Fastfoodism: progression or needless snobbery?

i don't get what you're asking here.

Mackro Mackro - Probing Seattle's Psyche Since 2008.

I'm asking if it's possible for a city to have too few fast food restaurants.. not so much in the context of fast food chainist kids like described above (although it was a great excuse to tell this story), but in general.

sorry, too few fast food restaurant chains.

Fast food restaurant chains are notably sparse in Paris, compared to most other major cities. This generates a certain amount of complaint from families such as the one you described above. Yet no lasting harm seems to ensue.

not that sparse... there's like a quick every couple of blocks! plus plenty of "mcdo."

Great thread

THere are quite a lot of Mc do in Paris. And quicks too. I have 2 Mcdonalds less than 10mn walk from where i live so its not like they are too far and few.

Well, the one thing that stuck out when I was in Australia and NZ was that there are tons of McDonald's there, but most of them are compact "McCafe's" that blend in well with all the other city center retail establishments. McDonald's kinda took the Starbuck's approach down under. When I came back, I wondered why McD's hasn't thought of doing the same in the U.S. yet.

McDonald's just.. doesn't work in Seattle. There are a couple in downtown, but they are magnets for "the kids" in town, and of course being kids, they're all flashy and loud and can be annoying to people much more used to eating in A-frame fast food places in dedicated strip malls in more suburban places. I'm not shedding tears here, either way.

McDonalds has so many great items on their menu, for an equally great value. At a McDonalds restaurant, you can get the classic Big Mac hamburger, a quarter-pounder all-beef hamburger (with or without cheese, your choice), world-famous hot and crispy french fries, all-white meat Chicken McNuggets, ice cream sundaes with a topping of your choosing, all kinds of flavors of ice cold soda pop from the fountain, fish filets fried in a delicious batter, fried apple pies, you name it! All sorts of temporary special items too like the McRib and the Snack Wrap that are great reasons to drop by and see what's new. Plus, kids love the play place, that goes without saying. I think they're a great restaurant personally -- an American classic for a reason. ;)

Thanks, Bobby Flay.

Naaaaah, s'all about The King.

I am trying to break my fast food addiction

Since I live where fast food franchises have all but put purveyors of real food out of business, I have negative sympathy for that little brat. Let him cry himself to sleep tonight dreaming of McNuggets.

MOM: We're not going to go to THAT McDonald's! You mean with the one with all the drug dealers and hoodlums? (note to ILX: MOM is kinda right with that latter description)

lulz, so right. That said, it's also one of the few publicly-available bathrooms downtown...as long as you don't look like a crackhead or homeless the guard will buzz you in. So I'm rather fond of it, actually.

I don't think there is a McDonald's in the U District. I know there is a Jack in the Box down the Ave, near 50th or so.

does seattle have lots of mom n pop fast food - whats good there?

Fast food restaurant chains are notably sparse in Paris
yeah, is you tweakin? i've never seen mcdonalds more perpetually mobbed than in paris. but it is a lot tastier there. i guess they have higher meat standards or whatevs.

so i really really really love food. "good" food, "authentic" food, etc. that said, i fucking love fast food. popeyes (not kfc though), mcdonalds, in and out, wendy's, hot dog stands, love 'em all. i remember seeing one of those surveys of food writers for NY Magazine - something like what their last meal on earth would be. Most were like Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, Alain Ducasse, etc - but one food critic was like "a bucket of popeye's". i instantly fell in love and wrote him a fan letter.

anyways, i hate people who go "oh ewww, i never eat fast food. mcdonalds is the ultimate in globalizing corporationality cultural-bombing multinationalizationality blah blah blah". bitch it taste good though. i feel sorry for seattle.

Downtown has tons of cheaper fast food places open during the weekday daytimes for those working.. so not so much mom n pop at the time. I think Mom, Pop, & Kids usually just get whatever is at Pike Place market or Seattle Center on the weekends.

Thing is: the places that look very fast-foodey in the traditional sense, like Kidd Valley or Red Mill, aren't any cheaper than the sit-down places, even though both places will serve better than average burgers, fries, and shakes if you're into that.

Food in general isn't cheap here, but there are places you can get under-five-bucks meals that are ginormous, like the curry & rice specials at Cafe Zum Zum.

fried apple pies, you name it!

unfortunately, mcdonalds no longer fries the apple pies, except in a few lucky select locations. they're now BAKED, ugh! but here is a list of worldwide locations that are either confirmed or rumored to still be serving fried apple pies. mostly in japan, nicaragua, and etc

Fried Apple Pie List!

