What We're Missing: Dog Days of Fast Food
The oven-like heat outside reminds us of summers off from school, which in turn got us into a conversation about the fast food we remember from those days. Maybe it's a good thing that the D.C. area, and the city in particular, isn't overrun with these places, but it doesn't mean we don't remember them fondly -- or, for that matter, dearly wish they had a few outlets closer by at times like these.
A lot of (mostly Southern) DCists, as well as we're sure many of you, have a soft spot for Waffle House, which is criminally absent from much of the area. IHOP's cheaper and countrier cousin, the House has all manner of greasy grub at all hours. While there are some international pancake locations around, IHOPs don't have a jukebox with only songs about IHOP. The closest WH locations appear to be in Dumfries and Frederick. Get the hash browns scattered, covered, and chunked.
Another south of the Mason-Dixon favorite is Chick-Fil-A, especially the standalone locations, which just seem to be more appealing for some reason — maybe it's the fact they we're not in a food court. We see them in malls occasionally and there used to be one at GW, but it's been awhile. Alert DCists note standalones in Silver Spring and near Reston. No waffle fries, tasty chicken, or Polynesian sauce on Sunday though, they're closed.
D.C. lies south of White Castle territory and north of its Southern cousin, Krystal, but both are delicious if you prefer eating a whole bunch of small greaseburgers and chicken sandwiches instead of one big one. These places are the jumbo slices of many a college town, and considering how much this city likes its jumbo slice, you'd think one of them would put us out of our misery and open up a D.C. branch.
Creative Commons photo by Flickr user ElektraCute
We can't tell you how frustrating it is seeing all the commercials in D.C. for Sonic, which taunt us with their complicated beverages and improv comedians, all while not actually having any locations near us whatsoever. The closest Sonic is over 50 miles away, in Fredericksburg, VA. Dear Sonic: we seem to recall from our childhoods that your food was not bad, but please stop being so mean and advertising on our basic cable channels. Thanks.
And of course, who can forget In-N-Out Burger. Delicious, fresh burgers and fries with a cult-like following, but only on the other coast. There always seems to be some rumor that they're going to open up a store in Manhattan, but those rumors are always false. Until they do figure out how to expand further out from the West, In-N-Out will remain one more reason for you to angrily yell at your friends who grew up in California, "Well why don't you just move back there then, if it's so freakin' great?!"
Lastly, no one in their right minds would ever suggest that Dairy Queen is actually good, but it certainly fulfills our childhood summertime nostalgia hankering, and has the added bonus of having stores in Falls Church, Alexandria, Bethesda, Wheaton, and others. So we might just pop over and get ourselves one of those creepily satisfying softserve cones with the hard chocolate shell today.
What other fast food or junk food outlets do you wish had stores in D.C.?