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Cheesecake Factory to some Americans doesn't stand out because they know of it. To non-Americans who have travelled throughout the US, know it's American. So it was not unusual, it was TYPICAL to see it in a US city. Americans that don't know, will not be surprised by it because that kind of restaurant is found in every US city…again typical.
Why is a chain restaurant so important? Plenty of chains are regional. Other chains are international. New York City doesn't have a Cheescake Factory. Is it less typical based on that?
Why is a chain restaurant so important? Plenty of chains are regional. Other chains are international. New York City doesn't have a Cheescake Factory. Is it less typical based on that?
It's not so much that it's Cheesecake Factory ( I'm beginning to wish I never mentioned it by name ) it the fact that in a typical US city you expect to see chains like that. So in the context of comparing which US city is less or more typically American, the fact that Honolulu has this type of chain restaurant makes it a typical US city in that regard.
I guess, judging by chains seems very superficial. Is the fact I see Tim Horton's a big factor in a place being typically Canadian? What happens when Tim Horton's opens American stores?
It's not so much in inclusion of certain stores, but also the exclusion.
Cheesecake Factory to some Americans doesn't stand out because they know of it. To non-Americans who have travelled throughout the US, know it's American. So it was not unusual, it was TYPICAL to see it in a US city. Americans that don't know, will not be surprised by it because that kind of restaurant is found in every US city…again typical.
That's why I mentioned it as an example of what I would expect to see in a typical US city.
It doesn't matter what other countries have as far as chains go when we are speaking about the US and it's cities only.
To argue against Cheesecake factory as not being a typical type American restaurant should be interesting.
You sort of missed the point of that post. I didn't argue anywhere that a Cheesecake Factory isn't some sort of average American franchise--though I had to look it up to actually figure out what you were talking about as I've never been to a bloody "Cheescake Factory" and it's not really some place I'm really familiar with. (Who goes to Cheesecake Factories, I have no idea)
You saw a Cheescake Factory in Waikiki. Waikiki is like the Fisherman's Wharf/Times Square/Disneyworld of Honolulu, it's not a place designed for locals, it's a place representative of mass tourist culture for mainland tourists. Just like there's Jimmy Buffet Margaritavilles in the tourist districts of Jamaican cities but that doesn't mean that if you drive down the road you'renot knee deep in Jamaican culture. Honolulu might not look completely different from US cities in terms of architecture minus the vegitation and landscaping(just like most Canadian cities don't look that different from US cities either in terms of architecture except for maybe Quebec City). Though there are cultural differences that are very evident in Honolulu and Hawaii from most US cities, I'm sorry if you feel differently...
There's chain businesses to some degree in every major US city, but it doesn't mean that certain cities and local cultures aren't unique. I get it, you want to make the point that no US city feels any less "American" or unique from any other city. You have a problem with the base idea of this thread. Good for you...
I guess, judging by chains seems very superficial. Is the fact I see Tim Horton's a big factor in a place being typically Canadian? What happens when Tim Horton's opens American stores?
Then it becomes typical if it spreads to enough US cities. However a doughnut shop is not atypical in a US city.
You sort of missed the point of that post. I didn't argue anywhere that a Cheesecake Factory isn't some sort of average American franchise--though I had to look it up to actually figure out what you were talking about as I've never been to a bloody "Cheescake Factory" and it's not really some place I'm really familiar with. (Who goes to Cheescake Factories, I have no idea)
You saw a Cheescake Factory in Waikiki. Waikiki is like the Fisherman's Wharf/Times Square/Disneyworld of Honolulu, it's not a place designed for locals, it's a place representative of mass tourist culture for mainland tourists. Just like there's Jimmy Buffet Margaritavilles in the tourist districts of Jamaican cities but that doesn't mean that if you drive down the road you're knee deep in Jamaican culture. Honolulu might not look completely different from US cities in terms of architecture minus the vegitation and landscaping(just like most Canadian cities don't look that different from US cities either in terms of architecture except for maybe Quebec City). Though there are cultural differences that are very evident in Honolulu and Hawaii, I'm sorry if you feel differently...
There's chain businesses to some degree in every major US city, but it doesn't mean that certain cities and local cultures aren't unique. I get it, you want to make the point that no US city feels any less "American" or unique from any other city. You have a problem with the base idea of this thread. Good for you, but perhaps then you should stick to discussing the overpriced real estate bubble and Chinese Communist Party retirement home of a city that you live in...
I'm not sure what is so difficult to understand here. Regardless of the name of the restaurant, it was the kind of restaurant that is typical in US cities. So, when comparing Honolulu to other so called typical US cities, it was not unusual to find that type of restaurant there…and others typical US restaurants.
What WOULD of made Honolulu atypical would be the LACK of any US style restaurants.
As for the uniqueness of a place, well yes places can be unique of course, but being unique only wins the argument if the quality of uniqueness didn't exist in other US cities.
Are saimin stands and shaved ice and plate lunches typical in most US cities?
Saimin is available elsewhere. Shave Ice as well, we call them Sno Cones in Canada, or Mr. Freeze when you buy them is a tube. However many, many places offer food that is not popular of offered in other US cities. It's not enough to make a city atypical.
Saimin is available elsewhere. Shave Ice as well, we call them Sno Cones in Canada, or Mr. Freeze when you buy them is a tube. However many, many places offer food that is not popular of offered in other US cities. It's not enough to make a city atypical.
So no US city is atypical or could ever be any different from another one. Okay you win. Every place is the same, there's no nuance of distinction between anywhere in the US.
By the same rationale there's nothing distinct about any Canadian city, they all have "Canadian-style restaurants"(to paraphrase you). Though Canadian restaurants are basically no different from US ones(with a lot of the same franchises), so I guess you could say that Canadian cities are typically have little different from US ones...
Last edited by Deezus; 07-01-2014 at 05:28 PM..
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