This is probably only a social media thing, but I’m always baffled by the absurd videos of åeople eating in cars. I understand it with small meals, but I’ve seen people easting large ribs and a guy who had a whole butter-chicken fountain. Is eating takeaway in your car common or just a social media thing?
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No one is eating a “butter chicken fountain” in their car. That’s a video made for your online entertainment. There’s no eating in cars culture. People eat fast food in the car because they are on their way somewhere and don’t have time to take a break for food.
Glad you asked instead of assuming. Seriously, thank you!
We do eat in our cars quite often, hence all the drive thrus.
BUT, it’s small, handheld items. Burgers. Fries. Sandwiches.
Social media requires people doing increasingly insane things to get views, like eating a rack of ribs while driving.
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I rarely eat in my car. The people on social media doing it have a second purpose… making their social media content.
I don’t know why these influencers are doing videos eating in their car. Presumably it started for privacy , then they all started copying each other.
Recording yourself eating food in front of other patrons would be awkward.
It’s just social media bullshit.
Protip: If you see it on social media, it’s 99% likely to be bullshit.
Small meals are normal. Massive meals like that are not. I would guess the videos you’ve seen are exaggerating things for comedic effect. It’s not something they do without the camera rolling. They are just trying to make a funny video.
If it’s someone parked in their car eating something, they probably want to review the food while it’s fresh but don’t want to or can’t film in the restaurant or out in public.
If it’s not a food review or its something obviously ridiculous, it’s someone being stupid for social media views.
There’s a food review account I follow that the host frequently eats and reviews the meals in his car because it’s a convenient and private place to do so. He’ll sit in a parking lot though, not drive around. A restaurant probably doesn’t want guest setting up a tripod and doing live reviews in their place of business, that would be really rude.
No, I’d never get ribs with the intention of eating them in the car.
Social media people eating absurd things are just being social media.
There are some people who review the food who will eat in their cars. Some reasons: Hot food is better, so eating it while hot. But why not in the restaurant? Some restaurants ban filming, some are super loud, some are super busy. So the car thing started as food reviewers being considerate of others and filming in a place where the control the volume.
Usually at most it’s a handheld item like a small sandwich or burger etc… the other stuff is just for a shock factor of sorts on social media for attention.
Personally I never eat in my car as I loathe getting crumbs and other messy things all over the interior, only thing I stick to for consumption in my car are liquids.
Outside of cities, almost every fast food restaurant and coffee shop has a drive-thru window. Especially since the pandemic, places around here sell more meals at that window than they do at the counter inside.
Drive-in restaurants, where you park in a lot and servers come around to take your order and bring your food, were big in the years after WWII and still exist.
Yeah, we eat in our cars.
There is a current social media trend of people taking videos of themselves eating/reviewing food items that wouldn’t normally be consumed in a vehicle. My guess is that a lot of people who wouldn’t normally watch those kind of videos tune in for absurdity of it. Influencers keep doing it since its an easy way to generate views.
Americans do eat a lot in their vehicles but it’s mostly smaller more fast food oriented items like you guessed. If someone pretty much works out of their car they might end up eating some more substantial stuff in there but that isn’t the norm or anything.
I eat more in my vehicle than anywhere else.
I do not eat in my car and don’t let my kids do it either. Too messy! And for me as a driver, I need to keep my focus on operating my car, not getting distracted by eating.
People eat in their cars at Wawa all the time. But it’s like sandwiches and stuff, not 7 course meals.
In high school, my friends and I would eat in our cars all the time. But as an adult, rarely ever and usually only when on a long road trip.
Back in the day when I worked in an office, my car was a favorite lunchtime refuge. I’d take my lunch out there – or pick something up – and park in a lot to eat. Peace and quiet (no co-workers wanting to chat!), but with a view for people watching. I could also listen to my radio if I wanted.
It often worked out that I was out and about in my car at lunchtime, anyway, so eating there was convenient. But I rarely did so while driving down the road, especially since I’ve always enjoyed reading while eating.
I eat in the car on road trips outside of road trips usually not
On road trips, absolutely. But for us, at least, we try and choose non messy stuff that can be eaten one handed
Gum and drinks only in my car. When I say I keep it clean, I mean I try to touch it once and not have to clean it again.
Americans value comfort and convenience above all else. Eating in your car is comfortable and convenient especially for fast food type meals. We just have so much more fast food here than anywhere else that it equates to more car meals. Its become a whole sub culture since covid I guess, but you go way back to the 1950’s with drive in theaters and burger getting roller skated to your car, its just an American thing!
You are watching people make videos of themselves eating. It’s not supposed to be normal. No sane, normal person is eating ribs in their car. I am continually baffled by how ridiculously gullible people are when it comes to social media.
I have a really varied work schedule and can’t possibly have any kind of normal meal schedule. My family eats like normal humans. I eat in my car a lot. Like a whole lot. It’s generally snack food, with the most complicated “meal” kind of thing being a sub/hoagie kind of sandwich or some pizza. Maybe some chicken fingers(white meat chicken strips, breaded and fried, served with French fries and a piece of Texas Toast (thick slice of bread, buttered and fried).
Never ate some giant meal or ribs in a car.
I have eaten fast food in a car while on a road trip and trying to save time. Eat quick and go or eat while driving if it is something like chicken nuggets.
Many years ago when I was in college I’d get a Burger King croissant breakfast and eat that while driving to school. I had to get their early and never had time to eat at home. The traffic was always bad so I had time to get bites when it slowed down. My car was manual transmission too. Not sure I could manage it all today. Shifting and managing a sandwich at the same time lol.
