Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Francesca's started off as a local restaurant in Chicago then expanded.
All chains started off as a local restaurant and then expanded.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Love me some diet Cherry Limeades from Sonic.
OMG, is Sonic the best place to go on a hot, humid day or what?? Oh, and those limeades are really good with some rum splashed in after you get home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ABQConvict
Most people who like interesting food that reflects the community and supports their neighbors eat at locally owned restaurants and dislike fast food.
Your neighbors work at fast food joints.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
And to top it off, some people are self confident and comfortable enough with themselves and their choices that they don't care whether others look down on them for occasionally enjoying a meal from (gasp) THE DREADED CHAIN RESTAURANT.
LOL
Quote:
Originally Posted by rorytmeadows
It is actually possible to like fast food AND love quality food from local eateries. BOOM. YOUR MIND IS BLOWN!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese plate
Remember the "Pasta Hut" ads where they served people Pizza Hut pasta at a (supposed) fine dining establishment and some rubes were "fooled?"
Pizza Hut used to have good pasta, many many years ago.
Nevertheless, the Sysco and other food service trucks pull up to the rear of many an independent restaurant. It seems more than just the "rubes" are fooled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese plate
And obviously, White Castle is gross.
Heresy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8to32characters
People don't really eat at chains in much of California, except In-N-Out on occasion. Ditto Pacific Northwest and Northeast.
I wonder why there are so many chains in those areas, then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by rorytmeadows
They are definitely weird places. Half country bumpkin weird gift shop, half 95% wooden diner. Making their way North nowadays.
Cracker Barrel is in 42 states. I think it's already made it north, south, east and west.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
Honestly, all people have to do is go to the restaurants' website and look up the locations. It's not all that difficult NOT to make erroneous claims.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nei
What's a Culver's? Never seen Chick Fil A, either.
Ohhhh, honey .... Dare I say it? You need to get out more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415
Why do you think that the other foods you listed are exclusive to a region but good Italian food cannot be?
Because there are people of Italian heritage all over the country, and some of them open up restaurants. My cousin in Phoenix owns an Italian restaurant. He learned everything he knows from our grandmother, who emigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. His food is just as authentically Italian as anything in New Jersey (where, I might add, I've had the blandest Italian food ever tasted).
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415
Then I believe you would be missing out, if your aim wasn't to visit a local pizzeria in NY or NJ that's been there for generations and probably makes the best pizza you'd ever had.
Greasy, floppy pizza would never be the best I'd ever had.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415
Then there is absolutely no difference in BBQ either, between the north and south, or any other type of food anywhere, if you want to make that claim.
Actually, there are huge regional differences in barbecue. Educate yourself.
I don't understand why anyone is trying to deny this, while at the same time claiming that certain foods ARE better in the south.
I don't know if you are deliberately misunderstanding or what...We aren't saying those foods are better in the south but that they were (until very recently) almost exclusive to the south. The same cannot be said of Italian food, restaurants in particular. EVERY city I've lived in, even the smallest ones, I could name a dozen or more Italian restaurants off the top of my head, some chains, mostly local mom and pops. OTOH it's a little harder to go outside the south and ask a local for a list restaurants that serve up grits for breakfast, sweet tea all day, sides of fried okra or fried green tomatoes. Just like I can't walk into many restaurants here and get fresh clam chowder or other seafood specialties, or cheese curds, or bagels and lox.
Because there are people of Italian heritage all over the country, and some of them open up restaurants. My cousin in Phoenix owns an Italian restaurant. He learned everything he knows from our grandmother, who emigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. His food is just as authentically Italian as anything in New Jersey (where, I might add, I've had the blandest Italian food ever tasted).
Greasy, floppy pizza would never be the best I'd ever had.
Actually, there are huge regional differences in barbecue. Educate yourself.
Just like people from the South move north and open "southern food" places elsewhere. It works both ways, if you (or anyone) claim that's how it works.
But the region with BY FAR the most Italian people is the Northeast - specifically NJ, CT, RI, and NY. These states do it better, and have it on a much larger scale which makes for consistently better food, as well. Just like southern food can be found anywhere, but the south does it better. Certain areas have perfected certain types of food based on immigration patterns and numbers. Come to my NJ town - you'll find an overwhelming number of Italian places, from restaurants to delis to Italian-American clubs, compared to any other ethnic group. It doesn't even come close. This is how it is for a lot of suburban NJ, and cities still have a lot of old Italian places too even though demographics have changed.
Greasy, floppy pizza? Not sure where you went. Not every single place has great food, though. It's not as if every single restaurant you set foot into is like Italian heaven just because it's the Northeast. But most places do, and since there is such a large concentrations of Italian/pizza places around here, you can definitely find one you like. This is the food we do best, and we do it better than anyone else in the country as a whole. We have for a good century now.
Of course there are regional differences in barbecue, that was kind of my point. There are also regional differences in Italian food. What I have been saying is, if BBQ is so much better in the south, then why can't Italian be so much better in the north? For some reason, some people don't want this to be true. You can't have it both ways. You can't say that the South is better at BBQ but is totally equal to the North at Italian. It's either there are regional differences, making one overall better for each, or they're all equal since people move around the country and open places with their ethnic influence everywhere.
