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The Chain Rant


bilrus

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I don't know if it is still in place, but Evanston, Illinois used to have an unusual law governing fast food establishments. 24-hour "fast food" restaurants were prohibited; "fast food" was defined as food that was, on the customer's request, provided in a paper bag. (At least this was the common understanding of the law; I'm sure the statute/regulation was actually more complex than this.)

It didn't stop a 24-hour Burger King from operating. If you wanted an order to go at Burger King, they would give you your food on a tray and then hand you a bag.

I'm sure that caused a great deal of confusion among out-of-towners who didn't know the odd backstory.

Ah, Evanston, land of obscure legalities. Freshman year a friend of mine broke her arm and I remember her telling us that she went into BK and politely asked an employee to put her food in the bag since she couldn't do it herself, and he refused. She had to go find a stranger sitting down to their meal and ask them.

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Ah, Evanston, land of obscure legalities. Freshman year a friend of mine broke her arm and I remember her telling us that she went into BK and politely asked an employee to put her food in the bag since she couldn't do it herself, and he refused. She had to go find a stranger sitting down to their meal and ask them.
I hadn't thought of that place in years. Evanston also had extremely strict rules on bars that caused most of us to flee across the border to the PM club in Rogers Park.

Martha's Vineyard has a ban on fast food chains. However, once the council mistakenly approved a Subway because they didn't know it was a chain. People were very irate, but it was too late.

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This may be a growing trend as governments try to find ways to limit the spread of chains that may adversely impact the special character of the municipality. Similar ordinances exist in Bristol, RI, Bainbridge Island, WA, Carmel, Coronado, Sausalito, Solvang and Pacific Grove in CA, Sanibel, FL and York, ME. Here's more.

And then there are cities like Annapolis, which is allowing a Starbucks to go into the old King of France Tavern in the historic Maryland Inn. :)

As adverse as I am to chain restaurants, wouldn't the better solution be to simply let the local market determine whether or not such a place will stay in business? If enough people in "Historictown" don't want a Sizzler, then they won't patronize the place, and it will be forced to close its doors.

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As adverse as I am to chain restaurants, wouldn't the better solution be to simply let the local market determine whether or not such a place will stay in business? If enough people in "Historictown" don't want a Sizzler, then they won't patronize the place, and it will be forced to close its doors.

If small local places had nine-figure marketing budgets and the same acess to prime locations now reserved for chains, then "the market" would indeed a be fine place to duke it out. As it stands now, chains enter the competition with massive advantages. Not that I'm necessarily in support of local anti-chain ordinances, but recourse to "market solutions" is hardly the panacea it is sometimes thought to be.

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Personally I find it a shame that Chains are allowed to come into an area and locate in a prime spot. I think it's about time for the powers that be to look at how many chains are in a given area and when an independent is looking for a spot in a heavily chain saturated area they should get first crack!

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Personally I find it a shame that Chains are allowed to come into an area and locate in a prime spot. I think it's about time for the powers that be to look at how many chains are in a given area and when an independent is looking for a spot in a heavily chain saturated area they should get first crack!
Those silly market forces... :)
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Those silly market forces... :)

Let me see... the agribusiness empire os one of the largest contributors to the best government money can buy.... zoning laws favor huge develpoers (tax increment financing to major developers dwarfs all small business programs in the DC area)... food code is written by the paid toadies of the large food industry and is not scientificaly based (ie the use of plastic cutting boards is required in the model food code even though they are more costly and less clean than wood... ohhh I forgot, they are petrochemical products)... big business in the DC area is favored by the local tax code (ie the tax burden for the nationals first proposed would have small businesses like restaurants paying the same as huge car sales operations since the cap on revenue before the maximum tax was set so low).... ever try to get a group health care policy for 5 or 10 people?

yep all them market forces are really saying to the big guys you are exactly what the world wants. If the playing field were even close to level, then we could talk about market forces.

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Hey I can't spell... but I am a proud Liberal educated at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Economics. Markets are efficient given the cost of transactions (The complement to coase's Theorem) and politics is a market too!

[We're getting close to crossing the political boundary here - we haven't crossed it yet, but let's try not to. Cheers, Rocks.]

