Endless Possibilities (Newsletter No. 55)

I have a theory, I have a hypothesis…

An observation.

The power of a few brands is so strong that even in NYC and LA, with infinite choices of high quality hole in the wall restaurants, a lot of people end up circulating between the same cravings that suburbanites have—Chipotle, McDonald’s, Domino’s, Shake Shack, Starbucks. And it’s not like they’re particularly cheap. It’s just that the logos and ads and paper takeout bags are so pervasive in carving neural pathways so that they become the path of least resistance to think along. It’s like people can only handle so many options to rotate through on a daily basis, 5-7 maybe with a bit of occasional novelty thrown in here and there, no matter how rich they are or where they live.

Even Kim Kardashian allegedly eats at Red Lobster.

Me? My cravings usually rotate between getting the same things over and over again at Trader Joe’s. And my cravings rotate between Shake Shack, pizza, and birria tacos, because that’s what’s closest to me right now.

Growing up, it was between McDonald’s, pizza, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Apple Bee’s.