Ohhhh, honey .... Dare I say it? You need to get out more.
There's a Chic' Fil A about 15 miles from me, off a highway exit full of lots of chains and big box stores. Only go there occasionally, maybe I should make a stop at the Chic Fil A. I often get chicken sandwiches at Wendy's, is Chic Fil A any better?
Quote:
Because there are people of Italian heritage all over the country, and some of them open up restaurants. My cousin in Phoenix owns an Italian restaurant. He learned everything he knows from our grandmother, who emigrated from Italy in the early 1900s. His food is just as authentically Italian as anything in New Jersey (where, I might add, I've had the blandest Italian food ever tasted).
Greasy, floppy pizza would never be the best I'd ever had.
Plenty of good pizza and Italian food there, yes some of the local places are mediocre. Pizza is supposed to be floppy. I'll admit NY pizza can be on the greasy side, but it's not as obvious on the better kind.
But the region with BY FAR the most Italian people is the Northeast - specifically NJ, CT, RI, and NY. These states do it better, and have it on a much larger scale which makes for consistently better food, as well.
Quantity does not equal quality. My cousin's Italian restaurant is no less authentic just because it's in Arizona.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nei
I often get chicken sandwiches at Wendy's, is Chic Fil A any better?
I dunno, I've never eaten there! Kinda doubt it's worth a special trip though.
There's one around the corner from me (of course there is; I live in the 'burbs, after all ); maybe we should both try it and report back. Remember, they're not open Sundays.
I don't know if you are deliberately misunderstanding or what...We aren't saying those foods are better in the south but that they were (until very recently) almost exclusive to the south. The same cannot be said of Italian food, restaurants in particular. EVERY city I've lived in, even the smallest ones, I could name a dozen or more Italian restaurants off the top of my head, some chains, mostly local mom and pops. OTOH it's a little harder to go outside the south and ask a local for a list restaurants that serve up grits for breakfast, sweet tea all day, sides of fried okra or fried green tomatoes. Just like I can't walk into many restaurants here and get fresh clam chowder or other seafood specialties, or cheese curds, or bagels and lox.
I'm not saying that Italian food is exclusive to the north - I'm saying it's better in the north(east, really).
Southern foods probably are better in the south, generally speaking, on a larger scale. You can come to NYC and find a great Southern place, but NYC is known for pizza and bagels so that's what you'll probably eat if you go there and want to be a typical tourist, and that's the food you'll find to be the best on a consistent basis. You can go to Georgia and find great Italian at a place, but that doesn't mean it's the norm or that Italian food is one of the more common foods in GA or in that specific area, doesn't mean it's a food that GA or the south is known for doing best.
You can find any type of good food anywhere, but one region may do it best based, again, on immigration patterns and ethnic demographics, and even history.
There's a Chic' Fil A about 15 miles from me, off a highway exit full of lots of chains and big box stores. Only go there occasionally, maybe I should make a stop at the Chic Fil A. I often get chicken sandwiches at Wendy's, is Chic Fil A any better?
Oh definitely. You need to check it out as soon as you can. It's THEE chicken sandwich, when it comes to chains. So good. If you like the spicy chicken from Wendy's, they have a spicier one at Chick.
Quantity does not equal quality. My cousin's Italian restaurant is no less authentic just because it's in Arizona.
Sure, but most places in areas with few Italian-Americans aren't as authentic. I found a higher portion of mediocre (and at least inauthentic) ones in say, the rural west. And if the quantity is fewer there's probably fewer good places.
I remember San Francisco had Mexican places like Long Island has Italian places. Not all of the San Francisco places were great, but they were plenty of very good ones. When taking a road trip out to northern NH, I stopped at a Mexican restaurant. It was bad...
Quantity does not equal quality. My cousin's Italian restaurant is no less authentic just because it's in Arizona.
No, it's not any less authentic. But you'd probably be hard pressed to find another place just like your cousin's in the area, while in NJ or NY you could find a bunch because this is probably the most popular, typical type of ethnic food based on this area's culture and history.
NYC isn't exactly teeming with Southern style BBQ places but it does have some good ones here and there. AZ isn't teeming with Italian places like NJ is because the culture is different. I don't think some people understand the scale of Italian places in this area. There are a lot, from pizzerias to restaurants to delis to gelato places to Italian American clubs. And as time goes on, we're actually losing this identity as more people mix and move. When my parents and grandparents were growing up in NJ, Italian culture was even more prominent than it is now. Whole neighborhoods of NJ's cities were Italian, where every single business was Italian related and everyone spoke Italian. Not anymore. Arizona NEVER had this like NJ or NY did. And it shows in overall food quality AND quantity compared to the Northeast, where Italian-Americans live in very high numbers, the highest in the country.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Never seen Chick Fil A, either.
Kinda doubt it's worth a special trip though.
