Today is Australia day and the official grand opening of Pie Face, the new midtown meat pie shop. Read more about it on Serious Eats. There are freebies to be had if you're in the area!
About
The Scoop
In fourth grade someone got the bright idea of cutting lunch to an outrageous 15 minutes (as if going to a year-round school without a cafeteria wasn't enough--we ate at our desks and were served by mobile carts in the hall). To get the slow eaters (me) up to speed, our teachers implemented a charming little policy called "Shovel Time."
The first nine minutes would pass normally. Then as the tenth approached, Miss Stauffer (a feathered-haired gal who drove a Camaro and loved Little River Band) would yell, "Do you know what time it is?!" The class would manically shriek back, "SHOVEL TIME!!!" Talking was absolutely forbidden the final five minutes—it was a deathly silent scarf fest.
I don't know if I've ever been the same since. But as a nod to this classy ritual, I've adopted the humble scooping implement as my rating system's icon. Shovel on!
----------------------------------
1 Shovel=Passing Fancy
2 Shovels=Puppy Love
3 Shovels=Crippling Crush
4 Shovels=Serious Stalking
Picture This
The Philly Phanatics
Kraft’s attempts to integrate cream cheese into dishes where it has no right being has not been lost on me, nor Businessweek. (Do I really have to call it Bloomberg Businessweek?)
What I didn’t realize was that all this kraftiness has the makings of an international incident. Cream cheese is not just being recommended for our All-American soups and casseroles—the white plague originated overseas!
In 2008 the brand realized that its biggest users in Western Europe weren’t just treating the product as spread, but as an ingredient, so the company solicited user recipes, which resulted in freakshows like “Thai Spiced Philadelphia Prawns” and “Middle Eastern Lamb Pies.”
Now it all makes sense. We are feeling the repercussions of cuisines that put quark in their curries, as in the recipe found in the German women’s magazine I read on my flight back from Berlin. Frankly, I’d rather we borrow from nations that put corn and mayonnaise on their pizza.
Just be thankful that Philly Indulgence, a cream cheese-chocolate spread already available in Europe, will arrive here next month instead of other Kraft experiments like grapefruit smoothies and a Vegemite blend.
Photo: German Snack Mania
Where Every Day Can Be St. Patrick's Day
I’m off to Berlin for the next week. And while I’m aware that food-wise it’s not exactly a San Sebastian or Copenhagen (my original choice) it concerns me that anyone I’ve mentioned this vacation plan to has seemed unenthused. It’s not all sausages and schnitzels! At least I don’t think so…
Who cares because they have green beer! I’m determined to find this supposedly sour Berliner Weisse that’s sweetened with cherry (red) or woodruff (green) syrup. I wonder if woodruff is anything like mugwort, another herbal agent that lends a green hue to products in other countries. Like mochi cakes in Japan.
Photo via BerlinAndOut
Chain Links: India is Young and Young People Like to Eat
Fast food appeals to India's vast under-30 population, and it's not all Maharaja Macs and paneer pizza. Homegrown chains like Kaati Zone and Jumbo King (I love those fried potato burgers) are stepping up.
Young people in India (the 50% under 30 stat is cited yet again) also love coffee. Dunkin' Donuts wants a piece of that.
Some Indians, though, are eating at the opposite end of the spectrum. New Delhi's Le Cirque opened in August and has had to accommodate restrictions like Jains' onion and garlic-free diet. Luckily, pasta pirmavera, a Le Cirque invention, is already vegetarian.
Tony Roma’s is one of those Kenny Rogers Roasters-esque restaurants that flounders here but persists abroad. Bangkok and Jakarta now have more American ribs. And so does LA...in a cross-cultural twist, the new Tony Roma’s in Torrance is paired with Capricciosa Italian Restaurant, a Japan-Italian chain. (Both are ran by the same Singapore-based holding company, Mas Millennium.)
Not all American chains are having the same good fortune as KFC or McDonald’s in China. Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, and California Pizza Kitchen have all had to close down branches in Shanghai and Beijing. American businessman, Scott Minoie, has took a different approach and opened a chain of restaurants in China called Element Fresh with no US springboard. He’s been looking to local successes like Hai Di Lao and South Beauty (um, that Sichuan chain is way fancier than Outback or Applebee’s) for inspiration.
Vada pav photo from Jumbo King
Chain Links: Hitting the BRIC Wall
Chains wanting to expand into foreign markets are having a hard time finding executives with the know-how to localize menus and navigate business issues abroad. Sometimes you have to add squid and corn to a pizza or sell beer with your burgers.
There is a sandwich chain called Spicy Pickle, and it will be arriving in Qatar next year. I don’t know what makes ham, cheddar, honey mustard, apple, spinach, and tomato, on grilled marble rye Basque, and don’t expect Doha residents to be any less confused.
I vowed never to speak of Pei Wei again, after last year’s sham of a contest where they chose a finalist who couldn’t use palate properly. But if you find yourself in Mexico City in the near future, craving crab rangoon, your needs will be met.
Did you know there was a Union Square Cafe in Tokyo? I wouldn't be surprised if there were stealth replicas of other notable restaurants stashed around Japan either. I be that their La Grenouille wouldn't trigger Paris Syndrome. (I know many French stereotypes are exaggerated, but even so, I havea million cities I'd rather visit first--I'm currently considering São Paulo, Lima, Istanbul, Los Angeles, and Reykjavik for a post-Thanksgiving jaunt, though I'll probably end up in Montreal like I often do that time of year.)
It seems that everyone wants to break into China, India, and the Middle East, but maybe chains should consider Russia and Colombia too. There was a time, not so long ago, when I did not know what BRIC stood for. Now I'm a better person.
Chili's opened in São Paulo and are serving five different caipirinhas and various dishes showcasing picahna, a popular cut of meat that's equivalent to top sirloin.
McDonald’s in Brazil has the CBO, a.k.a. chicken, bacon, onion sandwich that originated in Europe. Brazil has everything.
Chain Links: Spongebob & Oregon Steak
Budget Travel rounded up fast food chains in foreign countries. Germany’s Nordsee caught my attention, not just for its fresh seafood, but because its mascot bears a passing resemblance to Patrick on Spongebob.
While it could be easily argued that deep-dish pizza, burritos, and Hawaiian cuisine are iconically American, I’m having a hard time associating Oregon with steak. The Oregon Bar & Grill in the Shiodome district does just that, using Oregon beef and wine as a selling point. Does Oregon really have that much cache? The connection appears to be Portland-based McCormick & Schmick’s, which is affiliated with this restaurant in Japan, despite no mention of it on its site.
