Serious Eats New York - newyork.seriouseats.com

UGH!

I will point out that Friday's started in Manhattan. Per Wikipedia:

The Friday's restaurant chain was founded in 1965 in New York City, featuring standard American cuisine, bar food and alcoholic beverages. The restaurant was located at the corner of 63rd Street and First Avenue. The exterior featured a red-and-white striped awning and blue paint, and the interior included wooden floors, Bentwood chairs and striped tablecloths; the bar area added brass rails and stained glass. The employees were young and wore wacky uniforms, and every time someone had a birthday, the entire restaurant crew came around with a cake and sang Friday's traditional birthday song. The location is now a British pub called "Baker Street"; the brass rails are still there.

Still, it's pretty lame to see one come to Union Square. Even though there's already a McDonald's and a Starbucks or two and a Whole Foods and was recently home to Circuit City and Virgin Megastore. Given all that, it still seems beyond the pale. Guess it's only time before we see a Hershey's store—and maybe a Planet Hollywood can open in the former Virgin space.

That's funny Adam. I live in a brownstone Brooklyn neighborhood and several years ago many of the neighbors were all up in arms about a fast food joint was going to be placed in their neighborhood. The restaurant? A Nathan's.