[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Tiredofnyclife

Isn't Connecticut the land of Applebee's, cheesecake factory, and other chain restaurants?

Just to add to the chorus, no freakin' way. I think national chains have it tougher here than most places. We are loaded to the gills with amazing indie restaurants, and some pretty solid local chains too (Haven Hot Chicken, Prime 16, Max Restaurants, Plan B, Harvest, just to name a few).

[norcal2k19]

Originally Posted by New Englander

I think Norwalk and Westport tend have restaurants concentrated in a small area, Stamford (to me, at least) is more spread out. The places that I mentioned are all in different neighborhoods, close driving distance for sure. So I can see why you would think the dining scene is lacking

Norwalk is pretty well covered with good food not just on Washington St. You have the ethnic food spots in the more suburban part of the city and near the train station, urban indie eats in South and East Norwalk, and fancy maritime themed restaurants in Rowayton. Oh and I didn't forget about Stew Leonards and the various independent bakeries/coffee shops, especially off West Ave and Wall St.

Norwalk > Stamford wrt to food for sure.

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by norcal2k19

Norwalk is pretty well covered with good food not just on Washington St. You have the ethnic food spots in the more suburban part of the city and near the train station, urban indie eats in South and East Norwalk, and fancy maritime themed restaurants in Rowayton. Oh and I didn't forget about Stew Leonards and the various independent bakeries/coffee shops, especially off West Ave and Wall St.

Norwalk > Stamford wrt to food for sure.

I have Judy’s Kitchen on High Ridge on the dockets to check out next. Heard great things.
Never liked Remo’s.
Every town has its hits and misses. It’s all subjective.

[Cambium]

wage growth has failed to keep pace with rising consumer prices for a record 20 consecutive months.


https://twitter.com/charliebilello/s...u7Jz-d-YA&s=19

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by New Englander

I'm hoping it stays that way. I am not a fan of New Jersey at all. The areas closer to NYC are not the greatest and having these chains is part of it.

The best parts of NJ are closer to PA and DE -- at that point, you might as well cross into those states.

I know certain towns in CT are full of chains in large shopping areas. Enfield comes to mind. However, there are some great local restaurants in those very towns.

huh? Thats like saying the best parts of CT are in the Quiet Corner and might as well cross into RI or MA.

Lambertville, Frenchtown and Cape May/Wildwoods/Ocean City/Stone Harbor are all very nice... but,

Morristown, Hoboken/JC, Ridgewood, Somerville, Summit, Short Hills, Red Bank, etc etc etc all exist and are the best parts of NJ. Period.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I lived in northern New Jersey for several years and there are many nice towns. Nicer than southern New Jersey IMHO. Bergen County towns like Alpine, Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Ho Ho Kus, Allendale, Ramsey, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes, Oakland, Mahwah, etc. are all very nice. Morris, Somerset, Warren, Sussex, Hunterdon and Mercer Counties are all pretty nice too.

There are a lot of chain restaurants in New Jersey (I can’t believe there are 55 Applebee’s) but there are also a lot of great local places as well. The locals know them and frequent them a lot. Connecticut, even in regional retail areas like Enfield, Manchester, Danbury, or Milford doesn’t have a lot. Jay

It should be noted that NJ is a very 'transient' state and a lot of these chains are strategically placed in shopping malls (GSP, Bridgewater, Jersey Mills), off the side of large highways, 'rest areas' off of the highway (Exit 1 off of NJtpk) or on stroads (Route 18 in the Brunswicks, Route 1, Route 9, Route 22). Anywhere where people are going to be traveling far places and/or through NJ... they'll be more.

When I look on CT, it's the same trend.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

It should be noted that NJ is a very 'transient' state and a lot of these chains are strategically placed in shopping malls (GSP, Bridgewater, Jersey Mills), off the side of large highways, 'rest areas' off of the highway (Exit 1 off of NJtpk) or on stroads (Route 18 in the Brunswicks, Route 1, Route 9, Route 22). Anywhere where people are going to be traveling far places and/or through NJ... they'll be more.

When I look on CT, it's the same trend.

That's the same in most of the country. We are still very car orientated, and there's nothing more car orientated than your average chains.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by Cambium

wage growth has failed to keep pace with rising consumer prices for a record 20 consecutive months.


https://twitter.com/charliebilello/s...u7Jz-d-YA&s=19

Nothing could match the inflation of the last 20 months.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

It should be noted that NJ is a very 'transient' state and a lot of these chains are strategically placed in shopping malls (GSP, Bridgewater, Jersey Mills), off the side of large highways, 'rest areas' off of the highway (Exit 1 off of NJtpk) or on stroads (Route 18 in the Brunswicks, Route 1, Route 9, Route 22). Anywhere where people are going to be traveling far places and/or through NJ... they'll be more.

When I look on CT, it's the same trend.

True. Oddly, when I lived there, I overlooked that, but the downtown streets there were similar to Broad St in Milford in style of restaurants, had just about no chain restaurants, but tons of local, one location restaurants. Just like the difference between Broad St restaurants and US1 restaurants, where just past the mall, we find national chains. US1 past the mall has much in common with 22 in business composition.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

Just like the difference between Broad St restaurants and US1 restaurants, where just past the mall, we find national chains. US1 past the mall has much in common with 22 in business composition.

There are A LOT more independent restaurants on 1 than chains. We don’t have that many chains compared to other similar commercial strips.

Let’s see, sit down chains outside the mall: Chili’s, Olive Garden, Friday’s, Mission BBQ, Hook and Reel.

Indie or local chains: Dockside, Bridge House, I Love Pho, Chip’s, Gusto’s, Bin 100, Bar 333, Prime 16, Plan B, Lasse’s, OLA, Baja’s, Bridgeport Flyer, Lin’s Kitchen, Coromandel, Thai Spice, Momo, Lao Sze Chuan…. And I could go on and on.

Even in the mall, there’s local sit down options.

The non-national chain sit downs outnumber by a huge amount