Well, I danced around it, but now it's time

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/2/1355556_f3f51a5e8e.jpg?v=0
http://www.seattlewaterfront.org/images/businessPictures/large/20070709113846.jpg
http://www.saskatoonmarketmall.com/mall_directory/stores/food_court_restaurants/images/taco_time.jpg

That's pretty much fast food in Seattle in every sense, and may be the reason the city is not a fast food kinda town, lol.

There's been pho shops all over the last 2 neighborhoods we've lived in - bahn mi for <$5. Meesum Pastry has a couple outlets for humbow now, including one in the U-District. Local and fast for me is Med Mix (falafel/gyros/cream cheese bagel dogs), just downstairs. There's also a Quizno's on the corner and a Jimmy John's across the street. Oh, and there's a McDonald's within three blocks (at the ferry terminal). For burgers and fries and shakes though, Seattle has Dick's.

But if a kid wants McDonald's, he wants McDonald's and that is that.

Ivar's Acres of Clams???

embrace the clamage, phil. lol.

that sounds awesome! where is it?

o jeez seattle step up yr fast food game bro

Ivar's are sorta everywhere here.. especially by the waterfront.

THey are all over the place phil-two. Every mall, as well as lots of freestanding ones. Walk down the waterfront when you visit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivar's

is it good? i have a few days in seattle in august. want to eat lots of seafood, though i guess i wont be having filet-o-fish :(

or is it glorified long john silvers (which i also love)

There's an Ivars walkup fish bar at the south end of the waterfront, and an Anthony's walkup fish bar at the north end (sculpture garden end). There's better fish places, but neither are bad.

I especially like Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar, in the Pike Place market.

Ivar's is better than LJS.

im just not finding acres of clams to be an appealing tagline

Don't forget Herfy's Burgers

http://www.yelp.com/biz/herfys-burgers-renton

Phil, there's a couple of McD's in downtown! So you can have ur filet o fish, but you just have to put on your hoodlum-filtering shades on. lol.

i thought it said ivars ACE OF CLAMS

I do think TacoTime is 100% indefensible though... unless you like sunflower seeds and crunchy refried beans in your burrito.

herfys taco time dicks wtf seattle learn naming

http://postbulletin.typepad.com/kiger/images/2007/04/06/tacodelmar.jpg

Taco Del Mar is my favorite...they don't have them anymore but their shrimp tacos with white sauce were to die for. I used to go to Chipotle for lunch when I went to UW but then I discovered TDM which was cheaper and tastier and never looked back. Plus there are at least three TDMs downtown (convention center, Westlake, by the Greyhound depot).

I'm literally drooling now...dammit I am on a diet now, this is bad.

TDM is the least tantalizing yet least offensive Mexican I've ever had. I guess it serves exactly that purpose.

No wait, i forgot about Gordito's! Man, that place is sooo overrated. Best value for your Mexican food without a doubt, and it's healthier and all that, but man, sooo dilute in flavor.

im just not finding acres of clams to be an appealing tagline

Twas part of the chorus of an old comical song about the Puget Sound area. At one time, for the target audience of locals, it would have telegraphed the idea of FUN FAMILY DINING.

Ivar's was founded in 1938 by Seattle folk singer Ivar Haglund. Having built Seattle's first aquarium on what is now Pier 54, he decided to add a companion fish and chips bar to feed his visitors. The bar was short-lived, however. On July 22, 1946, Haglund opened a new restaurant, Ivar's Acres of Clams, at the same location. The aquarium closed ten years later, but the restaurant remains.

lol Taco Time

The interesting thing this thread brings up for me is how people come to identify with a certain kind of fast food and consequently come to find other kinds of fast food (or simply other chains) "repulsive" or "worse value" or "lacking ambience" or whatever. I don't have a clue how all this gets worked out. For example I love Wendy's so much but would rather go hungry than eat Burger King. It's all the same food, really.

that said, i heard about the hipster taco place Taco Gringo, which was described to me once as a "freak folk taco joint". ugh.

UGH

http://www.yelp.com/biz/taco-gringos-seattle

The interesting thing this thread brings up for me is how people come to identify with a certain kind of fast food and consequently come to find other kinds of fast food (or simply other chains) "repulsive" or "worse value" or "lacking ambience" or whatever. I don't have a clue how all this gets worked out. For example I love Wendy's so much but would rather go hungry than eat Burger King. It's all the same food, really.

So wrong! KFC couldn't even dreeeaam of carrying Popeye's jockstrap.

xp - And now Taco Gringos is booming because the one Taco Bell nearby closed.

FASTFOODISM

now i got De La Soul' "bitties in the BK lounge" stuck in my head..

shoshanna got a real job, dag don't you know?