Ours is truly a fast food nation—in America, McDonald’s alone serves 28 million people a day. And while you won’t have any trouble finding some sort of fast food wherever you are, you may have trouble finding your preferred eatery. That’s because fast food is, in many ways, a regional affair—even though you’ll find the Golden Arches from coast to coast, certain chains are more predominant in certain parts of the country. Steve Von Worley’s newly updated Beefspace maps reveal the burger fiefdoms you never knew existed.
In Pierre Bourdieu’s Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste from 1979 is a chart that shows the taste of food against economic capital and cultural capital.
On a related note, check out the top recipients from the Food & Beverage industry.
Imagine, if you will, the burger force – a field of energy that radiates from every freshly-cooked patty, earth-penetrating and inverse-squared with distance, compelling the hungry carnivore to seek out and devour the well-done ground beef at the source.
Now, wrap that concept in a Star Wars motif – set in the present day, with the second-tier burger chains as the rebels – each, by themselves, without mutual aid, battling the 12,000-plus restaurant McEmpire.