99% of the time now if I get takeaway I am just bringing it home to eat.
Lots of people do but our fast food places are so close to my place that I don’t need or want to. On a really long trip or something though I’ll eat a hamburger or something in my car. Eating butter chicken or ribs is ridiculous those aren’t car foods.
Well…maybe the butter chicken I could see that. I don’t know what the fuck a butter chicken fountain is. If you eat ribs right though you’ll be covered in sauce. You need a mount Everest of napkins or a shower after. Eating ribs in your car is some caveman shit.
It’s pretty common to eat in our cars but usually it’s fast food, not big full meals.
I personally don’t eat in my car at all. My interior is pristine and I want to keep it that way
When I worked in the field I routinely ate in my truck. Now I eat at my desk.
It’s common enough to eat small, hand held meals in a car. Like a burger and fries on a road trip or something. Some people will eat their lunch (or dinner) in a car while working because they either just don’t have anywhere else to eat or would rather not be near someone.
If you’re talking about reviews, I have noticed a handful of content creators doing restaurant reviews in their car. I suppose it’s just a quiet place to eat where they aren’t surrounded by people.
I never eat in my car nor do I allow others too. If we’re driving some place far then I would rather take half an hour to sit down and eat rather than scarf down a burger while sitting in traffic.
I want to know what a butter chicken fountain is and where do I get one?
Small meals and snacks are totally normal. Snacks during road-trips are a part of the culture though.
lol the fighting in the thread. I’m a euro American. Currently live in the USA. You grab a quick bite at a fast food window and lots of people eat it carefully wrapped in the paper on the way to somewhere quick. And before all the western eu folks can chime in about their siesta hours. I live and work in Central Europe too and if there’s a busy drive through-you’re grabbing a bite aka eating on the move.
I hate eating in my car. I’d much rather just run in and sit down for a minute.
People who review food on social media for a living will eat huge meals in their cars because It’s a convenient mobile recording studio. It gets you to the food, you have the space to yourself, minimal noise gets in or out.
We’ve been eating in our cars for pretty much a century now. (Some of us even live in our cars, but that’s another issue.)
Most of it hasn’t involved large meals that require forks or spoons, though. Soup is never a good car food, either. Mostly sandwiches, burgers, and other handheld foods and finger foods like fries. I’ve managed to eat a burrito one-handed while driving, though. Tacos are less car-friendly.
Never seen anyone eating ribs in a car, at least not while driving.
Some foods like pizza, fried chicken, or ribs aren’t really designed to eat while driving but some people eat them when parked. If you’re parked, pretty much anything goes, even soup.
I know what butter chicken is (a good Indian dish), but I have no idea what a butter chicken *fountain* is. Anything that would involve the word “fountain” doesn’t sound especially vehicle-friendly, especially if it involves food.
[EDIT: Okay I think I found this butter chicken fountain video you’re talking about, and….this is just bizarre. NOBODY DOES THIS. This guy obviously filmed this in his car just for hits.]
https://youtube.com/shorts/1B1VEXRHiHk?si=5aubep3o5jnHWe5M
I eat in my car all the time, but always foods I can eat with my hands relatively neatly. Burgers are my favorite car food, which is extremely American when I think about it.
I’ve only ever eaten fast food or snacks in my car, usually while stopping at a gas station during a road trip or sum.
Full on meals? Ribs? Ew, no thanks. I dont want barbeque sauce all over my hands and steering wheel while I drive.
I do eat take out in my car maybe twice a month. It is usually stuff that is not very messy or requires many utensils like sandwiches. The biggest thing I would eat in the car is probably pizza. The thing with the most containers and utensils is Chinese food. The drippiest thing is ice cream. I am not driving while eating something that uses utensils.
I have never eaten a rack of ribs in the car. I’ve never heard of a butter chicken fountain. I imagine people making videos of stuff like that are trying to be outrageous to get more views.
I eat in my car a lot, but it’s mostly cause I like to stay away from other humans. I order online and they bring it to me in my car. My hubby and I will order a whole meal from like cracker barrel or something. He likes people more than I do so sometimes we order to go, and he goes IN to grab it. But I try to stay away from people as much as I can. I live out in the country, so to-go food would be cold and nasty if I tried to take it home before I eat. Tho I don’t drive and eat. We just find a shady spot and chow down.
I see this a lot on TikTok and I think it’s because they can’t eat and film in a restaurant or their home isnt conducive to a good set up for filming.
I personally don’t even like eating french fries from a fast food bag in my car. It’s not worth it to have a potential food mess in my car.
I be started this in the pandemic to avoid the office as long as possible and it was super peaceful and relaxing.
I used to eat in my car all the time. I lived far away from anywhere I wanted to eat so if I waited until I got home, it would be cold or soggy.
With that being said, I think influencers do it more than the average person.
I enjoy eating a McDouble while driving. Like I obviously don’t do it all the time, but if I’m on a trip or a drive around a meal time I’ll get something like a burger to eat.
Very common! It’s really amplified for me because I’ve been working out of my car for the last 6 months, and don’t get time to stop to eat lunch properly between appointments (and I’m always rolling out late just grabbing breakfast omw out the door). Plus a few times a week I work nights for a part-time job. It’s not always “fast food,” but certainly eating food quickly in my car (and spilling everywhere). It’s gross in there right now.