I had the same reaction to the main thesis of this article. This is like people taking roadtrip across the United States who are only willing to go 1/4 mile off the federal highway. They then decry the state of cuisine because the only restaurants left in America are the same 5 fast food joints.
Getting outside one's comfort zone and putting in the time to find something good/interesting/new is highly underrated. But it is work. And many a corporate empire has been built by making a mediocre or sufficient experience the most convenient thing.
>This is like people taking roadtrip across the United States who are only willing to go 1/4 mile off the federal highway.
Urban Spoon was an amazing resource for us road warrior types. I found many fantastic places > 1/4 mile off the interstate. Nowadays, I ask employees at worksites for their opinions. If they recommend a box chain, I ask someone else.
If you know you're going to be in or near a particular town and want food, a good place I've found to start is the restaurants that advertise in the local church bulletins.
The physical location where a field tech installs and implements technology &/or equipment. I worked in Building Automation Systems(BAS) in big box retail stores and covered >400 sites in 5 US states.
Getting outside one's comfort zone and putting in the time to find something good/interesting/new is highly underrated. But it is work. And many a corporate empire has been built by making a mediocre or sufficient experience the most convenient thing.