[potatolicious]

Not only large cities - but rural areas too. The reputation for shitty food really happens in the vast stretches of suburbia that straddle the awkward territory between city and country.

The US has, overall, amazing food. In large cities there is not only immense diversity (after all, the US is more diverse than most Western nations), but also a culture of experimentation at all price ranges. It's possible to eat amazingly in most major cities for anywhere between $5 and $500.

In the country and small towns there is a tremendous variation across the nation. The food of the Northwest vs. the food of the Southwest vs. the food of the South vs. the Northeast.

It's only when you get into strip-mall-landia where things start appearing incredibly boring and monocultural, and just plain not good.

[tjic]

> It's only when you get into strip-mall-landia where things start appearing incredibly boring and monocultural

A famous economist / foodie has written an entire book about how you've got it EXACTLY backwards:

http://www.amazon.com/An-Economist-Gets-Lunch-Everyday/dp/05...

The best food, he asserts, is in strip malls. You just have to know a few tricks to find it.

Great book. Go read it.

[tptacek]

No, Cowen says the best ethnic food is in strip malls, and they're in strip malls ringing large cities. It by no means follows that the best food overall resides in strip malls. The comparison is to other ethnic restaurants, particularly Asian, and not to restaurants in general.

And of course, Cowen includes a section on exactly how hard it is, and how creative he had to be, to get decent Chinese food in rural Virginia.

It is obviously not true that the best food overall can be found in exurban and rural strip malls.

[batista]

I've eaten in 48 states, including tons of malls. If that is what the book is saying, it is bullshit. Not to mention that in most malls you only find the same generic franchised BS.