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Rocks, this is why we need a user's guide. Either that or JG has to share his own, updated, bad speller friendly version 'cause I have no clue where this is and Escoffier can tell you I need one :)
Let me take a stab at it:

Go to the "My Controls" in the upper right of the screen (second bar down, under the Help/Search/Members/Calendar bar). Click on it. That will open up a Menu bar on the left hand side of your screen. Look down that menu until you get to "Options" and click on "Board Settings." [with me so far?] That will open up a whole slew of options on the right, called "Welcome to your Control Panel." Scroll down to the very bottom to a section called "Posting Settings" and look at the last line where it asks for "Type of text editor to use when posting." You have two options. Chose "Rich Text Editor" et voila - the little icon with the check mark with the 'ABC' above it will show up in the bar above the reply box for your spell checking convenience.

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Nothing changes with safari and the spell checker thingy doesn't show up on Firefox (but some of the other stuff does) :)

You have set 'Rich Text Editor' as your editor but your browser isn't compatible with it. The standard editor has been used instead.
Edited by hillvalley
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Let me take a stab at it:

Go to the "My Controls" in the upper right of the screen (second bar down, under the Help/Search/Members/Calendar bar). Click on it. That will open up a Menu bar on the left hand side of your screen. Look down that menu until you get to "Options" and click on "Board Settings." [with me so far?] That will open up a whole slew of options on the right, called "Welcome to your Control Panel." Scroll down to the very bottom to a section called "Posting Settings" and look at the last line where it asks for "Type of text editor to use when posting." You have two options. Chose "Rich Text Editor" et voila - the little icon with the check mark with the 'ABC' above it will show up in the bar above the reply box for your spell checking convenience.

If I may be so bold, this shows clearly why computers remain NOT the way to do everything. I submit that keeping a small dictionary on your desk will be much easier and faster than this horror show. Of course, this assumes you didn't sleep through English class, which unfortunately is clearly not the case for far too many.

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Of course, this assumes you didn't sleep through English class, which unfortunately is clearly not the case for far too many.
English class is one thing, typing skill is quite another.

Another option is to type your message in a text editor such as Word or WordPerfect and then cut and paste your message into the rely screen. Most text editors have a spell check and grammer check function.

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I submit that keeping a small dictionary on your desk will be much easier and faster than this horror show.
Yes, but you assume the computer is sitting on a desk rather than propped up on a bathtub tray. :) Besides, why cut down all those trees to make dictionaries, and the shelves to put them on, when, with a click of a button, the whole dictionary pops up on the screen and then disappears again? Don't get me wrong; I have plenty of professional reference books, but spell check definitely has a place in this world.
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Nothing changes with safari and the spell checker thingy doesn't show up on Firefox (but some of the other stuff does) :)
The Google task bar has a spell checker that will spell check your replies and PMs. I do not know if it is available for Mac users. Also, iSpell.com has a downloadable spell checker. Again, I don't know if it works with Macs.
English class is one thing, typing skill is quite another.

Another option is to type your message in a text editor such as Word or WordPerfect and then cut and paste your message into the rely screen. Most text editors have a spell check and grammer check function.

Of course, none of these features are worth a damn unless you USE them. Also, there is not substitute for acutally reading your reply before you hit the post button. How many of us do THAT?
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Nothing changes with safari and the spell checker thingy doesn't show up on Firefox (but some of the other stuff does) :)

Don't cry! You can copy and paste your new post to and from Word like me. It's not so bad. Do you have MS Office for da mac? Don, welcome home. To stay on topic:

STARBUCKS SUCKS

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*$^%#^$@# Freakin speel check on the google bar using FireFox doesn't like Invision and it won't work. I am going to start handwriting all posts and tape them to my computer screen. Hopefully you will still be able to see them :)

Staying on topic: We need more Starbucks drive throughs

Any misspelled words are brought to you on behalf of sosueme and Steve Jobs

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I have a problem in that I'm a discerning diner, but my frugal friends choose chains over finer foods.

This means I'm likely to find myself at Olive Garden and Outback.

I hate to eat alone.

Whenever I suggest a restaurant for a random weeknight, everyone automatically assumes it's going to be too expensive, chastises me for trying to get them to spend a ton of money, or insists it's going to be too far of a drive, and refuses to go.

I'd like to disabuse them of their prejudices.

Who feels like compiling a guide for me?

"Top-Notch, Independent-Establishment Eating in DC and NoVA with Chain Convenience and Prices."

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Taqueria Poblano might fit the bill. Plus, it's got two locations so you can tell your friends that it's a chain.

This was my first thought, too.

How 'bout Evening Star or Rustico? A little pricier than chains, but still affordable, and "normal" enough so as not to frighten some of the less adventurous eaters.

