Originally Posted by stut
Isn't the UK going this way too, though? In London and perhaps the larger cities, then yes, you do get the chains, but they are just another option among many. For the rest of the country, though, you can expect a selection from Pizza Express, Strada, Ask, La Tasca, Frankie & Benny's, Prezzo, Harry Ramsden's, Old Orleans, Nando's, Aroma, Caffe Uno, Cafe Pasta, Cafe Rouge, Chez Gerard, Loch Fyne, Chiquitos...
On it's way but oh so far to go.
UK v
USA
I don't think Europeans (or Australians) are any more "adventurous" outside of big cities than Americans (drive to any Australian country town and I can guarantee the local RSL Club with have a Chinese restaurant with a name like Jade/Lotus/Peacock/Mermaid Garden), but IME in Europe decent food can be had in non-chains for cheaper than chain prices whereas in the US the reverse tends to be true. Also portion sizes don't tend to be as important in many European countries.
I also think chains, in the UK at least, do a very good job of hiding the fact they are a chain. Sort of like
this v
this.
Originally Posted by stut
One thing is interesting in the UK, though, and that's that there's very little in the way of Indian (or Pakistani/Bangladeshi) chain food (other than Wetherspoons curry night ) - I'm not sure what's behind that, exactly. Italian food, however, is hugely bechained.
It could just be that some cuisines are more easily detuned for a mass market. Anything with lots of cheese always works well, hence tex-mex, pizza etc. Stewey type food, which is very much what curries are, never seem to do that well.
Originally Posted by lancebanyon
One of my favorite steak restaurants in the world just happens to be an hour away and is Polish owned and operated.
Slightly OT, but I was pretty impressed by the quality of meat available in Poland. I was there on and off for about 4 or 5 months for work. The steaks were cheap and the quality was much better than I imagined.