nola foodie, I feel your pain

so I read a really cool article in the New York Times about a guy who was a big foodie in New Orleans and for obvious Katrina-related reasons had to move to Tampa. He even has a blog: New Orleans Foodie...In Exile.

Now he is stuck living in Tampa, of all godforsaken places, and I really laughed when he complained about how everyone likes boring chain restaurants.

From the article:

"Like that of many rapidly growing American cities, Tampa's dining scene is dominated by row upon row of chain restaurants, many with a theme, turning major streets into strip malls of faux world-food adventures. Many chains, in fact, use the city as an important test market.

It is the headquarters of Outback Steakhouse Inc., which operates seven chains, and the Melting Pot, a chain of fondue places.

One of Outback's chains serves Hawaiian fusion food; another focuses on "soul-satisfying comfort food"; another emulates the Olive Garden's my-grandma-just-flew-in-from-Sicily-and-she's-in-the-back-cooking-now-just-for-you atmosphere.

Many smaller eateries emulate the city as a whole: lovely to look at, but lacking a certain vernacular style. A bakery often mentioned on Tampa food blogs has the right touches — hip counter staff in heavy black glasses — but its chicken salad is pale and without seasoning, and cocoa powder dominates its celebrated espresso cookies."

Dude, I share your pain. When I see the HUGE line at the Macaroni Grill, or Carrabba's, or Outback, I always think "oh my god who are these people? and why would any of them wait for so long?"

Side note: Dragonfly's wait has gotten totally out of control. If it doesn't improve this summer with the students gone, I am going to have to stop going there.