One of my favorite podcasts, EconTalk, hosted economist and self-professed foodie Tyler Cowen this week. Cowen talked about food economics and his latest book, but the most surprising and relevant piece to us here was Cowen's praise for food in Los Angeles suburbs. Here he is from a piece in the Atlantic:
Whoa! I've never thought of it like that. But he's right! There's only a few Spago's or Geoffrey's, and they are highly expensive, extraordinary affairs. They have incredible food, of course, but they are few and far between, and you're not likely to visit them very often.
It's like Cowen visited the Greatest Strip Mall in all of Suburbia and dined at Mom Can Cook Thai restaurant!
It strikes me that I've been particularly unfair and harsh on the SCV food scene while running this blog. Because truly, even here in the SCV, for every Macaroni Grill there's a dingy but decent Maria's; for every Taco Bell a Las Lomas; for every Kung Fu Panda Grill, a Mom Can Cook; for every Burger King, a Cousin's or Kona Burger; for every Rosie's BBQ, a Stone Fire Grill, for every Maru Sushi, a Love Sushi. Just about every other industry in modern America has been big-boxified, but strip mall restaurants like the ones in the SCV might just be the best culinarylaboratories around.
So my apologies to the SCV's foodentrepreneurs, who, according to a smart guy like Cowen, may offer more bang for the buck and better taste than the cosmopolitan-types in LA. Maybe we're not in such a food desert after all?
Foodie Economist says the best food is in the suburbs
If a restaurant cannot cover its rent, it is not long for this world. According to a 2005 study, more than half of all restaurants close in the first three years of operation, so this is not a small problem. You can lay off kitchen staff when times get tough, or substitute the cheaper tilapia for the fancier and scarcer Chilean sea bass. But rent is a fixed cost, meaning that you have to pay it every month no matter how many customers walk through the door and no matter what ingredients you are serving.
Low-rent restaurants can experiment at relatively low risk. If a food idea does not work out, the proprietor is not left with an expensive lease. As a result, a strip-mall restaurant is more likely to try daring ideas than is a restaurant in, say, a large shopping mall. The people with the best, most creative, most innovative cooking ideas are not always the people with the most money. Many of them end up in dumpier locales, where they gradually improve real-estate values.
Whoa! I've never thought of it like that. But he's right! There's only a few Spago's or Geoffrey's, and they are highly expensive, extraordinary affairs. They have incredible food, of course, but they are few and far between, and you're not likely to visit them very often.
Mmmmm. I'll take my Thai food with a side of pawn shop and massage parlor please
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Best to explore the dirty strip malls in far-flung places like the SCV for great eats, Cowen argues:
It is especially common to see good ethnic restaurants grouped with mid-level or junky retail outlets. When it comes to a restaurant run by immigrants, look around at the street scene. Do you see something ugly? Poor construction? Broken plastic signage? A five-and-dime store? Maybe an abandoned car? If so, crack a quiet smile, walk through the door, and order. Welcome to the glamorous world of good food.
It's like Cowen visited the Greatest Strip Mall in all of Suburbia and dined at Mom Can Cook Thai restaurant!
It strikes me that I've been particularly unfair and harsh on the SCV food scene while running this blog. Because truly, even here in the SCV, for every Macaroni Grill there's a dingy but decent Maria's; for every Taco Bell a Las Lomas; for every Kung Fu Panda Grill, a Mom Can Cook; for every Burger King, a Cousin's or Kona Burger; for every Rosie's BBQ, a Stone Fire Grill, for every Maru Sushi, a Love Sushi. Just about every other industry in modern America has been big-boxified, but strip mall restaurants like the ones in the SCV might just be the best culinarylaboratories around.
So my apologies to the SCV's foodentrepreneurs, who, according to a smart guy like Cowen, may offer more bang for the buck and better taste than the cosmopolitan-types in LA. Maybe we're not in such a food desert after all?