Fast Food Franchise Forum

While NOT Roadfood, they are an unfortunate reality in the food industry. Post your fast food topics in this forum so the rest of the site can maintain it's purity.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=27

Thank you. I believe this is a wise decision.

This will not be a popular move by the people who like to make a fuss whenever a FF topic is tendered.

quote:

Originally posted by wheregreggeats.com

This will not be a popular move by the people who like to make a fuss whenever a FF topic is tendered.

Well, I can only speak for myself but as a person who makes a fuss over FF topics, I welcome this wonderful change. Now I can just forget all about Mickey D's and all the rest of the crap that some people enjoy talking about.

Futhermore, a lot of these posts are responded to by people such as me, who want to keep Roadfood as Roadfood.

I believe I am one of the ones who "make a fuss" so to speak...on the defensive side...and this forum is fine :-) Nothing to fuss about whatsoever....

There will probably be a "acclimation" period while people who don't know about this forum will create posts about In and Out or White Castle (as examples only) in the Hamburger forum (again, just as an example), and hopefully everyone will just politely point those folks in this direction and the admins will simply move the threads here without a lot of, uh, fuss :-)

Al, Paul, Red: that was kinda sorta an assumption. Is it your intent to move threads as appropriate to this forum? If so, about half or more of the threads in the Hamburger forum and in the Hot Dog forum need to move here.....as those two types of food tend to be fast food.

I also hope there is no discrimination - In and Out is fast food, so is McDonald's, so is Kewpee's, despite the clearcut differences.

Bout time! And ---thanks!!

Thank you Soooo Much!! Please make sure that the fast food threads go to this area. Hopefully, this will act aa bit of a quarantine.

Perhaps the terms need to be made clear. The forum significantly includes in the title "franchise." I think that is an important distinction from the more generic "fast food." Many mom and pop places and all hot dog stands, as someone mentioned, are fast food. They are not franchised however. I think the attempt, rightfully, is to categorize those corporations that as chains, focus more on numbers of units, market domination, shareholder profit, theme, concept, trade dress- you know, everything but the food. And while I'm largely an anti-chain guy, it is still valid to have a place to talk about Five Guys hamburgers and a place to hide all that drivel about Wafflehouse.

I'll hope that MR Rushmore clarifies the "franchise" part of the forum title, but I would suspect that the real intent here is for discussion of all fast food places to be relegated to the new forum, regardless of whether or not a given fast food eatery has franchised locations.

quote:

Originally posted by RC51Mike

... a place to hide all that drivel about Wafflehouse.

I heartily concur! I visited a WH twice on a business trip recently (my colleague demanded a hot breakfast). The place was a dump, the service was indifferent, the clientele scary and smoky, and the food no better than average. The local recycler was emptying the grease trap (next to the front door, no less) as we entered. I had to stop and ask him if he were making a delivery.

No, the use of the term "franchise" is intentional. It's the place for franchise talk. In fact, perhaps the "fast food" part needs to be corrected - talk about Fridays and Cheesecake Factory belongs here, too. Correct me if I'm wrong, Stephen.

Bruce

So talk of really good quality chains, generally well regarded by many Roadfooders, such as

Culver's
In and Out (which is reviewed on this site)
Steak n Shake (which is reviewed on this site)
White Castle
Original Pancake House
Waffle House

and chains that sell "regionally unique food" (see the site motto) like

Skyline Chili (Cincinnati)
Gold Star Chili in (Cincinnati)
Runza (mostly nebraska)
any of several chicago-based pizza chains (deep dish and stuffed pizzas)
any of several chicago-based italian beef chains
etc etc etc

are also to be relegated to this forum?

I don't know, TJ Jackson. I would hope that some good judgement is used by both posters and moderators. Everyone would draw the line in a different place. I'd have no problem with Skyline and Runza, but I'd certainly "banish" Burger King and McDonalds, but it's not my call. The final arbiter of what's Roadfood and what isn't, as far as the site is concerned, should be the site moderators.

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

So talk of really good quality chains, generally well regarded by many Roadfooders, such as

Culver's
In and Out (which is reviewed on this site)
Steak n Shake (which is reviewed on this site)
White Castle
Original Pancake House
Waffle House

and chains that sell "regionally unique food" (see the site motto) like

Skyline Chili (Cincinnati)
Gold Star Chili in (Cincinnati)
Runza (mostly nebraska)
any of several chicago-based pizza chains (deep dish and stuffed pizzas)
any of several chicago-based italian beef chains
etc etc etc

are also to be relegated to this forum?

Oh, I think that the majority of us (that means everyone with the exception of YOU) do not consider the handful of local Chicago Deep Dish Pizza places, Italian beef places or even the Runza joints as chains.

Hmmm. As pointed out above, many consider anything with more than one location "a chain", etc. I think RF should prepare for a LOT of cross-posted topics / threads. I still say the far more logical solution would have been the "don't click on the thread if your are not interested" way. Alas, as I have learned, RF has far to many "crybabies" in it.

quote:

Originally posted by Adjudicator

Hmmm. As pointed out above, many consider anything with more than one location "a chain", etc.

