at Noodles & Company during a visit to Colombus, Ohio a few years ago and suggested that they would be a good fit in Austin. They have branched out in a few cities and have finally come here. The food is tasty, nutritious and served relatively quickly.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by sanmiguel

I ate at Noodles & Company during a visit to Colombus, Ohio a few years ago and suggested that they would be a good fit in Austin. They have branched out in a few cities and have finally come here. The food is tasty, nutritious and served relatively quickly.

Or you could go a few doors down and eat at phonatic which is a local austin business!

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by neddy

They were not always chains and they were local somewhere at some point, Rudy's and then Macaroni Grill were both SA locals before chaining out.

If you include SA to thie "local" mix, you also get Whataburger as a local chain (since it moved it's HQ from Corpus to SA). In addition to Rudy's, Lion and Rose Pub, etc.

Including SA would also make the grocery market absolutely dominated by "local" players -- HEB and Whole Foods. So basically a huge majority of all food from either restaurants OR cooked at home is sourced or at least sold through a locally based (within 80 mile) company.

I wonder what other cities could claim something like that.