tiltjlp
PN co-founder
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2003
- Messages
- 3,403
- Reaction score
- 145
- Points
- 65
- Favorite Pinball Machine
- Flying Trapeze 1934
Growing up in the Cincinnati neighbors of Fairmount and Delhi Township in the 50s and 60s, I enjoyed and benefited from many wholesome and delicious home-cooked meals. On a recent outing, I noticed that there were literally fast food restaurants placed side-by-side. That made me wonder if there are youngsters who’ve never had a real, made-from-scratch, home cooked meal. As sad as that is to ponder, it wouldn’t surprise me.
I’m sure there are even some adults who have grown up with fast food restaurants as a way of life, since McDonald’s began to appear in most cities at least in the mid to late 70s. While I have enjoyed my share of fast food fare, there is something to be said for the benefits and wholesomeness of made-from-scratch home cooked meals shared around a family table.
Now that I’m older, and don’t drive, I fix most of my own meals, some of them from scratch, such as soups and stews. Many of my dishes include either barley or rice, which I prepare in a large stockpot. After fixing the rice or barley, I add a changing variety of canned vegetables, and maybe some bacon bits or smoked sausage. Not only is home cooking cheaper than fast food, it’s healthier and usually tastier.
What is amazing to me isn’t that fast food is so popular, but the fact that there are so many different chains competing for our business, and that they all seem to thrive. While hamburgers are the most plentiful fare, you now can dine on almost endless varieties of ethnic choices, be it Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Greek, or Southern Fried. With more demands on modern families time, it’s no wonder that fast food and casual dining often win out over home cooked meals.
But just the other day I saw some things that seemed like overkill to me. Where a Chinese restaurant used to be, there is a new gourmet burger place, with a competing hot dog stand in what used to be the Chinese restaurant’s party room. But even crazier, I think, is a new strip mini-mall with twelve businesses. Nine of those places are restaurants, all but two fast food.
I’m sure there are even some adults who have grown up with fast food restaurants as a way of life, since McDonald’s began to appear in most cities at least in the mid to late 70s. While I have enjoyed my share of fast food fare, there is something to be said for the benefits and wholesomeness of made-from-scratch home cooked meals shared around a family table.
Now that I’m older, and don’t drive, I fix most of my own meals, some of them from scratch, such as soups and stews. Many of my dishes include either barley or rice, which I prepare in a large stockpot. After fixing the rice or barley, I add a changing variety of canned vegetables, and maybe some bacon bits or smoked sausage. Not only is home cooking cheaper than fast food, it’s healthier and usually tastier.
What is amazing to me isn’t that fast food is so popular, but the fact that there are so many different chains competing for our business, and that they all seem to thrive. While hamburgers are the most plentiful fare, you now can dine on almost endless varieties of ethnic choices, be it Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Greek, or Southern Fried. With more demands on modern families time, it’s no wonder that fast food and casual dining often win out over home cooked meals.
But just the other day I saw some things that seemed like overkill to me. Where a Chinese restaurant used to be, there is a new gourmet burger place, with a competing hot dog stand in what used to be the Chinese restaurant’s party room. But even crazier, I think, is a new strip mini-mall with twelve businesses. Nine of those places are restaurants, all but two fast food.