Monday, April 19, 2010

east county's fast-food boom

Wendy's
Sure, all those Downtown Silver Spring folks get to brag about their speakeasies and honey-lavender roasted chicken, but we've got our own culinary renaissance happening Up The Pike. If you've been down Randolph Road in Colesville lately, you know we're getting another Wendy's.

That's right, y'all: it's the same spicy chicken fillet and frozen dairy dessert you've come to enjoy in Wheaton, Briggs Chaney, Aspen Hill and Calverton, now just ten minutes away from all of those places. With those kind of eating options, it's only a little disappointing that despite a change in liquor laws, an ongoing lack of investment in our local economy (other than things that can bring profits back to corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ohio), continue to render East County a fine-dining wasteland.

While the urban planner in me is cautiously excited about the provision of on-street parking, sidewalks, and outdoor dining at the Colesville Wendy's, it's frustrating that this new branch will look much like the other four within spitting distance of my house. Of course, this means that a restaurant that broke ground last month could have the fry-o-lators up and running by May Day, if not sooner.

This was the Colesville Wendy's on April 2:

Colesville Wendy's Under Construction


And here we are again on April 8:

Wendy's In Colesville, April 2010


And finally last Thursday, April 15:

Wendy's In Colesville


Now, don't get me started on the new Chick-Fil-A on Tech Road, which I guess is in the planting stage. (One big rainstorm and it will rise from the ground like a breaded phoenix.)

Westech Chick-Fil-A, April 2010


I love me some Chick-Fil-A (as I do Wendy's) and y'all know that I will be camping outside before opening day for a year's supply of chicken sandwiches. But it would be nice to see a little more variety where I live - food variety, which hopefully everyone can agree with. And of course, one could argue whether this Chick-Fil-A really represents a step down from the chain steakhouse we were supposed to get in that space.

But really, any new food that comes to East County, be it gourmet or gross, coupled with my increasingly sedentary lifestyle (the product of no longer living, walking - but not rioting - in College Park) will only continue to make me fat. So everything basically works out in the end.

2 comments:

MattF said...

One thing to bear in mind is that the "good restaurant" in your imagination (white tablecloths, good food, reasonable prices, tinkling piano bar in the background) doesn't actually appear to exist in real life. For dinner around Bethesda Row over the weekend, the choices amounted to big-and-noisy, small-and-noisy-and-expensive, and not-actually-a-restaurant. I'm not complaining (we ended up at big-and-noisy), but if there's a culinary paradise, it's somewheres else.

Steve Ammann said...

Maybe the new Burtonsville town square in B-ville will get some high-end restaurants. Doubt it? Me too. Sadly, as a resident of B-ville I'm expecting an Arby's and for the CheeBurger, Ceeburger to move across the street to the new plaza. Sigh...