Not only do I eat more than I should, I also tend to think more than I eat, from which came my own special theory of evolution.  The theory is this.  An assessment of the level of evolution of a particular city can be easily determined by taking a look at the restaurants within said area.

A budding town, one that has more horses than traffic lights will have a Hardee's.  It's infallible.  Go to the smallest, least developed town you can imagine and there will be a Hardee's (or the remains of one recently burned down).  As time moves on, as civilization develops some of the more upscale fast food restaurants will follow.  Soon there will be a McDonalds, a Taco Bell, a Wendy's and quite possibly even a Pizza Hut.

Around the time a city earns a highway exit the more advanced restaurants will begin to move in.  There will be TGIF, Carrabbas and Applebee's.  They will obtain Romano's, Smokey Bones and Lone Star.   The major restaurant chains will pop up all over, and life will seem good, but there is always more to come.  

Eventually will rise the middle-upscale district, and no longer is Subway or Blimpie's and acceptable location to partake of a sandwich. The idea of someplace as common as a Chili's or Ruby Tuesday does not suit the discerning dinner palate.  The bourgeoisies require a Jason's Deli for lunch and a Bahama Breeze to carry them into the evening hours.  The city is growing, and suddenly the grass roots from which all society has come is an embarrassment.  The McDonalds, the Hardee's may still exist, but no one really eats there anymore, do they?

Finally the city has blossomed into maturity, and thus moves in the final pieces of the upscale puzzle.  The Panera Bread, the Starbucks on every corner (once one moves in, they breed like rabbits).  Soon the rash of over-priced, individually-owned bistros give rise, a bad example for independent businesses everywhere, for they are the few that cater to the few. 

As I write this my city currently sits in the beginning stages of the third level.  Cape Coral, FL has an Applebee's and an Outback, with more of the chain restaurants on the way.  Ft. Myers, the city just across the river, is beginning fourth level development and  steamrolling towards the fifth and final level.  Within five years every major city will be just like every other, constantly evolving and thus reshaping what is acceptable to eat.  As much I love Panera Bread, and often seek them out whenever I visit a Tampa, a Jacksonville, an Orlando it seems like restaurants such as those will be the new face of America.  A land with coffee houses on every corner and very little sense of what made the area unique. 

The bright side?  High quality, no unwelcome surprises and as much as the world may become cookie cutter, at least we'll be well fed.