For all of my fascination with American chain adaptations in the Middle East, one obvious difference never occurred to me. Generally, women and men unless married or close family members don't sit together, requiring separate entrances and seating areas for solo males and families. And tables in the family section must be curtained off (women don’t eat with a veil on) like this example at a Saudi KFC. These are the constraints that the Melting Pot, treated like a date place in the US, has had to work with in Saudi Arabia.
Famous Dave's is opening in Winnepeg.
Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez were spotted eating at an Outback Steakhouse in São Paulo.
In higher end news, the shuttered Tavern on the Green will be reborn as a chain and could spread around the world. Also, Le Cirque has opened a branch in Delhi.
Have It Your Way
Photo: Brianpbrady/Travelpod
I said no more McDonald’s oddities from foreign countries, not no Burger King knock-offs in China. So, have a gander at KDS, Texas Burger, and Cheese Burger.
A Ban on Bubur Ayam
Photo: A Texan-American Way of Life
I’ll always be a sucker for localized fast food menus in other countries, but I think there needs to be a moratorium on oddities from around the world round-ups. It feels like one pops up every month—and McDonald’s Bubur Ayam always gets a mention. Zagat is just the latest to get involved.
Variations exist on CNNGo, HowStuffWorks, BusinessInsider (ugh, with palettes in the URL), Time, Weird Asia News, Chicago Tribune, Food Network Humor, BuzzFeed, and…ok, you get the idea.
This week, why not read about American vs Mexican breakfast cereal or American snack foods with unusual varieties abroad? Fruit flavored Pringles was a new one to me.
Also, Jarritos, those colorful Mexican sodas in glass bottles, is trying to expand its audience to “18- to 24-year-old, non-Hispanic, trend-setting males.” I noticed Jarritos ads (before I read the New York Times article, so I don't think I was being re-targeted) on The Rumpus a few days ago, which was a surprise. I don’t know if the brand’s target demographic overlaps significantly with the literary site’s readers.
Chain Links: Dubai Does It Again
Nothing surprises me anymore. Texas Roadhouse barely has a presence in the NYC area, and yet the restaurant known for line-dancing servers and freshly baked rolls has opened at The Dubai Mall. I really need to pay a visit to Dubai, it seems. It’s more American than the America I live in.
Bulgogi Brothers (ugh, with the exception of fictional Pollos Hermanos, I hate the word brothers in a title, i.e. Property Brothers, it’s as if a grade-schooler as allowed to be in charge) a Korean bbq chain has opened in the Philippines. Two other Korean operations, Caffe Bene and Bistro Seoul, plan to be in NYC within the next five years.
The East Village’s ChikaLicious Dessert Bar will be opening a branch in Tokyo as well transporting the more casual sibling, Dessert Club, to Hong Kong.
A new terminal has opened in Macedonia’s Alexander the Great airport and it happens to house the country’s first Burger King.
Frisby, the Colombian fried chicken chain, has partnered with Sarku Japan, an American QSR, to bring teriyaki to Pereira, Medellin and Cali. More cities are on the horizon.
Country Chicken, an Australian fried chicken and pizza chain, already has franchises in New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, United Emirates, Russia and Fiji. India is next.
Smashburger will be opening in Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. I cannot entertain eating at a place called Smashburger because it triggers thoughts of Smash Mouth. And no matter how big the '90s revival becomes, no one needs to hear "All Star" or jesus, "Walkin' on the Sun" ever again.
Chain Links: The Gambler
The New York Times is pokier with its fall dining coverage than other outlets, but it contains some good details, particularly in the article on foreign imports, a bona fide trend. I’d forgotten about insanely opulent Café Pushkin from Moscow--so over the top it’s really a theme restaurant--and knew nothing about Naples’ Fratelli la Bufala. And before my time (in the city, not living) there were foreign chains that bombed: “Lenôtre from Paris in the 1970s, the art-deco Altri Tempi from Italy in the 1980s, and the stylish Eldorado Petit from Barcelona in the 1990s.” The latter served Catalonian food, a novelty at the time. Now we’re looking to Asturias.
Kenny Rogers Roasters is a prime example of the US fast food brands that fizzled out here, but thrive abroad. I'm still baffled by the dish called Reuben James (above) I spied on the menu in Singapore.
Quebec is a testing ground for Canadian chains looking to expand—regionally and internationally. Yeh! Yogourt will be in Boston and Albany soon, and Liquid Nutrition, La Popessa, Sac Wich and Pasta Tutti Giorni may all follow suit.
Quiznos just opened its first location in India and is delving into localization. Aloo Corn Spinach Tikki Sub, Lamb Seekh Sub and the Chicken or Veg Manchurian Subs are just a few additions for Hyderabad.
Panda Express just opened its first Mexican branch.
There is a restaurant in the Bahamas called Bamboo Shack, and it may be franchised in the US.
Fall is Full of International Intrigue
Fall previews don’t really have much of a place here (though I’m still quite stoked about the Bahama Breeze opening October in Woodbridge) but this year my attention has been peaked by the number of foreign chains—many high-end—that have decided to open in NYC.
One hesitates to equate an establishment with a $125 tasting menu involving fried grasshoppers and a “cucumber cloud” with say, a joint serving spaghetti teeming with hot dog weiners, but to me if a restaurant is using the same name and concept here as in its country of origin, it’s a chain. And I want to embrace them all.
La Mar Cebicheria Peruana
Peruvian cuisine has been touted as the next big thing for some time, but up until now we’ve made do with regional chain, Pio Pio (while researching a trip to Charlotte next weekend, I discovered there’s a branch there and in Orlando—who knew?) and their massive matador combo. Soon we’ll have celebrity chef Gastón Acurio’s ceviche-centric outpost in the former Tabla space. We’re a little late to the game; there are already six La Mar locations in Latin America and one in San Francisco. The most cross-cultural item I see on the Lima menu is a cocktail called the cholopolitan (Pisco acholado, cranberry, lima-limón, cointreau, toque de maracuyá). Will the Peruvian cosmo make it to NYC?
Al Mayass
This Armenian-Lebanese chain with locations in Kuwait, Beirut and Riyadh signed a lease in the Flatiron District over year ago. It looks like it will finally be opening. I'm curious about the cherry kebabs.
Ladurée
I tend not to get caught up in things like cupcakes, frozen yogurt and yes, macarons. Such a strange fetish lady food bloggers seem to have with these little rainbow-hued almond flour cookies. They are certainly pretty, and I was hardly immune to the power of a giant blue specimen at Bouchon Bakery. I also recognize that Ladurée is the shit, hence the venerable patisserie's 1pm grand opening tomorrow is understandably a big deal. I do wonder how it will go down since there will be no public transportation after noon. Also, I take back any cynicism I had—these religieuses are freaking beautiful. I might brave a hurricane for these.
Aamann
I’d nearly forgotten about this Danish smørrebrød chain coming to Tribeca. I’m picturing a Pret a Manger meets Le Pain Quotidien affair with more herring, nettles, sorrel and rye. Probably no sea buckthorn or reindeer blood, I imagine. Promotional photos promise something very bento.
Taka Taka
I just mentioned this Mexican sushi chain earlier this week and now I’m going to again. This one’s a doozy because it’s exporting an imported cuisine—and presenting it on a conveyor belt! We haven’t had kaiten sushi since Singaporean Sakae Sushi departed in 2009. Also, if YO! Sushi finally gets it together, we’ll have two and all will be right in the world.
Jung Sik Dang
This one was totally new to me. And yes, this high end South Korean restaurant is the grasshopper-serving culprit, and will also be in Tribeca, taking Chanterelle’s old spot. I’m all for modern cuisine and chef Jung Sik Yim has cooked at Bouley and Aquavit in NYC as well as Akelare in San Sebastián, so he might know what he’s doing. “Picking your Salads” seems far more appealing than a Korean deli salad bar (and I frequent them all the time).
Photos: Living in Peru, La Tartine Gourmande, Aamanns, Jinhwa-FICATION
Faking It
First it was the fake Apple stores and Ikeas in China.
Now, NYC authorities are getting tough with Chinatown vendors of copyright-infringing cardboard replicas of luxury goods.
Should I tip off Singapore-based bakery chain, BreadTalk, about the above Chinatown name-stealer?
Photo: Robyn Lee/Serious Eats
Tacos Avec Sauce Piquant
I hesitate to call four articles/posts in 15 months an obsession, but The New York Times does appear to have a thing for tacos in European capitals—with hot sauce. (Me, I’m more concerned with how taco means a million different things in Spain.)
May 19, 2010: Now in Berlin, Tastes of Mexico
May 6, 2011: Paris, With Hot Sauce
May 31, 2011: At Long Last, Tacos in Paris
August 23, 2011: Berlin With Extra Hot Sauce
Now if there was only a way to work in a Nordic and/or foraged angle...
I hear they're serving fish tacos at Noma.
Taco shirt from MNKR
Chain Links: Empire (of the Sun) Boardwalk
I don’t normally look to Mex and the City for chain restaurant news (usually, it’s more of a source for I wish I could get away with wearing 4” serape-esque heels notions) but today I learned of Moshi Moshi, a Mexican conveyor belt sushi chain that will be opening an offshoot in lower Manhattan. Named Taka Taka, the concept is described as “Mexican sushi & Japanese tacos.” My one experience with sushi in Mexico City introduced me to their inclusion of cream cheese on just about every roll, so this could prove interesting.
I’m also excited for the impending midtown Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf even though it’s technically Californian and I’m never in midtown. I say technically because I had never encountered one until I started visiting the malls of Southeast Asia, so I always associate it with that part of the world. While I never drink sugary, frosty, whipped cream topped beverages in the US, there’s something about sweating to the point of collapse, then getting blasted with air conditioning while drinking an Iced Blended to revive (the experience is even better if followed by MOS Burger). Plus, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is where I spied Steve Buscemi in Shanghai (pictured above). If it’s good enough for a fellow Brooklyn dweller…
And I guess Firehouse Subs is opening in Puerto Rico, but really who cares about that.
Spanish Sandwich Invasion
As much as I enjoy keeping up with American brands permeating the universe (good luck to Spam positioning itself as luxurious in China) I get most excited about foreign chains staking claims on US soil and attempting to pushing their fast food on us.
The latest venture is Spain’s 100 Montaditos, selling inexpensive 5” sandwiches. Can ingredients like thinly sliced chorizo or blue cheese between crispy rolls compete with five-dollar foot-longs? So metric.
Up until now I was only familiar with chains Pans & Company and Bocatta, which I have patronized in Spain despite the availability of montaditos at most run-of-the-mill tapas bars (above is a typical version, jamon and green pepper, from a random courtyard bar in Bilbao--I stopped by Pans & Company afterward because I needed to use the bathroom and ended up buying another sandwich). So far, the company has one branch in Miami, plans for Union Square and then total US domination. Seriously, 4,000 American restaurants over the next five years is certainly ambitious.
I am particularly interested in how they’ve localized the menu for the US. 100 Montaditos does serve alcohol in Miami, but the cheapest glass of wine is $3.50, inexpensive but not Spain inexpensive, i.e. 1.50 euro ($2.14) a glass. I’m glad to see they’ve also kept the tinto verano (red wine and Sierra Mist). Olives, chips and French fries with dipping sauces are served in both countries as sides while the nachos were dropped for the US.
We also are missing some of the more esoteric of the 100 sandwiches like the sweet and sour pork with Chinese salad, the Mexican one with veal and salsa, those with gulas, a.k.a. baby eels. In exchange, we’ve gained, pulled pork, hummus and sweeter sandwiches employing peanut butter, jam and cream cheese as well as one that contains squares of Hershey’s Cookies and Cream bar. I guess Americans like bbq, candy and mashed chickpeas?
Chain Links: America Does Not Yet Run on Dunkin'
Similar to how some Americans cite the arrival of a Thai restaurant to indicate gentrification (I don’t fully agree with this) you know you’re on your way up when your country gets a KFC. Nairobi’s middle class is growing and Galito’s had better watch its back.
All we hear about is drug violence, but that doesn't mean there is no place for Red Lobster, Olive Garden and The Capital Grille in Mexico. Darden's SVP of business development said, "With its growing middle class and strong affinity for American brands, Mexico is an attractive growth market for Darden."
I’m mildly embarrassed that I didn’t know Nestle Toll House Café even existed until I saw one in the flesh at Woodbridge Mall (apparently, I'm stuck in the Famous Amos, Mrs. Fields era). The Middle East is savvier than I and Kuwait will be welcoming one. Dubai already had a branch.
If you live in the Northeast, you might be under the impression that Dunkin’ Donuts dominates everywhere. Not so in Europe where the only presence is in Russia, Germany and Spain (where it’s just Dunkin’ Coffee since rosquilla is used to describe a fried, frosted ring of dough). This will change if Dunkin’ Donuts has its way.
Dunkin’ Donuts also has problems in its own country, and it wants to win over those west of the Mississippi. We had them when I was a youngster, but they’ve since disappeared from the Northwest. (I might be one of the only defenders of The Killing, but when they made a reference to Dunkin’ Donuts I cringed.) Everyone is so indie on the West Coast (not true) that the company will likely have to market to lower income folks who are too poor and/or uneducated to give a shit about coffee varietals and artisanal breakfast pastries (those who abhor chains might enjoy the maple bars, a regional specialty I never knew was regional, at Coco in Portland—it was only one block from my hotel so I could not resist).
And What About P'Zones?
Everyone’s getting back to basics. McDonald’s has expunged McFalafel from its Israel locations and Olive Garden is shying away from “culinary forward” dishes like pear and Gorgonzola salads and concoctions like the made-up-sounding pastachetti that was giving me pause earlier this year. There is no such Italian thing. Same goes for soffatellli.
I assumed rollatini and rollata were also Olive Garden inventions, but it turns out there’s nothing non-traditional…about the words, at least. Lasagna Rollata al Forno is purely R&D-derived.
I’m only surprised that chains don’t invent authentic-seeming-to-English-speakers dishes more often. The only other example I can think of off-hand is Taco Bell’s enchirito. There must be more. Anyone?
Items like chimichangas that have been widely adopted as real don't count.
¡Dairy Queen® para toda ocasión!
Last week a gentleman dressed like Cookie Monster, or rather El Monstruo ComeGalletas, proposed to his girlfriend in a Dairy Queen somewhere in Mexico.
As usual, the most important part of the story has been omitted. Was the ring hidden in something edible or not? They do sell Chips Ahoy ice cream sandwiches, after all.
Chain Links: Blizzards and Ice Storms
Russia is ideal for American fast food. People earn less than in the US, but customers are willing to pay more. A Papa John’s pizza that would cost $14 the US, sells for $21.62 in Moscow. Buffalo chicken, complete with Tabasco, blue cheese and celery has been a best-selling topping.
You can get beer delivered with your Russian Papa John’s, but Starbucks is not making any concessions for regional vices. Smoking is not allowed in their Russian coffee shops, a rarity for the country.
By now we’ve all heard about the fake Apple stores in China, but it doesn’t stop there. Dairy Fairy, which serves an Ice Storm instead of a Blizzard, bears a striking resemblance to Dairy Queen. According to the Wall Street Journal, at least. I don't think it's quite as uncanny as the Ikea copycat.
The real DQ will open in Guatemala in October.
Photo credit: Melissa Powers/Wall Street Journal
Regional Food Representing
You would think that photos of the same dish, even from the same restaurant, would all blur together. Yet, I usually recognize mine when I see them (I easily spotted my bacon maple bar while scrolling through rss feeds). When poking around MyCityCuisine, a new wiki collecting dishes from all over the world, I immediately stumbled upon a familiar kaya toast pic. Of course, I went straight to Singapore first.
I’ve been on a big Filipino food kick lately so I went to the Manila page and learned about champorado, which I thought was only a Mexican thing.
It’s a useful site and should get better the more that people contribute. If anything, the US section could use some beefing up. There are only ten cities listed so far and Madison, Wisconsin is kicking the rest of the country’s ass with all sorts of regional oddities. Booyah? I would add something for Portland, Oregon, but all I can think of is jo jo potatoes.
Chain Links: Burger Barrage
I feel like I should be excited by Steak 'n Shake coming to NYC but I'm not, and it's not an international chain anyway.
Giaffras sounds more like my kind of chain: cute animal mascot, long history, strong branding and fast foodizing a cuisine we don't have much of in the US. The Brazilian steak and burger restaurant just opened in Miami. Please bring your estrogonofes and parmeggianas to NYC.
Pret a Manger is crossing the Chunnel and its name could cause problems in France. How gauche is a restaurant called Ready to Eat Food? Wait till Pink Taco shows up in Paris.
In a northwest to slightly less northwest move, Vancourver B.C.'s Vera's Burger Shack will be opening in Portland's Pearl District. As a crusty old-timer, I couldn't patronize in this so-called Pearl District that didn't exisit in my day. (Reading Eater PDX in preparation for my rare trip back home is blowing my mind with neighborhoods I've never heard of: N. Mississippi, Foster-Powell, Central Eastside Industrial, Alphabet District...what?)
Hardees in Kazakhstan will bring “real, American-style charbroiled burgers to the market.”
I'm not sure what Carl's Jr. will import to Indonesia.
Cheek By Jowl
It’s not that surprising that the warren of tiny makeshift living spaces captured by The New York Times is populated by Chinese.
Just a few months ago the newspaper published a similar feature about the “mouse people” of Beijing. At least they have ceilings.
If you need any further proof of China’s boom and NYC’s extremes, look at the prices: $80 in China’s capital versus $100-$200 at 81 Bowery. I guess that makes Manhattan’s cubicle homes a better deal?
It’s certainly not an unheard of dwelling style in China and Hong Kong, and probably lots of other places around the world. Photographer Michael Wolf’s photo series, 100x100, captures residents of the 100-square-foot rooms of Hong Kong’s oldest public housing complex (since torn down).
I’m impressed that cooking is still given consideration. Even in such abbreviated space, most seem to have a rice cooker, mini-fridge and teapot, many also with hot plates or microwaves. I probably shouldn’t complain about my typically scrunched Brooklyn-sized kitchen again.
Photo credits: Annie Ling/NYT, Sim Chi Yin/NYT, Michael Wolf
I'm Loving It
There are a lot of dark horses in Technomic’s 50 fastest growing chains (with sales of $25 million to $50 million). I’d never even heard of breastaurant Brick House Tavern + Tap, in the number one spot. And they happen to have one in South Plainfield, right in the section of New Jersey where I run monthly errands. Beer bongs after Target and Costco? I’m serious about this.
Most surprising, though, was Loving Hut, a vegan, mildly culty restaurant I blogged about not so long ago, appearing at number 13. I guess a lot of people dig Supreme Master Ching Hai and/or veggie burgers.
Egg Foo Young Makes the World Go Round
“Dai Sonxian soon discovered that Libyan women were far larger than the women she dressed in China. So she decided the family would instead profit by feeding them.”
Now that’s entrepreneurial. I’ve always been fascinated by the ubiquity of Chinese restaurants around the world, particularly in cities with few fellow countrymen.
I’ve never been in a non-Asian foreign place long enough to justify eating at a Chinese restaurant (though I did eat sushi in Mexico City, not really on purpose) but I’ve definitely seen a few examples in Latin America and Spain. I spotted Meimei recently in Pamplona and Nuevo Siglo was on the same block as my apartment in San Sebastian. The menus at both seemed very Cantonese and not wildly different from what you’d find at an Americanized Chinese restaurant
Nearly every time we’d walk past at night, one of the worker’s daughters would be out fooling around on the delivery motorcycle totally asking for trouble. Sure enough, one time she fell off and the bike toppled over on her and she started yelling “¡Ayúdeme.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen a small Chinese kid speaking Spanish before. And yes, James helped her up.
Bombs be damned, al-Maida, the Chinese restaurant in Tripoli featured in the above-mentioned Washington Post article, has a fourquare mayor.
And in Kabul you can play with guns and kittens at Chinese resturant, The Golden Key.
Chain Links: There's the Beef
Brusque Coney Island customers are making young Beijing recruits at Nathan’s cry.
Wendy's showed up in Moscow with "sexy" girls in pigtails and striped stockings. What would Dave Thomas think? Times have changed since Wendy's was able to use Soviet fashion as a gag.
The Ivy, London’s celebrity-clogged restaurant, recently opened a branch in Dubai. In a mall, of course. Will there be Dover sole? Yes, for 180 AED (approximately $49) which isn’t a horrible deal by NYC standards.
IHOP will be spreading throughout the Middle East. It just won't be the same without bacon and breakfast sausage.
MOS Burger’s test run in Brisbane has gone so well that the Japanese company thinks it can expand into the US, Canada and Europe. Do keep in mind that Hawaii has already seen MOS Burger come and go.
Photo: Igor Tabakov/Moscow Times
Chain Links: Pizza Pizza Pizza
If you need any further evidence of NYC’s third world-ness, witness the brand new two-story Dairy Queen in Saudi Arabia. How can the Middle East have the largest DQ in the world (with two more locations on the way) when we live Blizzard-free here?
If Subway can do it, why not Quiznos? The sandwichery will be moving into Brazil, India and Kuwait this year and has its eye on more than 40 other countries.
Domino’s isn’t doing so well in China because it’s not a country of cheese-lovers.
It’s hard to believe that Yum! Brands, parent to Pizza Hut and KFC, hasn’t ventured into Argentina yet. Based on my experience at Guerrin, porteños are the opposite of the Chinese. No amount of cheese is enough.
More pizza. California Pizza Kitchen broke out of its Golden State confines long ago, and Taiwan is the chain’s latest geographic target. China already has CPK, and cheese-wary or not, they do have many pizzas we don’t. Red curry duck? Roast duck? I want the pork belly with mustard greens and cilantro.
Because the British vacation in Florida so much, Pollo Tropical might just succeed in the UK.
Kuwait’s first Pinberry has become “the number one Pinkberry in the world.
Ordering Tacos and Chalupas in Spain
First it was Berlin getting real tacos, now it’s Paris. Soon, all of the European capitals will be rife with corn tortillas and salsa (and carrying on the fine tradition of websites that don’t do anything).
The Caribean Company, serving “ensaladas exoticas” and peculiar spelling, was in the mini mall only one block from my apartment in San Sebastián. I couldn’t justify a visit when only staying in town for one week. A few more days, though, and I would’ve caved-- if only to see if they called tacos tacos.
Most of us know that tortillas are eggy potato omelets in Spain. I can deal with that. Tacos, it turns out, mean something very different, though.
Cross-sectioned slices of octopus tentacles are called tacos.
This, a bacalao-based pintxo, is called a taco.
Best I can gather is that taco in Spain’s Spanish is akin to a plug.
Wait till Taco Bell finds out that the mushroom and langoustine fritter on the left is a txalupa, a.k.a. chalupa.
I also saw a chalupa in San Sebastián’s Naval Museum (my attempt at squeezing in culture--cheap, senior citizen culture--on the last day). It’s just Spanish for a small wooden boat, which isn't what's pictured on the ticket above.
The Latest In American-Chinese Relations
In what some might call a ballsy move, Panda Restaurant Group’s Chairman Andrew Cherng may soon bring the food court staple to China. I’ve been wracking my brain for a US equivalent, but am coming up short. MOS Burger is the closest I can come up with, though they closed their only US location in barely American Hawaii back in 2005.
Maybe crazy is more apt than ballsy. Andew Cherng also thinks you can eat caring and that it’s more important than food.
An American reporter for The New Yorker hitches a ride on a cram-as-many-sights-as-possible-in-one-week Chinese bus tour of Europe. The itinerary is exhausting and Chinese food is the only cuisine consumed from Paris to Luxembourg. Local food is ruled out because the pacing is too leisurely and according to the tour guide “If you eat Western food too fast, you’ll get an upset stomach.” Perhaps this is the flipside to our nonsensical “If you eat Chinese food, you’ll be hungry an hour later” belief.
Photo from <3 Yen
Chain Links: Skinny Pirates
What is it with D.C.? The nation’s capitol got Nando’s first and now the Asian Chipotle, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, will open there this summer. I don’t have high hopes, but would be happy if their dishes weren’t over 1,000 calories.
No one will care but me (not even my friend who lives in Woodbridge) but Bahama Breeze, the boozy Caribbean concept from Darden, is coming to Woodbridge, NJ, a town I find myself in at least once a month. Up until now, the nearest location was in Cherry Hill, which I only know because we had the restaurant as a client during my brief 2006 stint at a PR agency and a bunch of unbearable women in my department took a field trip that I only got out of because I had to go to Wales for my sister’s wedding. Two hours each way by car service, and I probably would’ve quit on the spot instead of waiting one more month. I probably wouldn't been forced to drink a Skinny Pirate (Captain Morgans and Diet Coke) though I wouldn't say no to a wood-grilled chorizo slider.
P.F. Chang’s is going to Canada. They may as well.
Turkey just opened its first Carl’s Jr. in the Cevahir Shopping Mall. The mall appears to already have Popeye’s, Starbucks, McDonald’s, KFC, Subway, Krispy Kreme, Sbarro and Pizza Hut (it doesn’t look like the Turkish have gone Chinese with the salad bars yet).
Everyone wants to break into India, including Pollo Tropical, Rita’s Water Ice, Applebee’s, Johnny Rockets, Wendy’s, Arby’s, Carl’s Jr., Crepes and Coffee, Moe's Southwest Grill, Carvel and Denny’s. The latter will have menus “stripped free of beef and pork,” which makes me very concerned that Mumbai will never experience Moons Over My Hammy.
Chain Links: Snobs Unite
It’s touchy—and humorous—business when Pulitzer Prize winners review chain restaurants. I should point the delusional Carrabba’s commenter who said I was “the snobbiest restaurant reviewer ever” to Jonathan “I will always be the snob” Gold’s take on Olive Garden.
I love a good debunking, so I was happy to hear that the Mediterranean diet is a myth and that everyone on the region is fat and 75% of Greeks are overweight. I was more happy, though, to learn about the existence of Roadster Diner, an American-themed chain in Beirut. Why can’t cheese fries coexist with hummus and grilled eggplant?
Nando’s, the South African grilled chicken chain that’s popular in much of the world, (I ate at, but never blogged about the one in Penang) is reportedly going to expand in the US beyond its three measly D.C.-area locations. Where? That’s not revealed.
Apparently, there is a South African restaurant called 10 Degrees South in Atlanta that could be turned into in a national chain if one of the founders of Houston’s has anything to do with it. Will piri piri be the new chipotle?
A True Ice Cream Sandwich
Sandwiches. Are we tired of them yet? Things stuffed between bread seem to be getting an awful lot of attention lately. (Maybe I’m just cranky because I’ve been trying to limit my bread intake.) My attention did get grabbed by Saveur’s inclusion of my favorite non-savory sandwich that I’ve never actually eaten, the loti.
It’s one thing to plan a vacation to somewhere steamy and tropical. Looking at outdoor food photos, beforehand, running all over town tracking down never-seen-in-NYC delights sounds fun. In the swamp-like reality, if you pass a guy selling rainbow ice cream sandwiches and have the intention of returning later, you will not because a ten minute walk in 90-degree-humidity knocks the food blogger right out of you. Irrational decisions are made. Regrets are felt back in the relative cool comfort of a squashed A train.
Even if it’s just dyed white bread and ice cream, I love the looks of this treat. Please don’t take my artificial coloring away. Normally, it’s not open-faced topped with numerous scoops of ice cream like in the above photo, but served with the bread folded over a rectangular slab.
Photo credit: Todd Coleman/Saveur
National Republic of Food
There is a new site called Food Republic that’s messing with my mind (so is Eataly's soon-to-open La Birreria, which I always read as birrieria and get excited that NYC's getting a Mexican goat soup restaurant) not because it’s yet one more thing Marcus Samuelsson has been dipping his colorful sneaker-shod toes into, but because Food Republic is the name of Singaporean chain of themed food courts that I love. Really love. A food court with a library motif in a massive mall? I fantasize about making like those Thai girls who brought BonChon to Bangkok and opening a franchise in NYC.
Of course, serious food-lovers and expats, in particular, hate these soulless, overpriced, contemporary adaptations of hawker stalls. This week, CNNgo wound up commenters with a “Singapore’s Top 5 New Hawker Spots” post where three of the five examples were Food Republic branches. I think the title is the biggest problem; it needs a qualifier like modern or indoor.
Me, I like the elaborate, air-conditioned evolution and street carts and worn shophouses. What I find fascinating—and what others might call sad—is that many of these vendors are street stall transplants. For instance, the beef noodles sold at Food Opera, the food court inside the ION Orchard Shopping Mall, aren’t approximations churned out by a no-nothing upstart, they are the fourth iteration of a stall that opened in the 1940s. Then again, the most recent version was relocated to the mall because the owner’s spot was subsumed by a new apartment complex. Progress over preservation, is still the order of the day in much of Asia’s urban centers.
Singapore has always come across as a bit sanitized and un-sentimental, and I don't necessarily mean that pejoratively. I wonder if they have neighborhood booster bloggers like we do in NYC, who mourn the loss of old signage, mom-and-pop businesses and last-century grit?
Photo credit: WiNG via Wikimedia Commons
China's Salad Days Are Over
When not competing with Dubai or Taiwan over skyscraper records, the Chinese are (or were, rather) gaming the one-trip-only salad bar at Pizza Hut by devising elaborate vertical stacking. The company phased out the self-serve stations in 2009, likely due to customers’ creative plating.
Can a person really eat that quantity of cucumbers? And do you really want to taste peaches, corn and salad dressing in the same bite?
Photo from frites & fries
Chain Links: Chuck E. Queso
Subway in India serves sandwiches I would actually consider eating (and mint and eggless mayo are offered). The Chicken Seekh uses ground meat, mint and chiles. I wonder if they have Otis Spunkmeyer cookies spiked with rose water or cardamom?
McDonald’s has never been a slouch in the localized menu department. They too, are appealing to Indians with a new Spicy Delights range.
A blogger in Peru happened to recognize the wife of the Pardo’s founder during a tai chi class and interviewed her. Pardo’s is kind of like the KFC of Peru, but the chicken is rotisseried, not fried. We briefly had one in the West Village that surprisingly kept anticuchos (grilled beef hearts) on the menu. In an informal poll, Pardo’s beat out competitors by a wide margin. I want to eat a place called Norky's, based on name alone.
Once you let in a Chili’s, the franchises will follow. Moscow now has a Pinkberry. Doesn’t $11 (even for a large) seem like a lot of money for frozen yogurt?
Nothing seems more American than Chuck E. Cheese’s, so it’s strange to see the pizza and playtime chain crossing borders. Northeastern Mexico will be receiving ten stores. Internationally, the restaurant already exists in Chile, Guatemala, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Zambia now has a KFC. I’m kind of more interested in the related post, “Lightning kills clergyman, man kills woman over chicken debt.”
Red Lobster will be arriving in Dubai and Kuwait City. No alcohol is no surprise and the bacon-wrapped scallop appetizer will have to go, as well.
Foie Gras, Salt Shakers & Silverware
Emirates has been voted the airline with the best meals, according to a survey by Skyscanner. And indeed the comments on AirlineMeals.net are overwhelmingly positive. That's clearly not an economy example above, and it's just one of many courses.
Hopefully, tenth place Air France, will change minds now that Joel Roubuchon is involved with the menu. I actively avoid most food trucks unless they’re serving something unique that can’t be found at a proper restaurant (I hate standing around outside eating) but this falls into the I’m-just-curious-enough camp. I’ll see what’s up when the roving Air France vehicle hits my work neighborhood on Monday.
1. Emirates
2. Lufthansa
3. Singapore Airlines
4. Aeroflot
5. Qatar
6. Malaysia Airlines
7. Thai Airways
8. Etihad
9. KLM
10. Air France
Singapore Airlines is the only one of the top ten that I’ve experienced first-hand, and yes, they’re fairly ritzy even though the only thing I can specifically recall eating was a decent curry on the way to Bangkok the time I lucked out on a massively discounted SARS-related deal.
Foreign airlines can be fun, top ten cuisine or not. Aeromexico only had beer and tequila—poured from full-sized glass bottles—to accompany their enchiladas (yes, I asked for wine). I wonder if I will be getting rioja and paella on Iberia when I fly next month?
Photo of Emriates Airbus A380 meal from Chow Times
Korean Chicken Joints For Thai Palettes
We’ve come to take Korean fried chicken for granted in NYC. It’s everywhere, even Sheepshead Bay (r.i.p. Staten Island BonChon) not just in Asian enclaves. We’ve been luckier than Thailand where the spicy, extra-crunchy chicken did not exist…until now.
A couple of Thai college students who went to school here wanted to recreate the experience back home. They followed through (how do you just open a foreign chain like that?) and now Bangkok has witnessed the birth of its first BonChon Chicken franchise in the Seenspace mall (I wonder how that Goth mall is doing?) and it has a New York theme, which is so triply cross-cultural it’s almost freaking me out (just almost, because I did eat Korean fried chicken at a place called Chill Out Sports Bar in Hong Kong that had New York-based articles on the wall, so this is not the first re-import back to Asia).
From what I can see on the menu, which is only on Facebook (I love how the one white guy in their photos had to be wearing a fedora) at the moment, the only obvious Thai tweak is the presence of sticky rice and the only oddity is something they’re calling chicken joints. Pardon my poultry ignorance, but what part of the bird is this?
I only wish that my eyes had not seen the words “Thai palette” mentioned in the original post.
Photo credit: BonChon Chicken Thailand
Chain Links: Sammy Sosa is Neither Mexican Nor Indian
You can find poutine in Mumbai and in Toronto saag poutine exists. Perhaps there is a French-Canadian Indian Connection.
Relations are more muddled between India and our neighbors to the south. It’s hard to tell if this press release (is it a press release? I can’t tell what it’s promoting) was written by a non-native English speaker or a robot of some sort or cobbled together by that AOL Seed thing, but the author, whether human or not, does spell palate correctly. From what I can glean, there’s an udupi chain in Mumbai called Shiv Sagar selling quesadillas. Also in Mumbai at a place called New Yorker and in Delhi at a restaurant named Rodeo they serve “tacos filled with mushy rajma or enchiladas which can be stuffed, topped and surrounded with cheese and ketchup.” This is not a good thing. To confuse further, there is an eatery in Mumbai called Sammy Sosa that slings “Indian meets Tex Mex, the culinary equivalent of a hombre in a Stetson.” I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing. This written work can be summed up by a theory from Solomon, an entity never introduced or given a first name or title anywhere in the text, “Indians don’t travel to Mexico much.”
I’m really getting bored by Cold Stone Creamery. All they do is open stores around the world. One just opened in Singapore (nine more are coming) Malaysia will be getting six and Cyprus, Greece and Brazil will be receiving their fair share of sweet ice cream teeming with mix-ins.
I do not know New Orleans-based Naked Pizza, but they have branched out to Dubai. If the company’s goal to open 100 stores in the Middle East over the next five years comes true it will change its name to N_K_D Pizza in more conservative countries.
Domino’s is now in Poland. Even though I never eat at Domino's or Cold Stone Creamery, I will always find pizza more interesting. What toppings will they have?
Dunkin’ Donuts will be increasing its presence in Asia and opening its first shop in Vietnam.
Sammy Sosa blackboard menu photo from Burp.com
The Final Spicy Drumstick
The generically named BBQ Chicken (not to be confused with Dallas BBQ where I also ate this week) is the subject of my final Fast Food International column for Serious Eats. I didn’t run out of steam; the city ran out of fodder.
The outdoor food court/strip mall next to our hotel in Penang (during a vacation March of last year—I’m afraid 2010 was lucky with Bangkok, Penang, Puerto Rico, New Orleans, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Montreal. This year has been a vacation bust so far and I have unlimited vacation days at work—such a waste) had a BBQ Chicken and I wasn’t familiar with the South Korean chain at all. It doesn’t seem to get the same accolades as BonChon or Kyochon…or even Kyedong...maybe not CheoGaJip. Which reminds me, I’m completely Korean fried chickened-out.
Time to move onto something new for the rest of 2011.
Chain Links: To Russia With Love
Russia may only have one Chili’s, but they’ll have 200 more Papa John’s by 2020. Their To Russia With Love pizza is a local invention that includes mashed potatoes, bacon, garlic sauce and onions.
Hong Kong McDonald’s weddings finally make The New York Times.
Do they sing at Johnny Rockets? I’m not sure that they do, but they should. I can see that working in Seoul when they arrive (I've been corrected in my writing at work for calling companies they, not it, but Johnny Rockets seems like a they). Maybe it’s because I just watched a K-pop segment of Monocle on Bloomberg. Monocle would be a great name for a pretentious chain restaurant, if only such a thing existed.
Wendy’s is coming back to Japan.
When KFC tried penetrating Taiwan and Hong Kong in the ‘70s it was a disaster, now Yum, KFC and Pizza Hut’s parent company, has localization down pat. We know about the egg tarts and congee, but I had no idea KFC was hosting circumcision parties for young Uyghurs.
Chain Links: Valentine's Egg Tarts
First, it was KFC making Japanese consumers associate fried chicken with Christmas and now it’s KFC linking egg tarts to Valentine’s Day (subscription required). I tried those Portuguese tarts in a Beijing airport and, yes, I would swap them for a box of Russell Stover (am I the last to know that Russell Stover and Whitman’s is the same chocolate?) in a heartbeat. Of course, China has its share of cynics. 27-year-old Yao Lianyi said "The only foundation behind these holidays is commercialism." Sweet, eggy commercialism.
Apparently, last February KFC in Singapore hosted a blogger event to promote the Valentine's/Chinese New Year egg tarts...and well, you don't really see posts like this in NYC.
Chains expand and invade on a daily basis, but Russia’s first Chili’s has been getting more press than others. I’ve learned quite a few things: that they won’t be serving their signature black bean burger (I had no idea a veggie patty was their calling card), there’ll be vodka bottle service and toothpicks at the table and perhaps, most strangely, that Chili’s toned down the spice level in Puerto Rico.
Jubilant FoodWorks, the company that operates Domino’s in India, will be responsible for a “yet-unnamed international food chain.” What will it be?
