Food & Drink

Restaurants that might not be around much longer

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  • Sep 11th, 2023 12:25 pm
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Aug 6, 2018
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I think it does have to do with less strict code when it comes to hormones sorry but a chicken thigh shouldn't be as large as mine
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This is just me, but if the chicken is America is so huge, is that a good thing? Its a real possibility it is so huge due to massive use of growth hormones or something. I am by no means an expert on this topic, just throwing some ideas around. Could it be there are less regulations/restrictions in the US regarding these things (eg growth hormones)
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HP_John wrote: This is just me, but if the chicken is America is so huge, is that a good thing? Its a real possibility it is so huge due to massive use of growth hormones or something. I am by no means an expert on this topic, just throwing some ideas around. Could it be there are less regulations/restrictions in the US regarding these things (eg growth hormones)
Or it's simply that Americans don't kill the chicken so early.

Have you seen that documentary of Maple Lodge Farms? The chickens are so tiny when they kill them.
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Aug 6, 2018
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All I know is it's gonna be sad to come back to Canada the food scene there is just pitiful.

I hung out for about an hour at the Taco Bell cantina. the food was great, had charging stations, alcohol and a good sound system, almost felt like I was in a night club lol and best of all this is all i spent on food
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oroku1983 wrote: All I know is it's gonna be sad to come back to Canada the food scene there is just pitiful.

I hung out for about an hour at the Taco Bell cantina. the food was great, had charging stations, alcohol and a good sound system, almost felt like I was in a night club lol and best of all this is all i spent on food
The food scene in Canada is one of the worst you can find anywhere in the developed world. It's a joke. I've seen some big name U.S. chains around parts like Asia and mid-east that haven't even been established here by now. Look at food trucks in the States compared to here. The laws against food trucks for all the past decades here in Toronto specifically were ridiculous.

When you go down to the States, it's a complete different culture there with all these names you don't see up here along with fairs, carnivals, so many flea markets, bodegas, bbq, delis, etc.
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I was in queens in an area that must've bee 95 percent Puerto Rican and they had these unlicensed BBQ huts they just put up selling BBQ pork and corn on the cob and all this other great stuff and all I could think of is how these people would be fined and shut down in an hour if they tried anything like that in Canada. I'm sure it's illegal in NYC to do it unlicensed but law enforcement tends to look the other way because really who gives a shit and that's the way it should be.
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oroku1983 wrote: All I know is it's gonna be sad to come back to Canada the food scene there is just pitiful.

I hung out for about an hour at the Taco Bell cantina. the food was great, had charging stations, alcohol and a good sound system, almost felt like I was in a night club lol and best of all this is all i spent on food
Amazing! I've never tried Taco Bell because I don't want to ruin my perception of it by having it in Canada.

You should try Los Tacos #1 in NYC. Those are the best tacos I've ever had. Very authentic.
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Aug 26, 2007
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Strafe1 wrote: Beware restaurant and fast food "boneless wings". They are not wings obviously, just cut from the the boneless breast filet and PROCESSED to make very remotely look like a wing. But it's just another scam.

Best to just make your own at home following a recipe here:
https://www.macheesmo.com/real-boneless-chicken-wings/

Control what you put into them and how you like them to turn out.
Agreed. Making own wings is the best way to go.
My favorite ones:
https://ifoodblogger.com/baked-chicken- ... ra-crispy/
https://ifoodblogger.com/air-fryer-chicken-wings/
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Strafe1 wrote: The food scene in Canada is one of the worst you can find anywhere in the developed world. It's a joke. I've seen some big name U.S. chains around parts like Asia and mid-east that haven't even been established here by now. Look at food trucks in the States compared to here. The laws against food trucks for all the past decades here in Toronto specifically were ridiculous.

When you go down to the States, it's a complete different culture there with all these names you don't see up here along with fairs, carnivals, so many flea markets, bodegas, bbq, delis, etc.
Maybe its just me, but I find many US chains unimpressive. To be fair, I also find almost every Cdn chain unimpressive. Cheesecake Factory, we were on a group vacation, 12 friends in the US, I would rate it about 3.5/5 or 3/5. Its acceptable but I wouldn't go back. I haven't even bothered to visit the Cdn location, even if there was no wait. I honestly believe the food I cook myself tastes better than what Cheesecake Factory makes, at least for what I ordered (some pasta dish & appetizer, it was like 5 yrs ago so I don't remember other than not being impressed). Five Guys is OK for a chain, but it didn't blow my mind either. Remember the show Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives, our group of 12 visited many of them during our US trip, most were nothing special other than big portions. They weren't bad, just not memorable. Just my take, YMMV

I'm not opposed to eating at chains, but most of the time I find better food elsewhere. When I was in Japan for a month, the whole time, I only had 1 "bad" meal. This may surprise some, but Tokyo has some very excellent Italian & French restaurants, not just Japanese. I've been to about 20 countries, I was quite impressed of the overall culinary scene over there. I'm talking about everything from cheap eats to high end. It also seems like there are much more non chains, the ratio is much better than most major North American cities, where chains are almost everywhere
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The one big us fast food place I left completely unimpressed with and thought was actually pretty bad was Whataburger. I'd rather go to McDonald's than whataburger any day I can't believe the hype surrounding a place that serves such lousy hamburgers.
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In-N-Out Burger > Whataburger
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I really like Shake Shack. Haven't tried In N Out.
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ar2020 wrote: I really like Shake Shack. Haven't tried In N Out.
Tried both and prefer shake shack.
Please don’t confuse my kindness for weakness.
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oroku1983 wrote: you act as if we're not fat already. how have you not noticed that Americans are about the same weight as us when you visit down there.

Canadians need to stop making excuses for our inadequacies just admit our portion sizes are inferior.
I see people in wheelchairs in the USA simply because they are fat - never seen that here. We actually saw someone with a walker in front of them and realized they were using it to hold up their stomach. Holy shit. I've never seen so many fat people in my life as what I see down there. Canadians aren't that far gone yet.
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I've had 5 guys a couple times, and both times was underwhelmed. I will never understand the worship.
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oroku1983 wrote: What's up with our country? Even Dunkin donuts which Americans bag on all the time about how bad it is- yes they don't have great donuts, but they are miles ahead of the horrible shit they serve at Tim Hortons.
Tim Horton's used to be great when they actually made donuts. I don't bother with them since they stopped. A donut shop that doesn't even smell like a donut shop is not someplace I need to be.
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Love Shake Shack and In-N-Out. Shake Shack is somewhat better, but to me, they should be considered separate as their price points are wildly different.
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ateddybear wrote: Love Shake Shack and In-N-Out. Shake Shack is somewhat better, but to me, they should be considered separate as their price points are wildly different.
Exactly why it's such an unfair comparison. $10 US gets you a burger at Shake Shack, and they're not big at all. $10 US gets you a full meal at In-N-Out. INO's pricing is comparable to McDonald's (for much better stuff). At Shack you're paying more than Five Guys.
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Chickinvic wrote: Tim Horton's used to be great when they actually made donuts. I don't bother with them since they stopped. A donut shop that doesn't even smell like a donut shop is not someplace I need to be.
Same goes for a BBQ place that doesn't smell of smoke. Here's looking at you, Lone Star Texas Grill... that place USED to smoke their ribs in-house, you could smell it from the parking lot. Not anymore.

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