pinworm

Fear. Fear of something unfamiliar. People want the same thing wherever they go..that's also why you see so many Americans at McDonalds abroad.

That, and most of the places we live in the US..in so called "developments" in the exurbs, have ONLY chain restraunts and nearly no mom n pop ones.

ChinaShrek

One thing that has not been mentioned is that in rural areas chain restaurants are considered what is hip and cool in the rest of America. For example, I often go to Olive Garden because it is a slice of modernity in Maine. It makes me feel like I am connecting with what is going on in Boston, NYC, or LA. It makes me feel good.

kevincrumbs

My parents live in suburban Dayton, Ohio and for the most part, it is just chain restaurant after chain restaurant there. It gets to a point that when I'm visiting, I sometimes have difficultly telling which is which as some of the chains are regional.

I think it's a combination of everything people have said here. Familiarity, fear, consistency, price, etc. Getting back to this suburb, I know that one of the reasons why my parents invariably end up at a chain restaurant when dining out is because there simply is not really anything else available. All of the non-chain restaurants I can think of in their area are either "ethnic" (Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese etc.) or, ironically, expensive places that are for special occasions. Outside of PF Chang's, no US chain has been able to do "ethnic" sit down food profitably, which is why a lot of those foods, even in the suburban Midwest, remain non-chain restaurants. The expensive, special occasion places are usually restaurants that have been in the area for decades and have become locally renowned.

I just think that's it's really, really difficult to establish a non-chain restaurant in some parts of the US. Sure, someone might try it once but when chain restaurants can sell at lower prices, people will usually go back to the chain restaurants after trying the new, local place once or twice.

Last comment, before anyone makes any jabs, is that my parents aren't foodies or anything, nor are they uncultured slobs who don't know any better. We certainly eat well when I have been overseas with them and they know their stuff but it's just that when in the suburban Midwest, I don't think they find it's worth their while to drive across town, spend more money than they would and find that the food wasn't that much better than Chili's/TGIF/whatever.

bensyd

The sad thing is that before the chains came in and killed any local restaurants there was probably some great restaurants that showed the regional variation of food in America.

Ichinensei

I think it is because there are a lot of boring people. They don't know/unwilling or too "shy" to try other cuisines so they keep going back to all these chain places. They're not cheap either. I can't stand paying $19.99 for a steak with fries on the side when I know the restaurant is making a lot of money out of it. You can get 10lb bag of potaotes for 99cents so basically you are paying $19.99 for a steak that you can get for about less than half that at the supermarket and is it really that hard to grill a steak? In recent years though, I've noticed more and more people in "ethnic" cuisines. There are definitely more non-asians in Chinese restaurants now. In the past, a lot of people buy American cars, then they got smart and bought Japanese cars. One day, more people will get smart and refuse to get rip off anymore and eat at Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants. More flavour, cheaper and you don;t have to deal with the attitude and tips.

Italy98

An uneducated palate or fear of the unknown. Some diners won't accept or don't realize that cooked to order seasonally available dishes cost more.

I am the adventurous type (thanks to 21 years in the Army) while Mrs. Italy, who is from the Midwest and while more steak and potatoes, is slowly introducing her taste buds to various ethnic dishes.

I view the chains as related to wal-mart. When a wal-mart opens the mom and pop stores in the surrounding area eventually close. A chain restaurant has a large family to draw from where the small, local restaurant doesn't have that financial backing or the ability to compete financially. In the five years living in the GNV area we have lost count of the restaurants which open then close or change name. Besides the local ones just mentioned, there are three chain and five fast food locations that closed within the last year.

BamaVol

If I can base my opinion on what remains, there were some nasty local restaurants that the chains put out of business.

deniah

I work in the oil industry with many "middle americans" to whom sushi is too "exotic".

bensyd

To be fair sushi is quite a particular taste if you don't like raw fish well then you won't like 95% of sushi. What I was getting at was if most of us here on FT saw a local Italian trattoria and on the other side of the street was an Olive Garden, then we'd probably take the Olive Garden. At some point middle America appears to have said nup I'll take the chain.

