Freddy's is so legit. There are so few of them cross country and I miss it the most when I'm out on an assignment.

His purchases were so tacky. The classic "working class vision of the rich" aesthetic. Real Gs launder it so thoroughly that it's all a fart in the wind by the time there's any attempts to audit.

I worked there '97-'99 and I went in before Christmas. I couldn't identify a single landmark to help anchor my memories except for the customer service desk. Products are laminated pieces of paper that say "give this to a Blue Shirt to receive item". I guess it's a shrink stopping move but there is something so impersonal/demeaning about being merely a "Blue Shirt". I just walked out and amazon'd what I needed.

Brother, it's gonna be an uphill battle in Springfield. I am white but my best buds were Desi back in my college days (90s). They both got arranged at the end of the day. I like Springfield well enough as it was where I was mostly raised but I travel for work now and there's just objectively better options for you.

For instance, I'm in New Jersey currently with some Southies right at the end of my street running a restaurant so I'm straight killing masala dosa, veda, sambar, chole bhature, etc on the regular. Since the Google Panopticon is still mostly dumb, I got a YouTube pre-roll ad for shaadi.com shortly after my order there lol. I'm white and 43 but it's all good.

Those MSU/DU Desi honeys are locked tight: studies, family expectations, etc. They just didn't date in my experience but it's been some time ago. Things change. The Indian diaspora and Springfield cultures are individually very insular and, as such, it's tough to get them to mix but it's not impossible. Bloom where you're planted. At a minimum, you now have 3 places for a date night if you want to convert a local! That was definitely not the case 25 years ago.

Holy shit man--just Googled and my mind is blown. I never thought I'd see the milkers that fed Ralphie and Randy. I felt very conflicted initially but it faded fast.

The Great Mandarin Inn. I applaud the efforts of every poster suggesting an alternative and each place is definitely good in their own right. Sadly, they're only a tribute to what was among the greatest possible general chicken available in Springfield.

I have a vivid memory of getting some general there before work in August of 2005. Hurricane Katrina had hit and I was listening to the terrible reports on NPR in my car. I can vividly remember today how my brain was full of conflict. 'These stories are so horrific but this chicken is d e l i c i o u s.' In addition to Mandarin Inn, the loss of Binh Tay on Boonville, Diamond Head on Campbell and Chinese Kitchen in Republic, MO signaled the death of some very special general but that's another story.

It's the "misogyny". I found it mild and in a comedic spirit but there is seldom any chill to be found today in Web 3.0

Hop Woo on Broadway and Won Kok on Alpine. Just OK. The Korean food really stood out for me in LA versus the Chinese but since it's an essentially infinite city, you'd need hundreds of trips to sort the good stuff. Reveal your spots if you're willing!

This place is an unreal treasure. I travel for work so I eat Chinese all over the nation and Corner 21 is still number 1. I was just in Los Angeles, which should be a mecca for good Chinese and I was repeatedly disappointed.