The White Spot Effect

Every born-and-bred B.C. kid I know grudgingly likes White Spot, if only for the glowy childhood memories of Pirate Packs. People who grew up elsewhere detest White Spot and are puzzled with its continued success. In particular, the excessive use of Triple O sauce on the burgers is generally reviled. I always thought this was a particular BC thing, but recently ran across a curious analog with Chicago's famous pizza pie chain Giordano's.

Now, I've been to a Giordano's a couple of times, specifically the one near O'Hare in Rosemont while attending PHP Tek. The pizza is, IMHO, completely disgusting. You've got the deep dish, some toppings and sauce, and below it about a 1/2 inch of cheap crappy melted cheese before you get to the rest of the crust. I can never finish more than a couple of slices, and I always feel worse for the effort. I guess when it comes to pizza I'm more of the New York school, as exemplified by my beloved Big Nick's on Manhattan's upper west side. Locally, my personal faves are Zachary's on Oak and Uncle Fatih's on Broadway @ Commercial. Call me crazy.

Other places with local cuisine seem to travel well, in particular Montreal is able to export smoked meat, poutine and bagels with Aplomb. But it seems with White Spot in BC and Giordano's on Chicago, no else seems to get it.