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Andrea Allen
Mrs. Marcum
ENG 111
5/4/15
Restaurants the New Fad
Restaurants, what are restaurants and why are they so popular? A restaurant is a place
where people pay to sit and eat meals that are cooked and served on the premises (Oxford
Dictionary). With Charlotte being the 16th largest city in the US, with the population of 792,862
as of 2013 (Wikipedia). Now a days you go online to search restaurants near me and you will
get on average 640,000,000 results, if not more or a little less, but the question is why? Why do
we have 800 times more restaurants than people? We seem to lack the energy to cook a meal or
there no time to cook a meal, is it even healthy to eat out, or maybe its because we miss the time
to sit down as a family to enjoy a meal together. The economic growth could be a big reason as
well.
As a college student living in the 21st century I can personally state that I do eat out a lot.
Living in Charlotte one of the most popular cities in the US, I see restaurants on every corner and
everywhere I turn. I tend to find myself often contemplating where I want to go eat next. There
are so many places to venture out to. Also being a culinary student, food is a passion of mine.
Would I say going out to eat is a lazy characteristic? No, this is not necessarily laziness, but I
often see families out together a lot more often than I do see other groups of people. Do you
think this generation lacks the energy to make a decent meal, so they take the easy way out by
just taking their family to a restaurant? Many people from the 20th century would agree with such

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assertions. As stated by Dawn Allen, a 20th century teen, she believes that for many people with
kids, going out to eat is the most convenient (Personal interview).
Time can also be an obstacle when its been a long day at work for both parents and they
have to go get their kids from their after school activities. Coming from a parent herself, a local
mother of two, Nadine King states, getting home around seven at night, the kids are tired and
they still have school work to do. Its hard to make something quick to eat and actually get them
to sit down and eat. Meanwhile tomorrow is a school day and its already eight oclock, Having
kids isnt easy and getting them fed is the most challenging part of it all. Many parents living in
the 21st century struggle with this same challenge. So whats the easiest way to get your kids fed
and satisfied? Many parents say the most convenient way is to either order take out or go get a
quick bite to eat at a restaurant, but now we have to take in to consideration is this healthy?
Eating out too much is never a good thing. Government surveys find that the food you
typically eat when youre not home is nutritionally worse in every way than the food you eat at
home (Readers Digest). Now you may be thinking, but why? Why is it not good? Well generally
restaurants put a lot of preservatives in their food to either, enhance the flavor or keep their
customers from getting food poisoning. For example, monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been
used for decades to enhance the flavor of food such as Chinese food, canned vegetable soups,
and processed meats (Alvarez). Many people tend to have headaches, mild chest pains, along
with many other symptoms after in taking products containing monosodium glutamate, but it
doesnt affect everyone, from personal experience. Then there is ammonium hydroxide which is
often found in mostly beef but it is also used in numerous other food products. Ammonium
hydroxide is used to kill any harmful bacteria that could possibly be present in the beef or any
other product (Beef Products Inc.). Too much of ammonium hydroxide can lead to some long

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term damage to the body such as, severe change in PH (which can lead to damage to all body
organs), heart collapse, and severe abdominal pain (MedlinePlus). Both chemicals are approved
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but personally, neither of these following
symptoms sound pleasant. Too an extent, eating out may be alright, but too much is obviously
not very good for you or your family. Even though family time is important, there are healthier
choices when sitting down at a dinner table.
Does the 21st century miss the time sitting down as a family, so they turn to eating at their
kids favorite restaurant to get them altogether as a family? That is one element this generation
lacks now is sitting down as a family at the dinner table. Sitting down as a family is the time to
reconnect and tell each other about their day. Studies have shown that kids who get that time to
sit down with their family at dinner; tend to behave better out in the real world (Hammons &
Fiese). Also your child may be 35% less likely to engage in disordered eating, 24% more likely
to eat healthier foods and 12% less likely to be overweight (Hammons & Fiese). You wouldnt
think the lack of sitting down as a family would do such damage, but as proven, maybe it is
something the 21st century needs to work on doing. No more sitting down in front of the TV or
the kids going to their rooms to eat, time to sit down as a family.
As the economy continues to grow, its becoming more and more difficult to live on your
own. Now a days it takes two working parents or partners to make it in todays economy. As
stated by Dawn Allen, a 20th century teen, in the early 20th century the women didnt work, they
stayed home to cook and care for the kids (Personal interview). Now, its almost impossible to
have one of the parents or partners to stay home without any employment. Especially in
Charlotte, as more people are moving to the Queen City, they are running out of room and its
becoming a competition to live. This has led to more apartments and houses being built, along

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with many restaurants opening up. As the population increases so do restaurants. The
government is doing all they can to fit everyone in this state, when, in the end, it may come to
bite them in the butt later.
Having so many restaurants isnt necessarily a good thing as far as health and economy
expansion. Things were not like they were decades ago. Eating at a restaurant is the most
convenient thing to do now a day with parents and kids with such busy schedules. With such
busy schedules parents want the time to still sit down as a family, but it isnt as easy as it sounds.
Still eating out should be in moderation; too much of it can lead to long term damage to the body.
This generation should work on finding easy yet healthy meals to cook, so they have the time
together as a family at the dinner table.

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Works cite:
"Ammonium Hydroxide." Beef Products Inc. -. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.
"Ammonium Hydroxide Poisoning: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library
of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.
Allen, Dawn C. Personal interview. 27 Apr. 2015.
Alvarez, Dr. Manny. "Is MSG in Restaurant Food Harming You?" Fox News. FOX News
Network, 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 01 May 2015.
"Charlotte, North Carolina." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
"Definition of Restaurant in English:." Restaurant: Definition of Restaurant in Oxford Dictionary
(American English) (US). N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
Fiese, B. & Hammons, A. (2011). Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 127, 15651574.
Kerr, Michael. "MSG Allergy." Healthline. Ed. Georger Krucik. N.p., 04 May 2012. Web. 30
Apr. 2015.
King, Nadine M. Personal interview. 30 Apr. 2015.
"20 Tricks to Eating Healthy While Eating Out." Readers Digest 20 Tricks to Eating Healthy
While Eating Out Comments. N.p., 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 May 2015.