Food: Obscure (for me) fast food day

There are two competing aspects of human nature IMHO - the base, primal, animal instinct and the noble, evolved, and perhaps even divine sensibility. For example, humans typically fear the unknown. This is manifested in some of the myriad miseries we inflict upon each other - especially racism and genocide. But there is a small part of the human psyche that also demands to explore the unknown. I'm not sure why this is so, but it's this drive that compels explorers and scientists to push the bounds of human existence.

I went out to try Sonic's BLT and tropical mango iced tea combo the other day. I had never actually eaten at a Sonic before, and, determined to try out something new, I thought I'd give it a shot. The first difficulty was in actually finding a Sonic - while there's literally three McDonald's within 5 minutes of my place, the nearest Sonic was on the other side of Gainesville.

I got there and pulled in. I was dumbfounded as to what to do next. It turns out you actually push a button and order, and then a waitress (rollerskates and all) comes out to bring you your food. The BLT was pretty awful, the fries were ultra-salty, and the mango iced tea was too cloyingly sweet and artificial to be satisfying. Okay, I never need to go to a Sonic again.

Next up was Guthrie's, a chicken finger place I had seen before. The restaurant was clean but empty. I ordered a "plate" - three or four chicken fingers, fries, Texas toast, cole slaw, and dipping sauce. The chicken fingers, fries, and toast were passable, though I've had better. The cole slaw was awful - it had the consistency, taste, and color of vomit, so it wasn't very appetizing. Okay, Guthrie's is off my radar.

Moral of the story? Exploration is a dangerous business, whether you're Magellan or a hungry student.