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Chicago native here. We also have great pizza in Chicago. I think I ate at Pizza Hut twice my entire time living there. No need to eat at PH, Dominoes, Little Ceasar's or Papa' John's when you have such great and so many local pizzerias there.
For the most part, we always ate local pizzas.
I can relate. As a Texan, we have FABULOUS Tex Mex food here. I can't remember the last time I ate at Taco Bell or On the Border. Local places are BEST.
But there are plenty of poor college students around here who rely on cheap Taco Bell food. Poor kids.
Yeah, and you can ask around people who grew up in NYC, and chances are some of the people never even visited those chains their entire lives.
For example, I am a grown ass man and I have never been to a Walmart or Sbarro in my entire life. And the first time I tried Pizza Hut I was in Chicago...
Hey, all I can tell you is that SOMEONE sure is eating at all those chain restaurants in the northeast (and elsewhere) - and they're not all tourists.
Anecdotal evidence is interesting but really proves nothing.
My dad is from Brooklyn and I've been there plenty. I've seen plenty of chains.
But don't let that stop you from going on to us southern peasants about how that vile chain food has never touched your inherently superior northern lips.
Right on.
My husband works up in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic region a lot and consequently I travel up that way a lot as well. I see chain restaurants all over the dang place - and I'm not talking about touristy places either. And they're packed full of locals.
All this posturing about how rarely people from the north eat at chain restaurants is ridiculous.
Say what you will about fast food, but it serves it's purpose. I've found that on road trips nothing satisfies me quite like some garbage chain food. I guess that's mostly due to nostalgia though.
My husband works up in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic region a lot and consequently I travel up that way a lot as well. I see chain restaurants all over the dang place - and I'm not talking about touristy places either. And they're packed full of locals.
All this posturing about how rarely people from the north eat at chain restaurants is ridiculous.
I can't speak for others when I say no posturing here. All these chains literally were not in or near any neighborhood I've lived in the city proper in Chicago. They were always far and out of the way. The ones that were in the city most of them closed down many, many years ago. The first time I ever ate at a Taco Bell was in a suburb somewhere. There were no Taco Bells to be found in my city neighborhood or anywhere near its immediate vicinity when I lived there. There's one close to there now but only one and it's still in a suburb. All the rest are in the suburbs. There was a Long John Silver's there but it closed down.
The closest Pizza Hut to where I used to live in Chicago is 19 miles. The one that was closer closed down years ago. But there are several local pizza places in the neighborhood. I lived on a far side of the city and it was actually closer for me to go to downtown Chicago and have some authentic deep dish than it was for me to drive 19 plus miles into a suburb for Pizza Hut. And I'm going to choose authentic Chicago deep dish over Pizza Hut.
Living in the south they are everywhere. I can drive only a couple of miles and find more than one McDonald's, Taco Bell, or Wendy's. I only ate at Wendy's once in my life in Chicago and someone brought it to me. I had no idea there was even a Wendy's there and couldn't tell you to this day where the nearest Wendy's is to my family home in Chicago. But I eat it regularly since moving to the south. It's everywhere here. If you want quick and cheap in the south, it's fast food chains. If you want quick and cheap in the midwest or the northeast, it's local mom n' pop restaurants.
We love our White Castle though. White Castle puts Krystal to shame lol.
Last edited by Atlanta_BD; 08-29-2014 at 02:16 PM..
Say what you will about fast food, but it serves it's purpose. I've found that on road trips nothing satisfies me quite like some garbage chain food. I guess that's mostly due to nostalgia though.
LOL there's something about Sonic cherry limeades that go really well with a road trip too!
The really weird thing is that I don't even particularly like (or dislike - I'm neutral) Starbucks. In fact, the ONLY time I even go to our local Starbucks is, for some reason, when I'm out Christmas shopping in December. It's like a little Christmas shopping tradition I guess. But get me out somewhere on a road trip and I'll definitely be pulling over to grab a latte at Starbucks, as if I couldn't go another mile without one. Makes no sense.
I can relate. As a Texan, we have FABULOUS Tex Mex food here. I can't remember the last time I ate at Taco Bell or On the Border. Local places are BEST.
But there are plenty of poor college students around here who rely on cheap Taco Bell food. Poor kids.
I haven't eaten at a Taco Bell or Del Taco in over 20 years. But I'll admit that when in Texas, I stop in to a Taco Cabana. I know it's fast food, but something about their food just seems a lot better. I like the salsa bar too
I can't speak for others when I say no posturing here. All these chains literally were not in or near anywhere I've lived in the city proper in Chicago. They were always far and out of the way. The ones that were in the city most of them closed down many, many years ago. The first time I ever ate at a Taco Bell was in a suburb somewhere. There were no Taco Bells to be found in my city neighborhood or anywhere near its immediate vicinity. There was a Long John Silver's there but it closed down.
We love our White Castle though. White Castle puts Krystal to shame lol.
Are you saying though that in Chicago's "city proper" there just aren't many chains of any sort? Because from what I can tell on Trip Advisor, Chicago's got plenty of chain restaurants.
As for White Castle vs Krystal - the burgers in both places taste exactly the same to me. Exactly. And to be honest, I don't care for either.
My husband, the quintessential Texan, had never had a burger from either place. So we were on a road trip somewhere in the mid Atlantic, and to be honest with you, I can't remember whether it was a White Castle or a Krystal we stopped at, but we stopped because I wanted to see what he thought of such odd little burgers. He literally took one bite, and threw the rest of the burger in the trash can! I thought that was a little extreme myself, but to each his own.
I haven't eaten at a Taco Bell or Del Taco in over 20 years. But I'll admit that when in Texas, I stop in to a Taco Cabana. I know it's fast food, but something about their food just seems a lot better. I like the salsa bar too
If you ever find yourself driving through the Longview/Tyler area (northeast Texas - gotta go through us to get to DFW!) then you really ought to check out Taqueria El Lugar. I think they have seven local locations now so maybe they're a "chain" but dang, they're good!
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