MapLab: The Cities Where Chain Restaurants Dominate - Page 10

Camelback · #**181** Posted **Jun 29, 2021, 11:26 PM**

Bagels > Pizza

Or we could get back to what we were talking about, before it was all muddied.

Crawford · #**182** Posted **Jun 29, 2021, 11:39 PM**

In my unmarried days, I would sometimes have a dinner of egg-everything bagel with lox and scallion cream cheese. I think it wasn't even $5. And less than $2 absent the lox. Filling and flavor explosion.

Camelback · #**183** Posted **Jun 29, 2021, 11:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

In my unmarried days, I would sometimes have a dinner of egg-everything bagel with lox and scallion cream cheese. I think it wasn't even $5. And less than $2 absent the lox. Filling and flavor explosion.

That's how INFLATION works, my d00d.

Crawford · #**184** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 12:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camelback

That's how INFLATION works, my d00d.

This was like six years ago. Add a dollar, max.

sopas ej · #**185** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 2:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Pollo Loco is a pair of chains founded in Mexico but the founder sold the US operation. They operate mainly or exclusively in the west and southwest.

El Pollo Loco is great. Flame-grilled citrus-marinated chicken. Yum. https://www.elpolloloco.com/

They have salads, too. I often get their Double Chicken Avocado Salad. https://www.elpolloloco.com/our-food/under-500-calories

The chain was founded in Mexico but the first US location was in Los Angeles.

Some people prefer Juan Pollo to El Pollo Loco. Juan Pollo is a local chain that started in San Bernardino, with most restaurants in the Inland Empire and a few in LA County. I haven't had their food... yet.

sopas ej · #**186** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 2:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

Einstein Bagels are decent if a bit chewy but yeah, they aren't competing with the local bagel shops on the corner.

I'm not a bagel connoisseur either, but aren't bagels supposed to be chewy? I love chewy bagels. I think the really bad kind are the ones that are like bread; in my opinion, it's not even a bagel, then.

There was a Bay Area chain of bagel shops called Noah's New York Bagels that used to have more locations in the LA area, but they seem to have shrunk. I thought they were OK. I'm not much of a bagel eater anyway, I used to have them once in a while. I like bialys too.

There used to be place called Goldstein's in Old Town Pasadena (with one other location in Arcadia) that had pretty good bagels and bialys. I would go there occasionally on my lunch breaks from work because I used to work in Old Town Pasadena and just walk there from work. They closed many years ago though. The Arcadia location is still open, I believe.

Pedestrian · #**187** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 7:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I'm not a bagel connoisseur either, but aren't bagels supposed to be chewy? I love chewy bagels. I think the really bad kind are the ones that are like bread; in my opinion, it's not even a bagel, then.

Like I said above, true bagels are boiled first, then baked. That makes them chewy so yes, they should be chewy. If they aren't boiled, they are basically a misshapen bialy.

Quote:

There was a Bay Area chain of bagel shops called Noah's New York Bagels that used to have more locations in the LA area, but they seem to have shrunk. I thought they were OK. I'm not much of a bagel eater anyway, I used to have them once in a while. I like bialys too.

Noah's are sold in Bay Area grocery stores. They have a location downtown on Bush Street but I don't know where others are. I've actually been buying a brand called Dave's--I like especially the "everything" ones.

As far as local brick/mortar locations, the one near me (which is a small local chain) is called Wise Sons. And on the ground floor of my building is a deli that sells bagels (with lox or whatever) called Max's but I don't think they make the bagels themselves.

JManc · #**188** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 7:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I'm not a bagel connoisseur either, but aren't bagels supposed to be chewy?

Not to the point where they hurt your jaw from chewing so much.

MolsonExport · #**189** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 2:38 PM**

Montreal is the undisputed king of the great bagel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal-style_bagel

Montreal-style bagels are currently the only style of bagel known to have ventured into space. Take that, New York.

Crawford · #**190** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 2:51 PM**

I do enjoy Montreal bagels. They're actually quite common here in NY these days.

sopas ej · #**191** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 10:20 PM**

Any Chicagoans familiar with Girl & The Goat? I just learned that they'll be opening a Los Angeles location next month. I'm willing to check it out.

DowntownLA.com Facebook page

homebucket · #**192** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 10:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Any Chicagoans familiar with Girl & The Goat? I just learned that they'll be opening a Los Angeles location next month. I'm willing to check it out.

DowntownLA.com Facebook page

It's definitely a good get for the LA dining scene and should further elevate it firmly into one of the top 3 in the nation.

LAsam · #**193** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 10:49 PM**

^ The woman on the bottom left of the photo looks like someone who competed in, and maybe won, Top Chef.

Also, those Montreal bagels look incredible!

Steely Dan · #**194** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 10:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAsam

^ The woman on the bottom left of the photo looks like someone who competed in, and maybe won, Top Chef.

Yep, that's Stephanie Izard.

She won season 4, which launched her to celebrity chef status, at least locally within Chicago.

Girl and the Goat is her restaurant.

I didn't know she was expanding the brand to other cities.

sopas ej · #**195** Posted **Jun 30, 2021, 11:42 PM**

Looking at the dinner menu online, so far so good. I wonder if she'll tweak the menu for her LA restaurant.

Good luck to her with her LA location! I hope she does well. Angelenos can be picky when it comes to certain food. That chef Andy Ricker who was supposedly the darling of Portland, OR opened a Thai restaurant here 5 years ago or so that Portlanders raved about called Pok Pok, and it wasn't even open 2 years before it went out of business. It apparently couldn't compete with the plethora of authentic Thai restaurants in LA run by actual Thai people.

EDIT: Yup I looked it up, and apparently she will indeed tweak the menu for her Los Angeles location, and it looks even more promising to me. Curried goat, mmm... I had goat curry a few weeks ago, incidentally.

https://www.gayot.com/restaurants/gi...2la180616.html

EDIT EDIT: The LA restaurant looks pretty cool. I definitely want to check it out now. And the food looks good... I don't know about that popcorn dessert, though. But most everything else looks good.

https://la.eater.com/2021/6/28/22554...-inside-photos