Chain Food VS Local Chicago Food (Charleston: buy, castle, health)

[gomexico]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

We hit up McDs on longer road trips to feed the kids (wife and I kinda like it too). But at home in Chicago, no point fast food.

I don't eat much from McDonalds. I do stop for an Egg McMuffin sandwich some mornings, because there's a McD at the El stop where I come to work. I sometimes stop for oatmeal. And, when I have a French fries crave ... I'll stop for a large order (and not tell my Cardiologist!). I don't eat McD hamburgers. I do love the Burger King Whopper, however. Don't eat it often. Maybe 3/4 times a year.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by gomexico

I don't eat much from McDonalds. I do stop for an Egg McMuffin sandwich some mornings, because there's a McD at the El stop where I come to work. I sometimes stop for oatmeal. And, when I have a French fries crave ... I'll stop for a large order (and not tell my Cardiologist!). I don't eat McD hamburgers. I do love the Burger King Whopper, however. Don't eat it often. Maybe 3/4 times a year.

I kinda like the cheeseburgers. My wife gives me the pickles off hers so I get two!

[HomeIsWhere...]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

I personally can't imagine ever eating at a chain restaurant in Chicago with all the great local places at every price point. It seems like a total waste of money, calories, and taste buds. Apparently plenty of people feel otherwise, though, because they're everywhere.

THIS^ Not when in Chicago and for the most part some great independent food purveyors ARE within 15-45 minutes in any direction to get something great to eat. I really don't get it and when you talk to people from out of town (read...the State of Illinois applies as well) they j u s t r e a l l y don't get it, they have been eating BK, McD, P Hut, Lil C's, T Bell, and such equally poor fare they just don't have the acquired taste buds for great food.

Sad...very, very sad indeed.

Best regards, sincerely

HomeIsWhere...

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by gomexico

I don't eat much from McDonalds. I do stop for an Egg McMuffin sandwich some mornings, because there's a McD at the El stop where I come to work. I sometimes stop for oatmeal. And, when I have a French fries crave ... I'll stop for a large order (and not tell my Cardiologist!). I don't eat McD hamburgers. I do love the Burger King Whopper, however. Don't eat it often. Maybe 3/4 times a year.

Wendy's burgers blow both BK and McD's out of the water, IMO.

[Jesse69]

I like chain stores like Culver's and Smashburger. I wish Waffle House came to Chicago. I eat more food from chains than mom n pops.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

I like chain stores like Culver's and Smashburger. I wish Waffle House came to Chicago. I eat more food from chains than mom n pops.

I hear Sonic is coming to Uptown soon... right across from the McDonald's at Sheridan and Wilson... I have to admit I've been curious and wouldn't mind trying it.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by andrew61

I hear Sonic is coming to Uptown soon... right across from the McDonald's at Sheridan and Wilson... I have to admit I've been curious and wouldn't mind trying it.

Seems like a tight location for a drive-in.

[williepotatoes]

Originally Posted by andrew61

I hear Sonic is coming to Uptown soon... right across from the McDonald's at Sheridan and Wilson... I have to admit I've been curious and wouldn't mind trying it.

It ought to be a hoot when homeless guys start panhandling at all the drive-in stalls.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by SouthsideTillIDie

Since highschool till now [Im 23 now btw], I really just eat gyros, vienna beef hotdogs, italian beef, Chicago squarecut pizzas & deepdish, reubin sandwichs, steak sandwichs, corner store pickles, Harold's Chicken Shack, burritos and tacos from local Mexican restaurants, etc. The local hole in the wall joints in Chicago absolutely embarass the chain restaurants IMO. And when I travel to other cities, the first thing that strikes me is just how bad some of the food is in some of these cities. It makes you appreciate Chicago style food more. The same happens when Im away at school. I go to school near NIU, and when Im there in Dekalb, my body craves Chicago food so much. I eat the stuff out there and Im like, "what is this crap?".

Some people LOVE chain, so I guess it's preference but to me it's garbage. Which do you prefer, local or chain?

What a great thread!

I didn't realize how much more chain restaurant food I ate AFTER moving out of Chicago until I read this thread lol. I definitely preferred Chicago local over chain.

The OP is so right! One of things I first realized upon moving to Atlanta is how AWFUL the food is here; well that and it's mostly chain restaurants here. I definitely found myself saying, "what is this crap?" a lot after left Chicago. If you want decent tasting food, you are better off going to chains here. Moving to Atlanta made me have an ever better appreciation for Chicago food. Unfortunately, I've developed a gluten intolerance over the last seven or eight years so when I come home to visit I can't eat like I really want to anymore. Though I did go to White Castle while in Chicago in July because I hadn't had it in years. I wasn't supposed to eat it but I just wanted it. We don't have White Castle in Atlanta. The closet thing to it is Krystal and it doesn't taste nearly as good.