I think from what I have read here the most likely explanation is that in many smaller cities good food was hard to find, so while TGI's etc may have been nothing special in the big cities it was refreshingly different from the bad Chinese restaurant or diner and they gave big portions at good prices. So people started going to chains and then they just got comfortable with it so they never went back.

missydarlin

I think sometimes people aren't necessarily afraid as much just not inclined to experiment in certain situations.

I know my own city, and I know where to get good food. I know the names of the chefs at my favorite restaurants and I could probably tell you which flight the copper river salmon I'm eating came down from Cordova on.

However, I have hungry teenage boys, and a budget. Quantity matters to them. Its not worth the price premium to fill their hollow legs at a local place when I can take them to Old Country Buffet or Cheesecake factory. They get to eat to their hearts content, I'm happy cuz they got some salad in them..which they wouldn't do at McDonalds, the eating out budget doesn't take a huge hit...and there might even a doggie bag for when they are inevitably hungry an hour later.

Also, when I'm somewhere else, if I've had a long day, and I'm hungry, I may not necessarily have the time or inclination to read through reviews of the best non chain places. And since some chains are regional.. I might not even know it was a chain. So in lieu of the possibility of really crappy food, brand recognition and proximity is going to win.

harper99

Lots of food snobs here I see.

You are not 'better' or 'more interesting' because of your diet...I assure you.

"boring"..."uneducated"...give me a break.

john93711

FWIW Fresno has many great locally-owned restaurants from excellent hole-in-the-wall taco stands to fine dining.

Please PM if you need assistance locating a better restaurant next time you visit.

You want to go where?

I don't know if your statement that FT'ers would take the Olive Garden is true or not. I do understand that people may prefer to choose Olive Garden because it is a known choice. They would prefer the known mediocre to the risk of better or worse. Another aspect is that many equate portion size to value, which is something that chains excel at, although, most Americans would do better to restrict their portion size as much as possible (I include myself in the group who needs to restrict portion sizes, although not in the group that equates portion size with value).

For me, my sit-down chain experiences have, by and large, been bad, so I tend to avoid them and seek out the ethnic places if no other choices are available. I went to Olive Garden once several years ago. I have never returned. One recent outing to a chain restaurant in an area where there was little other choice really left me wondering. It was one of the top-rated places on Tripadvisor for this area. I hate to think what the other places were like if this was considered good.

Traveltalker

Although I have to go along with many comments about most of the chains, I think I am able to be a little softer on some of them. Why?

My husband and I enjoy fine dining and indulge fairly often. So, I'm talking about expensive dinners. Most of the time, the food is really good, though I have to say that my husband makes a mean steak that is kind of hard to beat. And we can go and have an excellent chopped salad. But I can make a salad with the best of them. If we have potatoes, they are excellent, though potatoes aren't hard to make in my opinion. So I am not sure that it is worth all that money to many people to have dinner out, even though they enjoy getting out and the food may be delicious. They may just not be interested in dropping $200 for one meal for two people. Or they may not be able to afford it.

So, I don't think it's worth all the little drama being shared here. I haven't been to an Olive Garden since shortly after they opened. I've never been to Old Country Buffet or a Cheesecake Factory. I have been to McDonald's and will say they are a plus in today's world. Although I only go 1-2 times a year because of the fat content. When you have had a long day and all of a sudden you realize what time it is and home is still 45 - 60 minutes away, one of their burgers tastes great. Same thing with Friday's and Applebee's- although they are not all created alike. I wouldn't order pizza from Domino's or Pizza Hut if I was starving to death. Also, not everyone lives where there is a huge load of restaurants that aren't chains.

slawecki

1. americans are real suckers for advertising. and chains do some serious advertising.

2. "better" or "fine" dining is a relatively new thing in the us. perhaps there was find dining in the 50's in nyc or sanfransisco, but other than that, not much.

3. no outstanding food for preparation and no cook books to work from.

any french was really basic. italian was southern tomato italian. chinese was mostly basic cantonese. the greek was real.

there were very few ethnic pockets back then that had brought cooking over from "old country"

my experiences are pretty much limited to DC, MA, OH, PA, MD, IL, FL. i did eat sometimes in NYC, and recall nice country french, and of course "real" chinese. italian was still peasant italian for the most part.