Reply #43: People who don't live on the coasts aren't going to have access to fantastic local seafood [View All]

Also, people who live in regions of the country without a significant population of Italian immigrants are not going to have access to fabulous homemade authentic Italian cuisine. For those areas, RL and OG are the only opportunities to eat seafood or Italian that isn't boiled spaghetti with Ragu sauce or fish fillets. Trust me, I'm from that part of the country. It's not our fault all our immigrants were English, German, and Irish, and that we live 800 miles from the nearest sea. :)

That said, sure, local places are usually better (or at least more interesting and unique) than chains, and if you can find a good one that doesn't rip you off with a $100 bill at the end, that's great. I think I understand the success of chains less in big cities, where there ARE plenty of good local places to dine. I get them along them interstate, where they're a known quantity for travelers who know they have X amount of dollars to spend already have a good idea of what the food will taste like, but otherwise?