Gripe/question about the Des Moines Metro (Hawkeye: living in, restaurant)

[aktanner]

Just curious, can you get a Maid-Rite burger in Des Moines?

[muman]

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

Some of this "If you like chain restaurants, your opinion is wrong" stuff is getting kind of weird. There's room for both, as long as Chipotle doesn't start using WalMart business practices. Personally I don't have anything against chains sometimes, but sometimes I like to eat at a more local, more unique place. To each their own.

My main gripe with the 'national chain restaurants' is that it's getting to the point where every town or city you go to is beginning to look like a carbon copy of the next. It seems that there has been a loss of local or regional identity, or uniqueness (is that a word?).

[Mercruiserdr]

The grass is always greener on the other side.
I wish I did not have to drive fifty miles to purchase a Burger King Whopper.

[Wi-Mo]

Originally Posted by aktanner

Just curious, can you get a Maid-Rite burger in Des Moines?

Just scanned the Maid-Rite website and DM locations, among others,
are under the "New Locations" button. A number of those are present
there.

[pepe1]

Originally Posted by aktanner

Just curious, can you get a Maid-Rite burger in Des Moines?

I don't recall seeing one within the city limits of Des Moines, but there are plenty of Maid-Rites in the suburbs...

[Cleverbeetle98]

As much as I hesitate to contribute to this thread - I can't resist being a vote for chains.

No, Olive Garden isn't particularly amazing Italian food. In our house we refer to it as American-Italian. Which is why I think it remains more popular among some people. I honestly don't know if most Americans were to go to Italy they would actually enjoy some of the same dishes - because we are used to the American version. Same goes for Mexican, ect.

I think it's also worth noting that I think the OP is also trying to point out that DM is a big enough city to support multiple chains as well as the mom and pop places. Sioux Falls was my main outlet to society for 4 years - and they could manange both duplicate chains and the unique. Location is a big factor. No, an OG might not make it w/in DM city limits. But another in the west/north suburbs may fare well. (Or I would rather see something we don't already have...but you get the idea)

Those are my 2 cents

[tiki7]

Thank you QuadCity and swmrbird!! Finally somebody who understands what I am talking about. There should be room for both in Des Moines, good God. I don't go to Sioux Falls as much anymore but I'm guessing that there are some local places there too as there is with Bloomington. We at at Buffa Louies one night there, which was local, modern and very good. I do know now WHY national chains are put off by our provincial attitudes here. I just wish they would realize that not everyone here feels so anti-chain. I'm sick of the waits (even though supposedly no one in their right mind eats at those places) and my feelings about my adopted home town have fallen a notch or two. I really thought that I had gotten away from provincialism when I moved here. Guess not.

I do understand the point about every city beginning to look like every other and don't necessarily like this. I travel enough to know that this is certainly the case in suburban areas and along interstates. Typically the downtowns retain more original looks and often are home to the local restaurants. Again, I think this is a good mix---that way we can ALL enjoy the food we want and my point originally was that Des Moines is big enough to offer MORE in terms of eating facilities than it has now. That maybe could include more local places as well as more chains, hopefully some of which we don't have.

[Persimmony]

WOW - What's with all of the responses that are like "who likes chain restaurants? who would want more?!?!"

... That's not what he was talking about. People .. face it, some restaurants have been so successful in their history that they have reached the corporate level of expansion. That is a good thing. If you want to go eat at more local eateries - fine, but there is NOTHING WRONG with eating at a corporate chain restaurant. Where does this mentality come from?

I can agree with you Tiki, I know exactly what you are saying in your original post.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by pepe1

I don't recall seeing one within the city limits of Des Moines, but there are plenty of Maid-Rites in the suburbs...

There's one in Southridge and one somewhere on the East Side. I believe there used to be one in the skywalk/Kaleidoscope but I'm not sure if it's still there. Oh, there's also one on SW 9th across from Wendy's.

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by tiki7

. I do know now WHY national chains are put off by our provincial attitudes here. I just wish they would realize that not everyone here feels so anti-chain. I'm sick of the waits (even though supposedly no one in their right mind eats at those places) and my feelings about my adopted home town have fallen a notch or two. I really thought that I had gotten away from provincialism when I moved here. Guess not.

You're put off by Des Moines because there are some people on this forum who aren't into chain restaurants? No one said that no one eats at chain restaurants. I still scoff at the idea of an Olive Garden in Des Moines though.

Chain restaurants just really don't do anything for me. If there were some good ones, I would go. I'd rather go to the Drake Diner for a burger than go clear across town to Fuddrucker's. I'd prefer to eat at Baratta's or Tumea's and get great food from people intertwined with my community way before I'd want to go to Olive Garden for unlimited breadsticks and soup. I'd rather have souvlaki from Olympic Flame or croques madames from Django than go to TGIFriday's. I'd prefer steak deburgo from Gino's over a trip to Outback for a steak and a bloomin' onion. You get the picture.


There is one chain I do like - the restaurants owned by the people who do the Machine Shed and Johnny's Steakhouse. Both are pretty sweet.