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It’s your time to shine: you have been handed the deed to a mall with six empty storefronts in the food court and it’s up to you to lease them. Maybe you’re motivated by business sense, or maybe you’re living out your midlife crisis wish fulfillment. I don’t know your whole poo poo. My roster: 1) Taco Bell. God of the game, and a perfect fit for a food court. No explanation necessary. 2) McDonald’s. The golden arches aren’t my favorite burger place, but their double cheeseburger is a stone cold classic that is perfect for a food court. Cheap, able to serve as a snack or a meal, and compact enough to sneak into the movies. 3) Kung Fu Tea. These are a pretty recent trend in food courts, and I couldn’t be happier. I love bubble tea, and it’s a great choice to either complement a meal from one of the other spots or pick up as a solo treat. Lots of options on the menu here means we’re adding a lot of versatility. 4) Pizzeria Regina. A lock. Best slice in the game, and the option to order a full pie also gives a convenient way to order a meal for a group. It’s nice to have the option to pick up a pie for the family on the way home from the mall, builds some more convenience and utility into the food court experience. 5) D’Angelo’s. A local sub chain that pops up in food courts occasionally, but most often at rest stops on the interstate. Great cheesesteaks, good Italian subs, good chicken caesar wraps. 6) Pokeworks. Here’s where I’m stretching things a little, as I’ve never seen one of these in the classic indoor food court I’m envisioning, though they are an occasional fixture at outdoor shopping centers. Maybe this is a center island type of spot, or maybe it’s a larger spot with an extended counter for ordering. This is my go-to for something that feels a little more nutritive and light, though I’m sure that eating a cup and a half of sauced up rice covered in wonton chips and fried onions isn’t actually good for you. A few notable absences from my court: 1) A Chinese food place of any type. I’m a New England native and the Chinese food scene is just different here. To me, Chinese food is proper restaurant or takeout cuisine, a big affair, and the mall spots have limited appeal to me as such. 2) A donut spot. I’ve just never understood when you would be at the mall and it would be an appropriate time for a donut or coffee. 3) A cinnabon or pretzel spot. I respect that these are mall classics but I personally have never really frequented these. Plus they are usually satellite spots that are separate from the food court proper, in my experience. 4) An orange julius. I love OJ and it is another mall standard, but if I have to pick one spot for drinks, it’s going to be a bubble tea shop.
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Oct 10, 2022 17:23
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| # ? May 27, 2024 22:00 |
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Hmmm. Assuming we're doing no actual inside the restaurant seating? In no order Shake Shack Chick-fil-a Popeyes Chipotle Sbarro (unless theres some other pizza chain thats in malls, I dunno) Mrs Fields I feel like these are money makers
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Oct 10, 2022 18:11
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Popeye’s is a great choice. I strongly considered putting it in my list in place of D’Angelo, but I felt that I had the “greasy, grimy little guy” angle thoroughly covered.
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Oct 10, 2022 18:15
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My theoretical mall would of course have a mongolian bbq place also
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Oct 10, 2022 18:24
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at least three of the places has to have a guy in front handing out day old samples on toothpicks. no exceptions. then one of the big fast food chains like mcdonalds for 'that' population. a pizza place thats not sbarro but still has calzones. and a bubble tea place.
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Oct 10, 2022 21:35
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Anonymous Robot posted:4) Pizzeria Regina. A lock. Best slice in the game, and the option to order a full pie also gives a convenient way to order a meal for a group. It’s nice to have the option to pick up a pie for the family on the way home from the mall, builds some more convenience and utility into the food court experience. whatup fellow boston goon
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Oct 10, 2022 22:54
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Arby’s Taco Bell McDonalds that serves pizza Shake Shack Wendy’s Popeyes I don’t care if it’s top heavy with burgers. They’re all different! 
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Oct 12, 2022 02:26
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okay so i'm a britgoon and these are my picks, in no particular order - tortilla: subway, but for burritos. simply perfection - boost juice: whenever i'm prancing around carrying an orange, carrot, mango and celery juice i feel like a million bucks - wendys: i hope that when my time comes around the nurses at the hospice i'm in liquify wendys baked potatoes and pump them directly into my bloodstream using an iv - veggie pret a manger: they have this fuckin artichoke and olive sandwich that sounds disgusting but is so so so good. afaik it's exclusive to the veggie prets and that's all well and good because i'll trek to the ends of the earth for this stuff - subway: i'll chow down on some of that yoga mat bread any day of the week - spud-u-like: you know, i never really cared for them, but the nostalgia i'd feel seeing one again would stop me dead in my shoes - wimpy: i loved wimpy as a kid. it was the most pathetic restaurant ever. it was like the sad little wet kitten of fast food - yo sushi: those conveyor belts are to die for - quiznos: they've got a pepper bar absolutely nots: - kaspas: ew, no. all those dessert restaurants are a front for something, i'll tell you that much - creams: same thing, but with a notably worse name - west cornwall pasty company: cornish pasties are vile and an entire fast food joint dedicated to them is a step too far - byron: gently caress you if you call immigration on your own hard working employees - any sort of spoons: i've fallen prey to your very easy to navigate cocktail section on your app too many times!!!!
