We have countless food options in Alabama, so why can’t we ever decide where to eat?

Despite the many restaurants in our respective towns, you often hear those whiny refrains: “There’s nowhere to eat here! This town needs more restaurants!”

We beg to differ, but who’s turning down something new, different and good — and even more intriguing, popular places that have yet to break ground here?

On Facebook, we asked you a simple question: What restaurant chain do you think should come to Alabama?

We got more than 2,000 responses from folks eager to recruit burgers, chicken, seafood and fries from all over the country, so we can finally try what we’ve been missing out on all these years.

Readers said Del Taco, Bob Evans, Boston Market, Skyline Chili, Sweet Tomatoes and other popular restaurants you can find seemingly anywhere outside of Alabama.

But five stood out among the clamoring to bring the chains inside our borders. Below are the five restaurant chains Alabama desperately needs. (Read all of the AL.com reader suggestions …)

In-N-Out Burger

“Those are good burgers,” says Donny, bowling pal of The Dude and Walter in “The Big Lebowski.” But how would we know? Unless you smuggled a soggy patty in your luggage leaving LAX or you brought some Tupperware back from the Dallas-Fort Worth area to enjoy later, you haven’t eaten the famous In-N-Out Double Double within Alabama’s state lines. Widely considered one of the great burgers in the U.S., fast food or otherwise, In-N-Out’s widely adored, supposedly quite juicy burgers are mythological objects ‘round these parts, like lembas bread from “Lord of the Rings” or the Big Kahuna burger from “Pulp Fiction.” Make it a reality, or pack bag and book a flight due west.

Jack in the Box

Head to the locations section of this chain’s website, and you’ll only spot Arizona under the A. It feels like that clown head (the restaurant’s mascot) is just mocking Alabama, at this point. A Large Classic Buttery Jack Combo, a Large Cluck Sandwich, a Chick-N-Tater Melt — we just want the opportunity. I suppose the good news here is you can find them in the Southern states like Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, if you’re passing through. No none of those are Alabama, are they? Now who’s the clown?

Portillo’s

“Home to America’s favorite Italian beef, burgers, salads, Chicago-style hot dogs and chocolate cake.” Yes, we’ll take all of that, please. Fans of the Emmy-winning FX show “The Bear” are craving one of those juicy beef sandwiches, and if we can’t make it all the way to Mr. Beef on New Orleans Street, we’ll happily try one from this chain some foodies consider just as good if not better. And we’ll take the chocolate cake and eat it, too, while we’re at it. One day. You’ll find Portillo’s in Florida (St. Petersburg, Orlando) or Texas (Arlington, Fort Worth), but Alabama? Keep asking, “Where’s the beef?”

Raising Cane’s

“We could really use a chicken finger place,” Facebook user Chris Armstrong quipped in the comments, drawing a few laughs. You probably already frequent the drive-thrus of fast-food chicken places like Guthrie’s, Foosackly’s, Zaxby’s, Walton’s, Slim Chickens and others, but you won’t find this popular chain close by. But here’s the catch: There is one Raising Cane’s location in our state, at 210 McCorvey Drive on the University of Alabama campus. That’s it. Good luck finding a parking place and braving the lines packed with hungry college students, if you want to try a finger combo with the crinkle-cut fries, Cane’s sauce and Texas toast.

White Castle

“White Castle fries only come in one size,” New York poets The Beastie Boys once told us. And some of us will never find out, unless we hit the road to try the chain best known in the Midwest and New York metropolitan area. A silver lining: You wouldn’t have to drive far to find locations in Tennessee, as nearby as Nashville. We’ve had access to small slider burgers and fries from Krystal for years, but we’ve long wanted to have what Harold and Kumar are having, at least to eat.