I'll tell you what really get's my goat and had TravelApe very frusted this past weekend on his own. Oddly enough it was the same situation but at different places and areas. First to me. I was visiting a friend outside of Philadelphia the other day and being pressed for time I got into a drive through line at a Burger King. Yeah, let's not even get into quality or anything like that, I'm talking about the mere fact that I wanted something that tasted somewhat good and could get it fast. I proceeded to sit in line for 10 minutes !!! Yes ten minutes. Now let us get the facts straight. I was in line, there was one car in front of me and there was one other car in the parking lot. I could see that there was no activity in the store. Oh, by the way did I mention two lovelorn teen agers were in the throws of ectasy as I sat in line. Point is, when one drives into a fast food line, the expectation is in less than five minutes you can make an order, pay, get your food and be on your way with a half decent meal. Point is for me, I left.
Unbeknownst to me our friend TravelApe was in the Miami area this weekend doing some sightseeing and decided to stop in at an area KFC. Once again, he sat in line for over 15 minutes. TravelApe, unlike me, however, is a little more patient. That, however, still doesn't offer a happy end to the story. First, he sat in line while he watched a group of teenager or young workers throwing stuff at each other through the store windows. Second, a special meal he saw on a commercial wasn't available yet?? Third the food was terrible.
Well the moral of this story is there has to be a better way. TravelApe and I conversed on the phone and decided there are a few decent options. First, and probably people poo-poo on this concept, the local brand name convenience stores are sometimes the best of the options. The have food that is probably of higher quality, offer better selection, and sure let's get past the "fast" element here, actually can get you out the door in less the five minutes. The selections are boundless depending on where you are in the country. You have your 7-11 Convenient Stores across the country. You have Your WaWa's in the North East area of the United States. You've got your Circle K's out West. And a whole smorgish borg of selections across this great country. Do yourself a favor, before you take that turn and head into a Burger King, McDonald's, KFC or Taco Bell, think...And think well. The in and out convenient stores are your best bet.
Over the next few posts I'm going to feature some great destinations and offer some recommendations as to other alternatives outside the convenient stores too. The options are out there and TravelApe is sure to find them for you.
1 comment:
Circle K is not only out west, but nation-wide throughout the sunbelt and also now in the mid-west. The northeast is pretty much the only part of the country deprived of Circle K's. Circle K even has stores in Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, Indonesia, Guam, Macau, mainland China, and soon to be Vietnam! The US stores just began a new fresh food program called "Take Away Cafe" that features high quality sandwiches and deli items, and the hotdogs are all top quality Oscar Meyer dogs. I agree. C-store food has really come into it's own. You no longer need to be afraid to eat there!! Give it a try!!
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