Where Have All the Chain Restaurants Gone?

i'm not going to lie. i will bitch about living in columbia as long as i live here. however, i do want to say that it isn't just columbia but it's missouri in general that i have issues with. i lived in denver for almost ten years and it would be easy to say that i was rather spoiled when it came to the ease of accessibility of food or booze, and for the most part when i wanted it. hell. it's no new york city but there were options! good options. and a shit ton of them.

those who know me best know i'm a total foodie, food snob, food whore, whatever, and i generally tend to stray from chain restaurants but sometimes all a person wants and/or needs is some good grub from a chain. and no. i'm talking about your applebee's, red lobster's, or olive garden types. i'm talking about your old chicago's (gawd i miss late night pizza and beer with the girls), red robin's, boston's, anthony's, and drive-thru liquor stores. moreover, what about late night fastfood? i don't know if i should admit this out loud but i miss the bacon double del cheeseburger from del taco. fastfood is ALL the same here and i'm over it!

don't even get me started on independent restaurants and the lack of selection in columbia. it's completely atrocious and very sad. yes. there are a handful of quality mom and pop restaurants that are excellent but they are very far and few between, and i want options! OPTIONS! i'm an options girl!

columbia has a large asian population and for a city its size, it does in fact have numerous chinese, sushi and asian restaurants. but i haven't had good pho (traditional vietnamese soup), since i left denver. in fact, i haven't had good chinese since i left denver. yes. there are some pretty decent chinese restaurants but nothing that blows my hair back. and there is only one restaurant that serves pho and it's definitely nothing to write home about. i'm talking about your big ass bowl of pho with an abundance of rice noodles and beef, and endless amounts of jalapeno, cilantro and limes to garnish your soup with. (sorry "chinese wok express" but your pho is just not cutting it). it's no wonder that whenever i plan a visit to denver it always includes me gorging myself with pho. it also involves all my other plans around food and the restaurants i miss.

my mouth is watering at the thought of "la cocina" and the delicious pork carnitas that practically make you want to jizz in your pants at first bite. mexican food in columbia is fair but i don't know how many times i've woke up on a saturday and craved a big ass breakfast burrito and then realized that i'm fucked. believe me when i say that "la cocina" is always on the list of places to eat when i return to denver, and it's for the breakfast burritos as big as your head and the pork carnitas!

yes. i realize i'm not in denver anymore but that's not the fucking point. i mean hell! columbia doesn't even have ONE good italian restaurant. sure there are some average italian restaurants but i haven't returned to even one of those establishments a second time, and clearly that's because they're not that fucking special. i can make better italian food at home and i'm KOREAN. (okay. some might argue that fact since i'm adopted and was raised a honky but i look korean so if it suits my argument i'll use the korean card if i want)! but i have an affinity for italian food. and men. and designers. (gotdamn them italian designers and their beautiful clothes and handbags)! my point is, i know the difference between average, good and excellent italian food when i'm shoving it in my face, and the only italian i've found in columbia that i care to shove in my face is that hot ass guy that works downtown. i think he's italian. just fucking kidding. i mean he is hot and he does look italian. but seriously. it's gelato (which by the way is not made fresh at some cutsey little place but found in the frozen novelty section in the supermarket - SAD).

maybe what i miss is the sentimental value i've attached to these different restaurants. maybe the food isn't as good as i remember. maybe i just have all these wonderful memories with friends that have been made at restaurants - chain or not. irregardless, columbia's restaurant scene is average and as far as i'm concerned (being the spoiled brat that i am), could use a lot of vast improvements!