3 ms·
It probably isn't as simple as the writer thinks. Houston, for example, has no zoning laws and no $4 lunch bowls.
by criddell 10mo ago
It probably isn't as simple as the writer thinks. Houston, for example, has no zoning laws and no $4 lunch bowls.
- milkytron 10mo agoHouston has similar regulations that effectively serve the same purpose to determine land use, which is zoning adjacent.
- armenarmen 10mo agoYou can get a banh mi for like $5 in Houston
- systemtest 10mo agoOr basically all of Europe. Haven't seen $4 lunch bowls (adjusted to local wages) anywhere. Spending "nearly an hour a day cooking" is the norm in most countries here. Eating out is expensive anywhere.
- erikerikson 10mo agoHere in Seattle, it's wildly expensive to go out and we rarely do. When I lived in Portland it was inexpensive (and amazing) so almost everyone went out regularly which supported a ton of restaurants that completed against each other. Not sure what was different but the difference was night and day.
- makestuff 10mo agoCurious what time period this was. For example, if you lived in Portland in 2019 and Seattle in 2023 it could just be inflation causing people to go out less.
- erikerikson 10mo agoGreat point. Temporarily separated samplings would have that effect. However, I moved directly from Portland to Seattle. Further, I have returned to Portland and found it to be just as wonderful a place to eat out as before.
- antonly 10mo agoThis is not true. The UK has a £3.85 meal deal that is a sandwich + a snack + a drink. It's hugely popular. Germany has the Döner Kebab, it's now about 5-9€, but the have cheaper options available too. Again, hugely popular. I'm sure most European cities have these.
- systemtest 10mo agoA sandwich, snack or Döner Kebab is not a full nutritional lunch.
- antonly 10mo agoI beg your pardon?
- systemtest 10mo agoMeal deals and Döner Kebab are junk food
- bee_rider 10mo agoAre the $4 lunch bowls full nutritional lunches?
- systemtest 10mo agoThe $4 lunch bowls in Japan are indeed full nutritional lunches.
- pibaker 10mo ago>junk food >junk food, Japan
- mrgoldenbrown 10mo agoYou are oversimplifying the writer's position. They mention zoning as one reason but also other regulations, health codes (minimum sink counts!) and other things like parking minimums (which houston has had, though they've been removed recently in a lot of cases), reliable and ubiquitous public transit, etc.
- pessimizer 10mo agoThe writer's title is oversimplifying the writer's position, then.
- ensemblehq 10mo agoWhat’s missing from the writer’s analysis is also the desire from the population to create such businesses. Having lived in Asia for a bit, most of these small businesses are not wildly profitable and not everyone is willing to put in the hard work and effort to running these affordable restaurants.