Here in the south, people think places like Panera Bread and Chipotle are the best of the best. I mentioned in another thread how Atlanta's real estate is comparable to Chicago's in price in many areas. When they build up certain "hot" areas new developments (subdivisions and condo complexes in the suburbs), they advertise these homes as being "close to restaurants" and charge from $200k to $1 million for these places to be close to or in the same strip malls containing restaurants like Five Guys, Chipotle, Panera and Starbucks (you can walk downstairs out of your home and go eat at Chipotle or Five Guys). People snatch these places up and think they are doing it big because they can walk to Chipotle from their $600k condos or pay nearly $2k a month in rent to live in an apartment above Doc Green's salad bar or Tin Drum--and they are pretentious about it lol. It shows me that in Atlanta they really don't know good food because they are willing to spend nearly $ 1 million to live close to or above fast food and casual dining chains where the average meal is less than $10 lol.

I think the chains are more popular because 1) the people don't really know any better; and 2) the local food really is gross.

When I say the food here is awful, I'm talking about any local fare that you'd find. They also don't do ethnic food well here except for Thai and Mexican. The pizza's not good except for one or two places, the Indian food here isn't as remotely good as the Indian food in Chicago, and the Chinese food here is absolutely disgusting! I ordered Chinese food for the first time here once our family moved in to our house. It was terrible. One time my cousins came from Chicago to visit me in Atlanta. They ordered Chinese. They were so grossed out by it that they couldn't finish eating it. I've yet to find good Chinese in the many years I've lived here. They don't put bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, snow peas or bean sprouts in the Chinese food here. I went to a Chinese food place in suburban Atlanta. I asked for water chestnuts and bean sprouts in my food. They looked at me like I was nuts and said they don't have that. I've tried different places in a quest for good Chinese food in Atlanta but to no avail. They only put onions and frozen peas and carrots in the Chinese food in Atlanta.

They have all these wing places here and some of those are ok. People rant and rave about certain restaurants in Atlanta and when I go try them, the food is bland to disgusting. I find myself wanting to move back home to Chicago just to get better restaurant food (Chicago also has far more gluten-free restaurant options).

Living in Chicago, the chain or fast food place(s) I ate at the most was McDonald's because it was close to my house or convenient depending on what I was doing, Long John Silver's (because I worked there as a teen. Stopped eating there after I stopped working there), Popeye's again because it was close to my house and I also worked there as a teen), and Subway because it was right across from a place I was working at the time, KFC because it was close to my grandparents' place but it was rare that we ate there, White Castes (usually only at 3 or 4 in the morning after being at a House party all night). I think I only ate at Wendy's twice and Taco Bell two or three times because we didn't live near those places.

When I wanted something fast and cheap in Chicago, it was usually the neighborhood pizza joints, Chinese, hot dogs, or gyros from a local take-out place. I ate at local Chicago fast food places, delis, fried fish joints, and restaurants way more than chains. There really was no need to eat at chains unless it was convenient. They have places here that sell Chicago style fast-food (gyros and such) but it doesn't taste nearly as good. There are a couple of places that make Chicago style hot dogs with Vienna beef but they aren't convenient to me so I don't go there. The places here that sell gyros use that frozen, pre-sliced stuff. They don't slice lamb off the spit. The only place to get good "gyros" here are authentic Jewish shwarma places. There are a couple. I really miss Chicago gyro meat.

No offense to those who live in the suburbs but I guess it's because it seems chains are built a lot in the burbs these days, suburbanites really seem to love chain restaurants (at least here they do). Atlanta itself is very suburban-like and 98% of the residents of metro Atlanta live in the suburbs so they are obsessed with chain restaurants like they are eating fine dining. So it's very hard to find any good local non-chain food in this city. But as far as chains go, I really do love Smash Burger lol. There used to be a Harold's Chicken Shack here but I think it closed. I am really missing Chicago food right about now...thanks!

Originally Posted by andrew61

I hear Sonic is coming to Uptown soon... right across from the McDonald's at Sheridan and Wilson... I have to admit I've been curious and wouldn't mind trying it.

I've eaten at Sonic a few times. Sonic is just ok but not all that. So if you are used to good Chicago fast food, Sonic will be "meh" at best.

[quigboto]

I wish being a mom and pop automatically made a fast food joint superior, but all too often I've tried some of these local joints only to find that they're serving mostly frozen (Cisco?) fare. They'll have the signs that say Vienna Beef and Kronos gyros when the stuff they serve is obviously neither. A joint opened up around the corner from me not too long ago that I was pretty excited about but after a couple of s***ty meals there I was done.
As far as chain restaurants go, I don't automatically hate something just because it's a chain. I think Chipotle, Culvers, Five Guys, Portillos et al are doing it right. Potbelly is a chain and I think they're great. I guess my snobbishness kicks in more for the sit-down places. The only time I eat at national chains for a sit down meal is when I travel ( and have no knowledge of local dining options) I wouldn't eat at a Denny's in Chicago, but when I'm driving through BFE and I'm hungry I will 'cause at least I know what I'm gonna get and it will be consistent even if it's unremarkable.