restaurant diversity in suburbia

A new Ono Hawaiian BBQ location opened up in the same plaza where I do most of our grocery shopping. This is good (yay, a new place and I love Hawaiian BBQ!) and bad (oh wow, I have to be careful not to eat at this place every day). We stopped to try it in lieu of grocery shopping because it was an easy cop out from having to cook that evening.

There's no shortage of restaurants in our area. Like most cities, the density in number of restaurants increases the closer you get to downtown. I love it, as there are so many places to try (and so little time). An added bonus is that in our current economy, with technology assisting, we can have any of these restaurants delivered right to our door.

A lot of people complain about the lack of diversity in the suburbs. It's true to some extent, and probably more true in some subdivisions over others. One of the reasons we chose the one we did is because there is quite a bit of diversity here. Like anything, you just need to start paying more attention or perhaps even seek out specific cuisines. They're out there, hidden in strip malls and other unexpected places (like gas stations).

It's also important to frequent those places, once found. This not only helps keep the restaurant in business but also sends a signal that diverse restaurants are welcome, and encourages more to open.

Even though Ono Hawaiian is a chain, it's one of very few Hawaiian BBQ places in our neighborhood. It's good enough (for me) until we get another, better restaurant to replace it.