So much good food that I don't have access to, as for whatever reason, the chain does not have a local facility.
1. Panda express. When i lived in Nevada, I once ate there every day sometimes twice a day for a solid month.
2. Red Robyn. Good burgers and endless baskets of seasoned fries? Count me in.
3. Steak and Shake. Great small fries, excellent shakes and tasty burgers. I once drove 200 miles roundtrip to get a bag of burgers for my wife. That store has now closed. Gas was 1.10 back then.
Rubios - Home of the fish taco. LOVE that place.
Just because it isn't "authentic" or better than places that are, it "sucks?" Puh-leeze. Take your snobbery elsewhere. Show me a similar national chain selling better authentic Mexican food. I'm listening.
Within a 25 minute drive, there are a grand total of 1 chain restaurants - McDonalds. And, I don't eat there. And, I couldn't name a single chain that I would want easier access to. Within that same 25 minute drive, there are numerous smaller hole in the wall types of restaurants. Pretty much all of them have great food, higher quality food than most chain restaurants, and quite often, far better value. For $5, I can get a monster sized cheeseburger, made with *real* cheese, not that American processed cheese crap, a huge plate of fries, pickle, tomato, etc. - all I can eat.
For breakfast, I could go to Spragues - if most of you ate a breakfast (or many of their dinners), you'd WISH it was a chain restaurant and available locally for you. They raise their own free-range turkeys - their turkey dinners are awesome. They're one of the largest maple syrup producers in the area. With breakfasts, you get unlimited pancakes - and they have many types available - all with REAL maple syrup, not that HFCS flavored crap. And, it's cheap.
To put it simply, why the fuck would I want a Pancake house, waffle house, or other such monstrosity to compete with a place like this. Ditto more fast food burger joints competing with the mom&pop places (who, given the smaller population in this region, would likely not be able to survive such competition, despite having better food & prices.) And, I certainly don't want a Red Lobster competing with my "home of the 1 pound lobster tail."
We have guests from other states/more civilized parts of this state, and I always hear them raving about how much better the food is in these types of restaurants & how they wish they had restaurants like these in their area instead of all the chains.
mmmm bojangles, i went there for dinner. when i lived in kansas for a year and came home finally...that was the first place i went when we landed. seasoned fries, fried chicken biscuit, and SWEET FUCKING TEA!Being in Orange County, CA, I really miss Shake Shack from New York and Bojangles from North Carolina. Best burgers and fried chicken to have come out of any fast food joint in my experience, which is pretty high considering CA is still the burger mecca of the world
I'm not a food snob by any means, but I am sincere when I say that I have zero desire for any type of chain fast food or junk food at all. It's probably the way I eat and exercise, but it's such I nice feeling to not have cravings for grease and sugar.
I wish there was a Schlotzsky's here. I used to live on their muffuletta sandwiches when I was in Texas.
So, anyone interested in swapping food via overnight delivery?
I have the following around me that was mentioned in this thread:
McAlisters deli
Krispy Kreme
Chic filet
Sonics
Buffalo Wild Wings
Five guys
Bojangles
Dunkin Donuts
I'm interested in a party tray of Orange Chicken from Panda Express. This will likely require a foam cooler and dry ice, but to get some food that you don't usually have access to would make it worthwhile.
But do you have a desire for local joints? It's not like local restaurants are that different from chains.
As someone who lives relatively close to you in a "civilized" part of the state you have to bear in mind that this is not the norm at all. I don't go out much to eat but five bucks won't get you shit even at a hole in the wall as you move further into the farming areas
In-and-Out
also, I want Nando's! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nando's
I had it in UK, it was so good. they only have restaurant in the DC area.
Seriously? I can name at least half a dozen places that have a 25 cent wing night. And every one of them puts hooters, wings and things, etc., to shame. I think all of the 25 cent wing night places are in bar/restaurants and don't offer take-out on the wings. But, I can only think of one bar that charges more than $3 for a beer. Most are $2 or $2.50 for a bottle.
Steak 'n' Shake fries taste like canned potato sticks. You know... like bits of potato chips instead of fries.