The Carlyle in Shirlington?

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The Carlyle in Shirlington?

people who like chains will probably like it here. everybody, apparently, does. but it will cost you more and i know it's just dumb luck, but i stopped going there after finding curly hairs in my food a couple of visits in a row, towards the end of what i was eating. so this is a reservation i would have for people who can't see all that well and might not spot hairs in the food before it ends up in their mouth. also, they cook far more than i can eat.

for an adventure in territory that is fairly lower northwest (and a block from the metro), chain dwellers might get a kick out of etete. the prices are about as low as you can get, and even if they don't entirely like the food, they should appreciate the opportunity to eat with their hands.

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As a foodie you should know most of the places that serve good food at fair (chain) prices. Here are a few:

Mike's American Grill (Springfield)

Ray's the Steak ( Prices just a little above outback)

Bebbo (Prices may be lower than OG)

Colorodo Kitchen

Zataynia (SP)

Reston Kabob

Kabul Kabob

Delhi Club

There are many more places to name.

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How is this different from Arties, Silverado, or Carlyle? They are basically the same tired restaurants with the same tired food, from the same company. Oh, it must be that it is too delicate to get it to go.

I think the food is pretty good at these places. They have what may be the best service in the area,and great beer. It is a local chain, but the food is better that anything being put out by the Clydes group, or what you may find at outback or apple bees.

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I think the food is pretty good at these places. They have what may be the best service in the area,and great beer. It is a local chain, but the food is better that anything being put out by the Clydes group, or what you may find at outback or apple bees.
If you are using the bar of Outback or Applebee’s for judging whether the food is pretty good, you are setting it pretty low. But the premise behind the recipes used at Outback/Applebee’s/Great American Restaurant Group/Clyde’s is the same, only offer items on the menu that can be made by cooks with a fairly low skill level. GAR and Clyde’s just use slightly better ingredients than the first two, but the food is still one dimensional and very tired.
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Additional excellent ethnic eateries that won't be more expensive than Outhouse Steakback:

Tay Do or 4 Sisters in the Eden Center. 4 Sisters gets writeups from all the Food sections. I thought it was fine, but I'd had a better version of every dish we tried there elsewhere in the Eden Center. Tay Do is very new but has a modern interior that should put your friends at ease. Do NOT get the pho at Tay Do--the broth was cloudy and the noodles were obviously pre-cooked. Everything else there we've had in two visits was very good; they offer a huge hot pot at $30 that is easily enough to stuff 2-3 people. Once you break them into Vietnamese food, drag them into Viet Royale for the shaky beef or the caramel fish and a very good garden roll, or into the downscale but excellent Huong Viet for grilled meats and the garlic butter frog legs.

Korean: A number of the Annandale Korean places have upscale interiors with lots of nice wood and excellent food. Entrees are going to be in the Outback range ($14-21), but will come with soup and panchan, making the meal a bargain. Reassure your buddies that Korean food isn't always incendiary and stick to grilled meats, jap chae and hae-mul pajun (seafood pancake)the first time. 3 places that won't scare your buddies:

Hee Been (probably the easiest to reach given your location) just be sure to order from the menu and not from the buffet and consider having the meats grilled in the kitchen rather than at the table. If you can sucker your friends into it, the ojingo bulgoki (grilled squid) is a winner.

Sorak Garden: in the middle of the Annandale Koreatown area.

Yechon: Far western edge of Annandale, near 495. Our current favorite, open 24x7. The najki bokum (semi-incendiary stir-fried octopus) is a real treat.

Edited to mention that the najki bokum is hot. We find it only semi-incendiary, your mileage may vary.

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If you are using the bar of Outback or Applebee’s for judging whether the food is pretty good, you are setting it pretty low. But the premise behind the recipes used at Outback/Applebee’s/Great American Restaurant Group/Clyde’s is the same, only offer items on the menu that can be made by cooks with a fairly low skill level. GAR and Clyde’s just use slightly better ingredients than the first two, but the food is still one dimensional and very tired.
If you order a rib-eye at Outback, insist that they leave the awful seasoning off, and don't eat the salad or any sides, you can have a non-objectionable if not particularly good steak. The one time I ate at an Applebee's, what was on the plate didn't even seem like food. Years ago Clyde's wasn't too bad, but the last time I ate at one (the Tyson's one) about four years ago it was AWFUL, so awful that I really wouldn't dream of going back. My one visit to a GAR restaurant, Carlyle (back when it was "Grand"), left an impression of mediocre food and a sort of smug, aren't-we-with-it attitude that I detested.
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Years ago Clyde's wasn't too bad, but the last time I ate at one (the Tyson's one) about four years ago it was AWFUL, so awful that I really wouldn't dream of going back.
Clyde's is OK if you stick to the basics. I had a pre-shopping lunch at the Georgetown location a couple of weeks ago and it was not bad. Then again, it's hard to screw up a burger and a martini.