Oh, I tend to disagree, as you can see by this thread, it looks like TJ was standing in the corner alone on this one.
www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9638

Don't worry, WJ -- I've never worried about whether I stand in the majority, alone, or with a loud, excessively whiney clique of self-styled purists and/or self-annointed board police.

It is said that the squeaky wheel always gets the grease. Well, you and your supporters are certainly getting greased at the moment. Odd thing is, I don't mind it....because we do at a certain level concur about what is best about this board -- it is best when it is about what the site is or purports to be about, Roadfood. Our primary point of divergence has been how we feel about people departing from that fairly narrow (when compared to the breadth of all food topics, as one example) subject area.

I certainly concur that The Roadfood Forums were probably never intended to be about the 2 cheeseburger value meal at mcdonalds, nor (and even less so) about whether assistance shold be rendered to Pakistan. But as long as the moderators, the functional owners/managers of the site, were permitting it expressly; there should have been no complaints from anyone about it. Heh, we saw how that worked out.

That said, we enter a new chapter in the story of the roadfood.com forums today, with the introduction of the new forum and the express adoption of a more stringent philosophy, as dictated by the owner/manager of the site. His site, his rules, and I have no issue with that. I will adapt without issue.

But I don't think the philosophy is set yet. I know the intent - move all the junk about mcdonald's, arby's, burger king, olive garden and the like to a seperate, less equal (no posts therein to appear in most recent post list) forum. Again, I am fine with that. I consider it an improvement. But there are threadss that are going to be "borderline". The Skyline chili thread is a good example. Skyline chili is a chain, and they most certainly are corporate. But they also serve a "regionally unique" food - Cincinnati style chili. I think the phrase "regionally unique" is a fairly important one at the heart of every roadfood purist. Do you really want to fight battles over whether a post about skyline should be permitted to remain in the Chili forum? I hope you don't, because we - you, I, and all the rest - will spend a lot of fairly non-enjoyable time talking about what Roadfood is rather than actually talking about the food experiences themselves. I think if you've read the stuff I have been posting lately in the 4-5 Cincinnati threads, you'll know I enjoy a good meal - and talking about it - and posting pics when I have them - as much as the next guy.

One other thing, and this to Mr Rushmore - I know that you and the Roadfood team dictate what the official definition of what Roadfood is. But I think there is room in your definition for the situations where one poster asks about where he can get a good meal when travelling to/through a given locale, date, etc etc....and a response is given. If someone wants to eat a steak in New Haven or have pasta in Wicasset Maine, that's their business, and we might not be able as a group to direct them to an eatery that by your definition is Roadfood. But it'll be a good meal, I'll wager, having listed to hundreds of members make thousands of recommendations over my time here. Good food while you're on the road - I guess that's my definition of roadfood, regardless of what the official one is.

Mr Rushmore:

I'd like to suggest, if indeed your target is more "corporate" food than it is "fast food", that you consider changing the new forum to be one for "Corporate Food".

Three main reasons

1) There are dozens upon dozens of reviews by the Sterns and other Roadfood team members of eating establishments that are clearly fast food. I really and truly don't believe the philospohy of this site or it's administration has turned such that fast food can never be roadfood. Mr Stern's love of a good chicago hot dog should by itself stand in mute testament to this.

2) There are already several forms devoted to cuisine that is almost always fast food - hamburger and ho dogs being the best two examples

3) Based on Mr Bilmes' statement, where he incldes Friday's and Cheesecake Factory, I believe the real target of this philosophical shift is what is will call, for lack of a better term, corporate food. The mom and pop hamburger shop who can give me me a burger in 2 minutes is not your target, but the megacorps that have done so "billions" of times most certainly is. Both are fast food. Only one is targeted. Or so I believe, if I read you right.

I'll add that I believe this change will still address the oft-stated concerns of the very vocal roup of long-time roadfooders who'd like to see this site be more about what it is stated to be on the main page and in the books. I even think it will address their concerns more precisely.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.....

A couple points that come to mind for me about the new forum. I think what goes where is an evolving process. I have been involved recently in a heated discussion of fast food verses Roadfood vs. Good Food and I know it can be a hard line to draw and I have seen oldtimers like Vic try very hard to create a workable definition. I'm willing to let moderators use a little discretion and I hope all of us will remember this is a food site, not quantum physics, so we can play it a little loose( I hope no one takes offense because none is intended)
I welcome the changes. Though I post often in the off-topic section(and I love to do so), the real core of this site is The Where Should I Eat? and food fora and these should be the featured items.

quote:

Originally posted by Theedge

I think these are positive changes for the good of Roadfood and what it started out to do. We may get fewer posters, but I am sure that the postings will much better and more in keeping with ROADFOOD.

This forum is a good idea, but I propose that all "Off topic and lighter fare" posts be kept out of the "Recent topics" list on the home page. Some days I look at the recent topics and is nothing but things like, "How did you meet your spouse?" or "What's your favorite movie", or "baseball playoffs". Let's keep Roadfood about FOOD!