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Oct 27, 2022 21:52
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1) Orange Julius - Need all those rare Julius flavors. You can put Blizzards on the menu I GUESS but I prefer OJ to be the star and Dairy Queen to be the support. 2) Cinnabon - Never Fails. OP's point of these being satellite spots is a good one but we're desperate to save this mall so I'm putting the big gun in the food court. 3) Coco Ichibanya - To me the ultimate mall curry rice. 4) Shake Shack - While it's not my favorite fast food burger place (although it's up there) it's undeniably a draw to malls. 5) Charleys Subs - Solid mall provider of cheesesteaks and cheesesteak-likes. 6) Chickadees - Local place that specializes in chicken quesadillas at the mall. Good poo poo. Should be national. 7) Wetzel Pretzels - It's not great food but i dunno it feels right to eat it at a mall. It tastes better than many of the other mall standards which is why it makes it top 10. 8) A&W - The less food available the better to be honest but getting a fresh float in the mall and pouring your own rootbeeer out of that jug is a nice experience. 9) Sarku Japan - Kind of proof there is an art to teppanyaki because a lot of these chefs don't got it, but some do and when they do it's a good experience. Usually one of the last places to leave even a dying mall so they must make money. 10) A Local Raspados Place - In 2022 a mall loving needs a Raspado place. 11) Mrs Fields - Cookies are only okay but I love some cookies. 12) Hot Dog On A Stick - Is anything they make good? Well no. But I like seeing them in the mall, it comforts me. 13) Sbarros - I don't like them. But, they're a mall staple. This is like drafting Keegan Murray at 4. It's a familiar name people know and will consume so I'm putting it in. 14) Habachi-San - Panda Express's teppanyaki place. It's more meat candy than even regular PE but I find it to be superior. They use different, better steamed rice, too. I probably wouldn't do mall sushi but to each their own. 15) McDonalds at a food court is just better. Can't explain it.
FrankeeFrankFrank on 07:55 May 03, 2015 posted:sometimes i rub Fabreeze on my hands and now my hands are very dry. FrankeeFrankFrank on 04:55 Apr 10, 2017 posted:I still believe in Second Winter. Put this in your sig if you also believe in that and that it is real and not fake like the others say.
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Oct 29, 2022 06:27
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Oel ngati kameie Los Ingobernables de Onsite BYOB 
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Orange Julius hasn’t been good for years. I would pay to keep them out of my food court unless I could personally run it independent from corporate and make the drinks to the original recipe 
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Oct 29, 2022 12:49
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York Steakhouse
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Oct 29, 2022 14:49
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Do they have Coco Ichibanya in malls outside of Japan? Our local Asian mall has a Gogo Curry which is like a knockoff Coco Curry and it is good as hell.
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Oct 29, 2022 15:05
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drunkb posted:York Steakhouse wiki editor with an old grudge quote:There was an extra charge for pats of butter and sour cream.[citation needed] ----------------
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Oct 29, 2022 20:54
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Anonymous Robot posted:Do they have Coco Ichibanya in malls outside of Japan? Our local Asian mall has a Gogo Curry which is like a knockoff Coco Curry and it is good as hell. Depending on if you count outdoor malls as malls the one in Irvine is but that is the only one I can speak of outside of Tokyo.
FrankeeFrankFrank on 07:55 May 03, 2015 posted:sometimes i rub Fabreeze on my hands and now my hands are very dry. FrankeeFrankFrank on 04:55 Apr 10, 2017 posted:I still believe in Second Winter. Put this in your sig if you also believe in that and that it is real and not fake like the others say.
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Oct 30, 2022 02:20
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Futanari Damacy posted:Orange Julius hasn’t been good for years. I would pay to keep them out of my food court unless I could personally run it independent from corporate and make the drinks to the original recipe It’s gone downhill true but this is our food court, we can fix it.
