tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309385158537254711.post2671238175763197657..comments2023-09-26T12:18:39.374+03:00Comments on Boreal Expat: Fast Food FinlandKent Tankersleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01848650819768345044noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309385158537254711.post-27799930316345404492014-12-20T10:19:50.267+02:002014-12-20T10:19:50.267+02:00That's pretty horrifying to think someone woul...That's pretty horrifying to think someone would go to Florence and pay attention only to the McDonald's. I don't even recall seeing one when I was there last winter, except maybe at the railway station. <br /><br />I remember some years ago seeing an article in Scientific America, I think, explaining why Americans traveling oversees feel more comfortable going to a McDonald's, it's familiar, it's safe, etc. I can see how in a country like China it can be intimidating to eat in some place where there is no English menu and you can end up ordering dog or pig brains by accident. But the local cuisine in Italy isn't exactly unknown to Americans. Pizza, spaghetti, lasagna. The menu doesn't even have to be in English! <br /><br />Unless you have only 15 minutes before catching a train, I can't see why anyone visiting Florence would choose to dine at McDonald's.Kent Tankersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01848650819768345044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309385158537254711.post-8928051187001687752014-12-20T09:46:51.636+02:002014-12-20T09:46:51.636+02:00Indeed. I've read that they had to install an ...Indeed. I've read that they had to install an especially powerful exhaust system to protect the fresco. Hope it does the trick.Kent Tankersleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01848650819768345044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309385158537254711.post-41231482061483332014-12-19T14:33:29.014+02:002014-12-19T14:33:29.014+02:00Here's hoping the hamburger/french fry grease ...Here's hoping the hamburger/french fry grease won't spoil the fresco.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309385158537254711.post-20240250633663709112014-12-19T14:32:25.804+02:002014-12-19T14:32:25.804+02:00Unfortunately, Carrols was bought by Hesburger yea...Unfortunately, Carrols was bought by Hesburger years ago. They only left one location on Aleksanterinkatu. A couple of years ago they actually started opening new Carrols locations but I think it was too much for the Hesburger execs' prides (they had an all.out three-way burger war in the 90s and Carrols was seen as the coolest) since they then proceeded to turn all of them into Hesburgers. It's a shame because I always preferred Carrols to McDonalds or Hesburger. I think they had ingredients of slightly higher quality, but were sometimes a bit stingy with the "Royal sauce". Hesburger is on the opposite end of the palate and they are probably popular because they are very liberal with their sauces so that no-one ever finds their burgers even remotely dry. I suppose one could argue that any burger will taste good if you drown it in mayonnaise.<br /><br />Well, at least there's some small chance of getting a Club Burger every now and then when the powers that be at Hesburger choose to do a campaign run. Not that there is any guarantees that there is ever going to be such a campaign ever again..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309385158537254711.post-71685376676778023692014-12-19T13:08:50.121+02:002014-12-19T13:08:50.121+02:00I never eat at McDonald's. I hate those joints...I never eat at McDonald's. I hate those joints and don't consider what they serve to be actual food. Yes, I ate there when I was young, but I don't have anything like affection for them. Quite the opposite.<br /><br />I worked with a woman who, I discovered, had been to Florence, Italy--a place I crave to see. So of course the first thing I asked her was if she had seen Bruneleschi's Dome or the Baptistry doors.<br /><br />"No," she told me. "I don't know what those are. The only place we visited there was the McDonalds. It sure was a nice McDonalds!"<br /><br />Great Jove spare me.<br /><br />The most interesting McDonalds building I have ever seen is the one in Freeport, Maine. The city did not want to allow them to even build one inside the city limits. But they finally caved when McDonalds submitted blueprints for what they would build to meet the towns specifications. Interesting as the building is, I would still not set foot in it.<br /><br />It's good that Finland isn't obsessed with fast food. That's likely one reason I don't see vast crowds of fat people (like me) when I see photos taken in Finland.<br />James Robert Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17281049641681225389noreply@blogger.com