McDonald’s

I came here in the summer while on a break from tour for some free wifi and something to drink, and that was about all I got.
The only thing I ever buy from McDonalds is their sweet tea, and I buy it because sometimes I am so thirsty and in need of sugar, and it is pretty good. Plus I need to use their WIFI for my work while on the road and they don’t usually complain about me being in there. I used this one when I was in town. It’s hard to rate a chain so poorly when they are vital to my survival (free wifi) and offer cheap and satisfying drinks with free refills, but then I remind myself that they are the mother of all chains, and that they contributed massively to the downfall of thousands of wonderful eateries around the country, and indeed they and their type are taking over the cheap dining scene all across the world… not just in the USA. And then, given those facts, and how bad their regular food tastes (most foodies agree), they always score a 1 for me.
I should mention, I only rate national and global chains on a scale of 1 – 2. I rate family businesses on a scale of 3 – 5. Here is why:
Would you rather support the local family, or the multi national corporations and the rich men on yachts in the Carribbean? Why are the parking lots of the awesome local places usually half empty (or completely empty)? Why are the fast food chains always so busy? Why can they afford to open so late and get all the TV advertising and all the prime intersection locations? Why are they taking over all the airports, stations, and rest stops? Why go and support McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, KFC, Wendys, Cold Stone, Subway, and so on? These places have systematically and coldly taken over the national food scene by using the cheapest ingredients, pre-​packaged frozen systematic meals that are identical across the nation, ridiculously cheap prices for the polystyrene food on dollar menus, overpricing for everything else, rude underpaid servers on way less than minimum wage, and a ridiculously expensive mass brand advertising campaign that gets inside the heads of all the kids and the 20somethings and keeps them under the illusion that if it’s not a brand name, it’s not worth visiting. They spend all the money they should be investing in food and service, in advertising and cornering the market — the local places can’t compete — and someday all we will be left with is the same chains serving the same food all over the world. That is our future. It’s the way we’re heading and you know it. Every time you eat at a bland national chain, you buy into that, you support that. Boycott chains. Support your local eateries. It’s an embarrassment that generic brand national chains are even listed on a proper foodie website like Unilocal,let alone getting 4 and 5 stars from so called foodies. Wake up, America, before we’re all just batteries in the matrix.