- Thread starter kapitan75
- Start date
fast food
There is no FAST food in the DR, unless you want an empanada in the calle.
McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's - ALL hopelessly sloooowwwww. Can't get in and out in less than 10 minutes TO GO, they just don't move that fast. I guess they figure that since (in their minds) you are paying so much for the food, they will give you extra special attention. And, since the ingredients cost so much, must explain why they NEVER have food prepared and ready to go, even during the busy times, because (horrors!) they might have to throw something out or let an employee eat it if it sits for an hour before someone orders it.
My wife didn't understand this until we went to a McDonald's drive-thru in Miami, and the food was hanging out of the second window before the cashier had given us our change at the first window.
McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's - ALL hopelessly sloooowwwww. Can't get in and out in less than 10 minutes TO GO, they just don't move that fast. I guess they figure that since (in their minds) you are paying so much for the food, they will give you extra special attention. And, since the ingredients cost so much, must explain why they NEVER have food prepared and ready to go, even during the busy times, because (horrors!) they might have to throw something out or let an employee eat it if it sits for an hour before someone orders it.
My wife didn't understand this until we went to a McDonald's drive-thru in Miami, and the food was hanging out of the second window before the cashier had given us our change at the first window.
I have now been to several fast food places in the DR (not drive through) and have to say it's pretty fast...Ive never waited more than 2 minutes for my food - and usually less, similar to the states....you think most people who work at MickeyD's in the states are FAST???
I think White Castle has a shot...because it's something different (from McD's, Wendy's, BK, etc) but... I think one of the reasons theese other brands work is their "American-ness". You'd need to do some major marketing to make WC viable. WC was the first fast food chain, but even in the US it's nowhere near as popular as the compettion...
As for the Sosua WC ripoff place... it was NOTHING like WC except for the concept and the "look"... that's why it never had a chance, IMO
I think White Castle has a shot...because it's something different (from McD's, Wendy's, BK, etc) but... I think one of the reasons theese other brands work is their "American-ness". You'd need to do some major marketing to make WC viable. WC was the first fast food chain, but even in the US it's nowhere near as popular as the compettion...
As for the Sosua WC ripoff place... it was NOTHING like WC except for the concept and the "look"... that's why it never had a chance, IMO
I don't know if you got the up of waiting for your "fast-food" in the DR as you explained...
Many times (too many) I'd have ordered in many US and EU US's branded fast food joints, only to be disappointed when the meat was horrific to taste (cold-dry) and the fries seemed to have been taken out of the oil hours prior...
I love that my food is made on the spot as I wait!!! Even as it's processed and stored for long periods, having it cooked/warmed to the sale point is a far better thing than having it served on-the-fly...
Fast or not, American fast food here is expensive. Typically a burger and fries combo will cost RD170 and up.
For that same amount, two plates of rice beans, meat, and a salad can be had at a local comedor.
Fast food here is for the rich - I know more Dominicans that have never had it than have.
For that same amount, two plates of rice beans, meat, and a salad can be had at a local comedor.
Fast food here is for the rich - I know more Dominicans that have never had it than have.
This is where my "american-ness" almost got in the way of me learning something new.
I LOVE Pizza Hut pizza, especially their pepperonis lovers pizza.
When I stayed near El Conde, it was a daily stop for me. My girlfriend at the time told me that she had never been there. I asked why and she said "look around-this is a place for rich people and hevitos".
At lunchtime and early afternoon it was the rich kids who went to eat there after school.
I never would of guessed unless she had pointed it out to me.
So americanized fast food joints are definitely different in the DR-not so much for the food but for the patrons.
I LOVE Pizza Hut pizza, especially their pepperonis lovers pizza.
When I stayed near El Conde, it was a daily stop for me. My girlfriend at the time told me that she had never been there. I asked why and she said "look around-this is a place for rich people and hevitos".
At lunchtime and early afternoon it was the rich kids who went to eat there after school.
I never would of guessed unless she had pointed it out to me.
So americanized fast food joints are definitely different in the DR-not so much for the food but for the patrons.
At about $5 or so for an average "Meal Deal" at the fast food places, it's basically the same price as in the states...at least in and around major Metro areas.
And I haven't found (in the last year, at least) a comedor that serves 2 meals with drinks for $170 pesos...especially in the center of Santo Domingo or Santiago...and by the way, McD's has 3 or four full meals for about 110 pesos, tax included - about the same as your standard dominican lunch.
Not to defend fast food in the DR in any way, especially on quality or healthiness, but I hear so often that it's SOO expensive here...when really, it's not...maybe compared to a standard dominican lunch it is, but why would you compare it to that? In the US, it's usually the cheapest alternative for a meal because we don't have comedors and many roadside restaurants with 100 peso ($3) meals. Compare it to a decent restaurant, even a Dominican restaurant, and it comes out about the same as the price difference in the US...
Also, considering there's probably less than 100 American fast food restaurants in a nation of close to 10 MILLION people, it's not surprising the vast majority have never tried it.
You need to get around more David, haha. BTW, the meal usually will include water and remember, I said comedor, not restaurant, there is a difference. Comedors don't charge itbis.
Also, how can you compare a small burger with fries to a real meal? Dominicans typically eat there main meal at lunch and something much smaller at dinner, so it shoul be understandable that fast food restaurants here are mere status symbols for the most part for the rich. Those same people drink mile beer and somehow think they are fisno because of it, haha.
I sometimes do not have an hour to waste getting lunch and sitting down, so go to either McDonald's or Burger King just to get SOMETHING, and keep moving. And other times, I just get really tired of eating rice and beans again today, with a scrawny chicken leg and platano, and McDonald's seems to be a nice break from the boring,even if it ain't great food.
Ive been to comedors and roadside places in probably 15 different towns around the country and the current price seems to be around 80-100 pesos for a plato del dia...but unless you ask (at least if you're a gringo) they'll bring bottled water, not the free pitcher. And if you order a coke, they're usually 30-40 pesos.
A double cheesburger deluxe, fries and coke for 110 pesos, isn't "that much" less filling (or that much less nutritious) than a small serving of pollo frito, a mound of rice and a couple of pieces of lettuce and a cup of water...
But in any case... no argument here about the merits of fast food vs. anything else...I eat "local" at least half my meals...and Fast Food very rarely, my point was just that American Fast Food here is about the same price as in the states...with pretty much the same service...
For average Dominicans, this is not a restaurant culture, most meals are usually eaten at home, with family and/or friends, so any kind of restaurant, fast food or otherwise, will never be the norm...unlike the US.
Quick story... I took my GF at the time out to dinner for her birthday to a nice restaurant in Cabarete. I wanted it to be a little "special" for her. We had a great meal, lobsters, shrimp, drinks, etc. and the bill was around 2000 pesos. She's from a middleclass-ish family from Santiago...she almost flipped out when she saw the bill and was apologizing that I spent so much...I tried to tell her it was a "special occasion" and I was happy to do it...she just couldn't understand why it cost so much. To me $60 for a great birthday dinner is "nothing"... to her, something completely different. I don't guess she's ever been to a McDonald's either... :bunny: