Most Michiganders think little of going down the street to pick up a quick meal. Fast food chains like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and Taco Bell are everywhere. Aren't they?

The concept of a food desert is a real and problematic thing. Food deserts refer to areas, both urban and rural far from grocery stores that offer fresh produce and meats and the only food for sale is prepacked, overly processed and generally considered unhealthy.

👇🏼BELOW: The 20 Best Regional Fast-Food Chains to Try👇🏼

One hallmark of a food desert is a preponderance of fast food over grocery stores. So what's the opposite of a food desert? An area with a pronounced lacking of fast food locations?

That's the situation facing many counties in northern Michigan. With a distinct lack of fast food restaurants, this region of the state could be considered a fast food desert.

Factor in lower populations and lack of interstate highway mileage and it quickly becomes clear that many chains shy away from the region.

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We've covered the fact that there are nine counties without a McDonald's within Michigan, 5 in the Upper Peninsula and 4 in the Lower.

If that's the case with the country's most widely recognized fast food chain, what's it like for others? Reddit user Ok_Chef_8775 has been collecting internet points and karma by producing and sharing heat maps of retail and restaurant locations around Michigan. A recent posting shows the locations and saturation of chains like Burger King, Wendy's and Taco Bell.

When it comes to Taco Bell, running for the border, literally may be the best option for some Michiganders. There are 20 counties, out of Michigan's 83, without a single Taco Bell. Across the Upper Peninsula there are just 8 restaurants total with two of them in Marquette County and another two along I-75 in St Ignace and Sault Ste Marie.

For the burger chains, Burger King is missing from 20 Michigan counties with a patch of northeast lower Michigan between I-75 and Alpena particularly devoid of the chain. There are 2 Burger Kings in Houghton County while no other UP country has more than one. The image above shows a Burger King with Taco Bell in distance along Sharon Ave in Houghton.

Finally for Wendy's, there are just 4 counties with a Wendy's across the UP. They're only in the cities of Sault Ste Marie, Marquette, and Escanaba. All told across the state there are 31 counties without access to Frostys and Baconators.

From coast to coast: The 20 best regional fast-food chains to try

From burgers to subs and even creamy milkshakes, these tasty fast-food chains, compiled by Stacker, are a must-try on your next road trip.

Gallery Credit: Kiersten Hickman

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Gallery Credit: Stacker