FrankeeFrankFrank on 07:55 May 03, 2015 posted:sometimes i rub Fabreeze on my hands and now my hands are very dry. FrankeeFrankFrank on 04:55 Apr 10, 2017 posted:I still believe in Second Winter. Put this in your sig if you also believe in that and that it is real and not fake like the others say.
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Oct 30, 2022 02:21
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Rick posted:It’s gone downhill true but this is our food court, we can fix it. Simon Says: you can't fix it edit holy gently caress Simon owns every mall and outlet in my extended metro area ----------------
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Oct 30, 2022 03:51
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i say swears online posted:wiki editor with an old grudge LMAO ----------------
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Oct 30, 2022 14:20
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Steak Escape - Fantastic cheesesteak chain Kato's Cajun - Mix of Cajun & Chinese chicken with Chinese rice and noodles Panda Express - Chinese choose 3 meats on rice or noodles Sarku Japan - Chinese choose 3 meats on rice or noodles Terriyaki Express - 3lbs of Terriyaki chicken over rice for like $6. loving insanely good. Orange Julius was good in the 80s and early 90s, but I think they got bought out and now they suck. They had the best Chicago Dogs and those orange shakes were amazing. Used to go there in high school all the time and get the chicago dog meal deal. Philthy fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Oct 30, 2022 |
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Oct 30, 2022 15:19
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Philthy posted:Steak Escape  
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Oct 30, 2022 15:24
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Philthy posted:Steak Escape - Fantastic cheesesteak chain Imo this needs to be more international. 4/5 of these are either Chinese or Japanese or apparently both in the case of Sarku Japan. Where's anyone going to get a hamburger?? 
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Oct 30, 2022 15:26
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My mouth is watering already. Food posting at 9am. Cursed.Futanari Damacy posted:Imo this needs to be more international. 4/5 of these are either Chinese or Japanese or apparently both in the case of Sarku Japan. Where's anyone going to get a hamburger?? Our food courts have no burgers anymore. The rest are pizza/mexican/gyro, which aren't very good compared to a dedicated local place that offers the same. The big chains like McD's, Wendys, etc all moved out in the early 2000s and it's been this way since. I guess I missed sort of the point of setting up your dream court. Probably put in a Wendys maybe? But 9 out of 10 times I'm going to Steak Escape, and the off chance I don't want one I'll get some meat + rice combo.  I really don't miss any of the places that left. An 80s version of Orange Julius is the only thing I'd really REALLY want.
Philthy fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Oct 30, 2022 |
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Oct 30, 2022 15:27
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It is always crazy to me when you see a food court with not two, but three or even four places all serving identical spins on sesame chicken and boneless spare ribs. How do they all stay in business? How do you choose between them?
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Oct 30, 2022 15:33
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lol
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Oct 30, 2022 16:12
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A strong new contender in the food court space is Korean corn dogs. Very fun, a lot of options, super novel. Unfortunately they are often pricy.
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Nov 1, 2022 03:08
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classic food court options for me are Taco Bell, any place that does gyros, Jake's Wayback Burger, Charley's, and then of course your local Asian chain. for me around here it's Master Wok and they'll give you the fattest box of food for $6
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Nov 1, 2022 19:59
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Yeah a good Greek place is indispensable actually. I just don't know of a non-regional chain A local mall had a place that did amazing shawarma, made the wraps fresh on the griddle and everything. This was in a place with McDonald's, Arby's, all the standard places and it's the only one that didn't survive the pandemic
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Nov 1, 2022 20:21
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Philthy posted:Steak Escape - Fantastic cheesesteak chain Are you in WI or is Kato's Cajun casting a wider net than I anticipated? Kato's is absolutely the Chinese on my list, I gotta ponder the other 5 though
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Nov 2, 2022 18:44
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yah im in wisconsin, but ive seen them in other states and even some airport places maybe
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Nov 3, 2022 02:04
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I guess it's usually somewhere other than the food court. But the correct answer is Auntie Anne's
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Nov 3, 2022 04:38
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if you want to make any money (lol) it has to be: Taco Bell because it's has enough cheap options to keep the teenagers who get babysat by the mall fed but also their limited ingredient selection makes logistics easy in a small space. Chick-Fil-A a little more expensive than TB but fairly limited menu. Throw those sandwiches in the foil lined bag and put them in a warmer and sell them out of there. Old school foodcourt staple in the south. Chipotle can serve a lot of customers quickly and the assembly line style works great in a small space. Panda Express See Chipotle A small bodega/convenience store with bottled waters, chips, gum, smokes. etc. This may be cheating idk. Orange Julius for drinks and desserts. Swap out Panda Express for a Subway if you hate yourself.
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Nov 6, 2022 00:28
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