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[entremet]

For restaurants in America, it is the best of times, and it is the worst of times.

Last century's dystopians imagined that mediocre fast-food chains would take over every square inch of the country. But in cities across the U.S., residents are claiming that the local restaurant scene is in a golden age of variety and quality. I've heard it in Portland, Oregon, named the best food city in America by the Washington Post; in Washington, D.C., named the best food city in America by Bon Appetit; in New Orleans, where the number of restaurants grew 70 percent after Hurricane Katrina; and in San Francisco, which boasts the most restaurants per capita in the country; and in Chicago, which has added several three-Michelin-star restaurants this decade. I live in New York, which will always lead the country in sheer abundance of dining options, but after years of visiting my sister in Los Angeles, I'm thoroughly convinced that America's culinary capital has switched coasts.

Restaurants are such a revitalizing force in urban life that a fine meal now carries a sacred profundity. ”Food has replaced music at the heart of the cultural conversation," wrote Eugene Wei, a technologist and writer who is currently the head of video at Oculus, in a 2015 essay. ”It's hard to think of any sphere of American life where the selection and quality have improved so much as food," the economist Tyler Cowen, who moonlights as a food blogger, wrote this year. For the first time in US history, Americans are spending more money dining out than in grocery stores.

Some takeaways:

The business is become way more competitive as American palates become more sophisticated. Can't coast on mediocrity anymore--see Applebees and the like struggling.

Take out is growing. Stuff like Ubereats seems to be helping here.

Breakfast themed joints are doing amazingly well.

Most of the golden age is being fueled by middle to upper class folks in the bigger metros who can afford regular dining. Middle to low income communities lack this diversify due to the lack of disposable income to fuel new restaurants.

I would agree with the general sentiment. I also travel quite a bit and American sit down restaurants are getting better and better. There are problems, such as cook pay, which is paltry, especially if you have culinary school loans.

https://www.theatlantic.com/busines...-golden-age-of-restaurants-in-america/530955/

 

[andythinkpad]

Has Amazon introduced a competing service yet?

 

[entremet]

Has Amazon introduced a competing service yet?

I could imagine them competing with UberEats eventually lol. Drone delivery!

 

[Lunar15]

This reminds me of the brewery scene that's popped over the last decade or so.

The line about food replacing music at the heart of the cultural conversation is pretty on point.

 

[kirblar]

The Applebee's across from my office closed recently. There was zero reason to go there when there were so many fast-casual and local places around that weren't Applebee's.

Has Amazon introduced a competing service yet?

Yup.

https://smile.amazon.com/restaurants/landing?sourceUrl=/restaurants&ref_=amzrst_ob_z

 

[PeskyToaster]

I can see why breakfast place are successful they are always my favorite places to go. Breakfast combinations are awesome.

 

[Dartastic]

I thought it's all millennials fault that Applebees and the like are struggling, not just that their food is crappy and there's better options out there. /s

 

[Guevara]

Has Amazon introduced a competing service yet?

Amazon Restaurants, but it's not very good yet.

 

[FinKL]

I could imagine them competing with UberEats eventually lol. Drone delivery!

They do have an Amazon Eats program I could get German delivery for $25 considering the dinner plate is like $20

 

[riotous]

I could imagine them competing with UberEats eventually lol. Drone delivery!

Amazon Prime Now has a section called Amazon Restaurants.

Right now I can order from 98 restaurants to deliver lunch:

That number increases near dinner time.

I believe this predates UberEats.

 

[kirblar]

I thought it's all millennials fault that Applebees and the like are struggling, not just that their food is crappy and there's better options out there. /s

As generations are starting to have more single people, sit-down full service restaurants are less appealing.

 

[darthbob]

Can confirm, the food in Portland is amazingly delicious. So much variety, and fairly cheap too.

 

[Flying Toaster]

It is neat to see more and more small owned resturants opening. The thing that baffles me is they seem to come in waves of the same food type.

3 years ago it was pizza places opening up everywhere in town
2 years ago it was micro pubs
Last year was burger joints.

This year seems to be year of the small gym. Gotta get that fat from all the pizza, beer and burgers that have been added because of no self control for the past 3 years.

 

[riotous]

I thought it's all millennials fault that Applebees and the like are struggling, not just that their food is crappy and there's better options out there. /s

Millenails are so easily trolled; that article showed comments from an analyst that praised millenials for their better taste, which is why restaurants like Applebee's are struggling.

The article writer uses the word "fault" and it becomes yet another whiny meme on NeoGAF lol.

 

[mike6467]

Can confirm, the food in Portland is amazingly delicious. So much variety, and fairly cheap too.

I'm in Denver, and I've never felt deprived, we have a good selection and a fair amount of unique food. With that said, I've been in Portland a few times for business over the last 18 months, and you guys are something else. I would easily gain 50lbs in a year if I lived there.

 

[entremet]

I can see why breakfast place are successful they are always my favorite places to go. Breakfast combinations are awesome.

Breakfast foods are also very low cost but high margin foods. As an owner, you're buying lots flour, milk, eggs, butter in bulk. Those rarely spoil since you're using them in many dishes.

If you charge 12 bucks for a pancake dish, that's almost pure profit.

Same with pizza. Those ingredients are dirt cheap, so it's high margin.

 

[FallingEdge]

I'm in Denver, and I've never felt deprived, we have a good selection and a fair amount of unique food. With that said, I've been in Portland a few times for business over the last 18 months, and you guys are something else. I would easily gain 50lbs in a year if I lived there.

in Denver as well and it is slowly starting to create a culture of its own, so many great places in both Denver and the surrounding areas

 

[mcfrank]

The LA food scene is impossible to keep up with and the popular places can have insane lines. This is the line for Howlin Ray's which is a great Hot Chicken place in Chinatown. The line is like that pretty much every day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZMPsCThxSc

Fantastic that we have so many great options, but it can be an ordeal to go out since so many other people are doing the same.

 

[entremet]

The LA food scene is impossible to keep up with and the popular places can have insane lines. This is the line for Howlin Ray's which is a great Hot Chicken place in Chinatown. The line is like that pretty much every day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZMPsCThxSc

Fantastic that we have so many great options, but it can be an ordeal to go out since so many other people are doing the same.

Yeah, LA has blown up in the last 10 years. Amazing food scene and very affordable.

 

[andythinkpad]

Amazon Restaurants, but it's not very good yet.

I wrote that reply as a joke. I spend like 2-3k on amazon annually, my mind is blown Amazon has service I have never heard of.