We're Terrible at Eating Fast Food

When you have good local options... you don't need fast food. Why the hell would I go to Wendy's, Arby's or Burger King when I have Amy's, Falafel Bar or Sterling Pub, down the street.

Especially when you get some pretty quality foods around here, fast food just isn't as desirable. I am not talking about fine dinning 'quality', but produce, meats, dairy, baked goods which are all produced relatively close by.

I have wondered about this exact stat for years, with the feeling that have to be somewhere lower on the scale, considering how many McDonald's alone you see in other cities.

not sure what to think of this one, but i am tired of all the hoopla in general about how obese america is, someone could wax just as passionatly about how fit and fantatical americans are about exercise. You see the folks that line up for 5-8-10K runs and how packed the gyms are.

Like other Men's Health 'lists' this is pretty useless. Sure, we don't have a lot of the franchises that other cities do but that says more about our size and economy than our disdain for cheap, fatty food. You could make the same basic argument for retail stores too. Are we terrible at shopping at Nordstroms or Saks or are we not as viable a city to open one of these stores? I'm just sayin......

Speaking of good local options.. Steel Crazy Snack Shack is one of my favs.. the food is healthy and the price is fair for the quality of the product. Highly recommend.. skip Mc Donalds and BK..

Yeah, I wonder if this is similar to the Pizza Consumption study done a few years ago where Buffalo was ranked at the bottom of the list. Turns out they considered national pizza chains only. Buffalo just hardly has any of those.

yeah I don't think this article means we are healthier, we just don't fall into the national chain food group. We have many local options and thankfully so.

I agree the Buffalo area has a wealth of locally owned and operated business'. Some other areas I have been are almost exclusively national chain based stuff, exact opposite of what Buffalo has to offer. Then again many of those areas have had significant growth and growth over the past few decades tends to be cookie cutter and chain operated. So you end up with developments that make boulevard consumer square look miniscule, they are like that but on steroids because theres more money and a growing population.

I agree with several comments here. I think they looked at McDs and Wendys, for example and I doubt that they counted Mighty Taco, Teds and Steakout in this survey. If they did, we'd be way up there.

FYI- The abbreviation of Alaska is "AK", not "AL"

Also, Souix Falls is in South Dakota.

I was just talking about this topic yesterday. I have been in Greenville, NC for a week now and we are blown away by how many chain restaurants they have here-they have just about every chain I have ever seen on the east coast. Back home in WNY we have hardly any of them.

I agree that we just about a lot of great local options. Why would someone go to Domino's (the one in Hamburg recently closed) when you have so many local pizzieras?

Haha, Maybe the guy that researched the story could not even conceive the concept of a local unique fast food place. there are many places where that is the case.

I know people love to knock Buffalo for what we don't have, but this is one of things we should be proud of. I've been to similar size cities with twice the amount of fast food joints. I lived in Tennessee for 5 years and the town I lived in had the highest restaurant to person ration in the US, almost all of those were fast food chains. That being said, I would love a Sonic here.

Depending on the area they considered "Buffalo", this could also be the result of frugality or plain poverty.

Folks around these parts cant afford $7 value meals. I dont eat that... Im poor, I eat beans on toast and ramen noodles. Fast food is too rich for my blood.

though i would love to have a sonic here, there is too much good local cuisine to even consider fast food as an option most days. even when tailgating or grabbing something quick i would rather get something from wegmans then drive thru.