I mean, it's not great, but I wouldn't class it with Applebee's.

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If you order a rib-eye at Outback, insist that they leave the awful seasoning off, and don't eat the salad or any sides, you can have a non-objectionable if not particularly good steak.

Joe H clued me into the solution if one must find oneself at an Outback Mis-steak House. Their grilled fish with steamed veggies is actually very good. I tried it myself a few days ago and confirmed it. Better than I expected, even with Joe's enthusiastic recommendation (yes, THAT Joe H).

They seem to have several choices at any given time. They claim everything they serve (I assume that includes the fish) is fresh never frozen. I wanted Mahi, but then they claimed they were out of it so I settled for salmon, and it was really not bad at all. This was in Valdosta, Georgia, by the way.

I think Joe's original comments were in a post somewhere here on DR. Take it FWIW.

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Joe H clued me into the solution if one must find oneself at an Outback Mis-steak House. Their grilled fish with steamed veggies is actually very good. I tried it myself a few days ago and confirmed it. Better than I expected, even with Joe's enthusiastic recommendation (yes, THAT Joe H).

They seem to have several choices at any given time. They claim everything they serve (I assume that includes the fish) is fresh never frozen. I wanted Mahi, but then they claimed they were out of it so I settled for salmon, and it was really not bad at all. This was in Valdosta, Georgia, by the way.

I think Joe's original comments were in a post somewhere here on DR. Take it FWIW.

Actually, the first time I went to Outback I got the salmon. It was cooked just fine and gave rise to my dictum that "If you want good fish, go to a steakhouse." Of course I had eaten the Crab Imperial at the Prime Rib prior to this. :P
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There is some justice in this world. An article in Friday's Pittsburgh Business Journal "When coming here, some chains expect too much" details how hard it is for chains to realize their initial expansion projections [boo-hoo]. In Pittsburgh, they blame the roads and hilly terrain...

Brooks believed that retail brokers also had a direct interest in seeing higher-than-needed numbers of locations.

"The influx and turnover and exiting of a market by concepts really benefits brokers," said Brooks. "Because they're able to release properties and take another commission on the space two years later."

Such pressures are by no means unique to Pittsburgh, added Brooks, who said his own company can have lofty expansion plans that many other Qdoba franchisees struggle to meet.

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I was reminded again today that while most people complain about the amount of salt in the food at chain restaurants, what gets me is the sugar. While running errands at White Flint Mall today I remembered that I had forgotten to eat lunch. The options are all bad, but there was no time to make another trip somewhere else, so I settled for this, from the Cheesecake Factory:

THE CLUB

Freshly Roasted Turkey Breast, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Mayonnaise Served on White Toast

having been the victim of bad food enough to know that the club sandwich is probably the least offensive choice whether at a national chain or podunk diner. I was wrong. The bread was thick and candy-sweet, as was the mayo. Why? Corn subsidies? Whatever it was, it was disgusting AND cost me $12. Bleah. I wound up eating the turkey (fresh roasted my a**) and lettuce and leaving the rest.

(And what's the appeal of the cheesecake there? The different candy bars added?)

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I was reminded again today that while most people complain about the amount of salt in the food at chain restaurants, what gets me is the sugar. While running errands at White Flint Mall today I remembered that I had forgotten to eat lunch. The options are all bad, but there was no time to make another trip somewhere else, so I settled for this, from the Cheesecake Factory:having been the victim of bad food enough to know that the club sandwich is probably the least offensive choice whether at a national chain or podunk diner. I was wrong. The bread was thick and candy-sweet, as was the mayo. Why? Corn subsidies? Whatever it was, it was disgusting AND cost me $12. Bleah. I wound up eating the turkey (fresh roasted my a**) and lettuce and leaving the rest.

(And what's the appeal of the cheesecake there? The different candy bars added?)

Heather went to the Cheesecake Factory? Ha! (sorry) :lol:

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