"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 21 Jul 2014 18:46:13 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> > wrote:
>
>> Is this sort of place becoming more common in your area?
>
> No, but I haven't moved to other nearby areas because of the generic
> "chain restaurant in a mall" concept.

Sadly that seems to be what is taking over this area. Reminds me of places
we saw on cross country moves. Pull off of the freeway at night and the sky
was all lit up with the neon signs of medicore motels and chain restaurants.
Sad.
>
>> Seems there are
>> very few places here any more where they do cooking from scratch. And
>> all
>> of the food seems the same from one place to the next.
>
> We ate in a historic downtown area in the Sierra foothills today. I
> ordered a burger & fries ($5 lunch special). The fries were
> fantastic, obviously cut on the premises and cooked just the way I
> asked: crispy. I do not like fries that have been "altered" but these
> came with a seasoning other than plain salt... OMG, so freeking good!
> No idea what the seasoning mix was (our waitress is his wife, but she
> says he won't tell her) but part of it was powdered chile (no heat).
> OTOH, although the burger was cooked the way I wanted - but I'd bet
> money it was a prefab, frozen burger before it went onto the grill.
> What a stark contrast between the burger and fries!

Perhaps if I ventured out a little further, I'd find better but I really
have no need to go anywhere. I should just be thankful that we do have some
good Mexican places.