I’m being a bit sarcastic as I do frequent the mom and pops where ever I go. But I do enjoy some of the non-road food talk such as recipes, things you might grow in your garden and do something with, different hot or bbq sauces…will they be put on the back burner as well?

quote:

Originally posted by Theedge

I’m being a bit sarcastic as I do frequent the mom and pops where ever I go. But I do enjoy some of the non-road food talk such as recipes, things you might grow in your garden and do something with, different hot or bbq sauces…will they be put on the back burner as well?

I am thinking that Recipes & Cooking Techniques and Miscellaneous - Food Related will be shown . I think that the two forums that will no longer show up on the home page are
Fast Food Franchises and Miscellaneous - Off Topic & "Lighter Fare". When you stop to think about it, those forums not showing up means that the trolls will no longer show up.

*shrug*

a lot of people here will come to the defense of waffle house...like MH just did....particularly when it comes to the subject of their hash browns. Heck, we even hae a very serious poster here named "WaffleHouseRules".

The old "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" adage comes to mind.

I think the problem here is that fast food and chain food is being defined as the same thing and it is not. There are dozens of "chain food" restaurants that are not "fast foods". I guess the name of the forum ought to be changed if one is lumping them all in together.

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

I believe I am one of the ones who "make a fuss" so to speak...on the defensive side...and this forum is fine :-) Nothing to fuss about whatsoever....

There will probably be a "acclimation" period while people who don't know about this forum will create posts about In and Out or White Castle (as examples only) in the Hamburger forum (again, just as an example), and hopefully everyone will just politely point those folks in this direction and the admins will simply move the threads here without a lot of, uh, fuss :-)

Al, Paul, Red: that was kinda sorta an assumption. Is it your intent to move threads as appropriate to this forum? If so, about half or more of the threads in the Hamburger forum and in the Hot Dog forum need to move here.....as those two types of food tend to be fast food.

I also hope there is no discrimination - In and Out is fast food, so is McDonald's, so is Kewpee's, despite the clearcut differences.

TJ, Kewpee's in Racine, WI is not fast food. Their burger meat is fresh, hand pattied, from a local meat purveyor. Their malts are made from scratch. Kewpee's is an institution, it is a real ,authentic privately owned American diner. Most Chicago hot dog stands are institutions from back in the 50's, each with it's own personality. Portillo's is the exception to the rule. Dick Portillo started in a small shack with no running water and is now the largest independent hot dog restauranteur in the midwest. Portillo's is now much faster, serves more customers, and has maintained it's high quailty of product and excellent standards.

CSD

CSD: Please keep in mind that I do love the Kewpee's I went to in Lima back in August, and am using Kewpee's only as an example of why I don't believe that the real target here is fast food -- it's corporate food.

I'm hoping for a correction, as stated earlier.

I think everyone reading roadfood.com wants to read about places like Kewpee's, and ergo there should not be a "lesser" fast food forum.

Let's keep this thread on track.

Also, please remember one of the operative words in the new forum is "FRANCHISE." Many of the places listed on Roadfood.com is fast food, but it is the major franchised ones that are distracting the forums.

First of all...This is MY OPINION, not a position taken by the Site leaders or the management....

I am glad to see the Misc.-Lighter Forum and the FF Forum taken off the front page eligible catagories. I spent a lot of time putting out fires between folks on the Misc Lighter or on a thread dealing with the pro-con of one of the FF Chains. If a poster wants to add to a Misc-Lighter thread, thats fine. Just don't expect that me as a moderator spend my entire life monitoring that thread to be sure someones feelings aren't hurt. We will watch and police them as needed, but it seems to me that some folks love to get into personal disputes and have nothing better to do that create problems for others on the threads with either political or religious overtones. Threads will still be deleted ..or individual posts, if they violate the site-rules regarding flaming, or language, or inappropriate actions.
As far as the chain restaurants or Fast Food goes, The moderators will continue to use some discretion in what is permitted and what is moved to the new forum. It is up to the original poster to select a forum for a thread or topic they are creating....but that may be relocated if it seems to the moderators that it belongs somewhere else. This is not a change from current policy...just a reminder that if you don't see your topic, check the other forums if it may be relocated. EXAMPLE- There is a thread in the Misc-Food Related forum asking about a recipe for PIONEER CHICKEN. It is an acceptable (to me) location...HOWEVER, 3 or 4 posts into the thread the whole message seems to take a turn. It evolves into a discussion about the Pioneer Chicken Locations and corporate business operation. This belongs in the new FF Forum ( seems to me)

I hope that folks will quit playing the nit-picking exercises and make an attempt to conform to the format asked for by the management. We in turn, will try not to hassle folks who get confused by the sometimes 'loose' definitions used on this site..

I will say that I did not remove several threads regarding various Chain Operations HoJo's, Waffle House among them and put them in the FF Forum. I don't know why they were put there. Ask the management.