Likely not Quiznos, which has been named to open five stores by the end of this year. New sauces, more vegetarian offerings and “Indian grains,” whatever that means exactly, will be used in the bread. I could totally see flatbread Sammies made with naan.
Tim Hortons is the latest brand to expand to the Middle East.
Latvia will receive three new McDonald’s locations this year. Their menu doesn’t appear wildly different from the US one, though I don’t think we have a CBO (Chicken Bacon Onions).
Chain Links: Schmaltz-and-Seltzer-Free
Bringing Jewish deli fare to an Islamic country is a little offbeat, sure. Brooklyn Diner will be opening in Dubai minus pork products and with a few naming tweaks. I survived a rib-less Malaysian Chili’s, but I must admit that calling Kosher salt Sicilian sea salt instead is a bit much. [Insatiable Critic via Eater NY]
Perhaps one should reserve such criticism in Kuwait. A Lebanese food blogger is being sued by Benihana for an unfavorable review that’s fairly mild by Yelp standards. [The National]
In more Midtown to Asia translations, Le Cirque will be expanding to New Delhi. [NYP]
It doesn’t seem odd that McDonald’s has permeated the world, but Wendy’s feels so domestic. Maybe it’s the mascot’s red pig-tails and freckles. Will Argentines embrace Wendy’s? [press release]
Carl’s Jr., on the other hand, seems perfectly suitable for an international audience. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been to the insanely popular one in Singapore twice. Now, the UK will be able to experience one-foot long burgers. [eat out]
Jamba Juice is coming to South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. [QSR]
Scarfing Done Well
Yum! Brands may be kicking McDonald’s ass in China (as well as its own brands here in the US) but you certainly won’t find a KFC University in Shanghai. So…take that, Colonel Sanders.
Bloomberg gets a look inside of McDonald’s Hamburger University in China, a week-long program that is so selective that you may as well give up and try Harvard instead. The video is worth watching to learn about something important that Susanna Li calls the “people pipeline,” which only makes me think about burgers being people, and to see lucky attendee, Zhou Xiaobu who’s wearing a silky, yellow McDonald’s logo’d scarf that’s kind of cute. Almost cute enough to change my mind about the way certain sects of young people wear scarves with t-shirts and other warm weather attire.
Chain Links: Catering to Local Palettes
Every few months someone creates a new McDonald’s international food round-up. Can fast food gazpacho shock us anymore? Probably not, but I’ll link to it--even though they’ve managed to engage in some serious palate abuse in their URL. [Business Insider]
With the amount of Korean fried chicken chains we’ve received (and I’ve covered) it’s only right that we bombard South Korea with burgers. McDonald’s will be doing their part by doubling their locations. [QSRweb]
Cheesecake Factory will finally be freed of its US confines. The Middle East, a favorite recipient of American chains, will be seeing 22 shops in the next five years. [Nation’s Restaurant News]
Bulgaria is not a country I ever give thought to one way or the other (the only Bulgarian I know is the coffee guy near my office who blurs the line between sexual harassment and ESL charm) but Domino’s has been thinking about it. "The people of Bulgaria will now get to experience the high level of service and quality pizza that customers worldwide enjoy,” says future franchisee, Lazgin Majid. [QSR]
Elevation Burger will be breaking ground in Bahrain. [FastCasual]
Yum! Brands is going gangbusters in China. Sales in China were up 20% year over year in Q3 2010 and down here 8%. [CNNMoney]
Image: Martine's Chocolates
Go Figure: Italian Food Favored by American Tourists
Most Popular Cusines Among US Travelers
1. Italian 54.3%
2. American (tie) 35.3%
2. Mexican (tie) 35.3%
3. French 27.6%
4. Chinese 25.9%
5. Japanese 22.4%
6. Greek 19.0%
7. Spanish 13.8%
8. Indian12.9%
9. Other 11.2%
10. Lebanese 6.9%
In shocking news, Americans prefer to eat spaghetti, hamburgers and nachos no matter what part of the world they’re traveling in. According to a hotels.com survey, a stubborn 13% won’t try local cuisine at all and 18% prefer American fast food chains when abroad.
Two-thirds did say they try local cuisine on vacation, but considering Americans only leave the country to live out a once-in-a-lifetime Parisian or Tuscan fantasy (or settle for a nice Venetian facsimile) or to binge drink at Caribbean/Mexican resorts where you could eat hamburgers and pizza all day, it’s not saying much.
In a way, these food choices simply mirror popular travel destinations, Lebanese cuisine withstanding. A recent TripAdvisor survey found that the top three international travel destinations for Americans in 2011 are Paris, London and Rome. Sorry, England, I’m not sure if British cuisine will never crack the top ten.
In fact, Britons aren't even eating their own food. A December Valued Opinions poll unearthed Britain's favorite takeway food, and fish and chips came in fourth place at only 13%. The top three were Chinese (38%), Indian (22%) and pizza (18%).
Chain Links: Big America
In 2010, the UK received Taco Bell (a re-entry), Ruby Tuesday and Chipotle. What tactics have they been using? Taco Bell advertised on bathroom doors, Ruby Tuesday has tried shocking Brits by offering massive portions and free refills on soda and fries and Chipotle has been sourcing products locally. [Stores]
Britain isn’t the only recipient of our generously proportioned meals. McDonald’s in Japan has launched Big America 2, a series of four hefty burgers. The 713-calorie Idaho speaks to me with its hashbrown, bacon and pepper-mustard sauce. Also, I’m incredibly confused by this comment. [WSJ]
A staggering amount of effort has been put into creating the perfect McDonald’s french fry in India. [Forbes India]
If you live in Jamaica you can order iTwists at KFC. Chicken fillets? Whatever, the bright red tomato wrap is what caught my attention. [Jamaica Observer]
Dixie Cream Donut Company, and a slew of other Beautiful Brands International (BBI) restaurants that I’ve never heard of, will be heading to the Middle East. [QSR]
Wingstop is invading Mexico. [Dallas Business Journal]
Chain Links: Comtemporary Border Cantinas
First Red Lobster started going all Bar Harbor, now Chevy’s is getting a makeover. Lowell Petrie, CMO, said “Chevys is a border cantina with loud signs and lights and neon. We don’t want to lose that energy and fun, but we want to make it more contemporary.” I’m trying to imagine contemporary border cantina and can only picture copious granite and adobe. They do have tasteful design in Mexico, you know. [NRN]
I was hoping to see Napa Valley Grille in its natural element instead of inside of a Paramus mall on my fall Yountville excursion, but it was no longer in operation. The original spot, though, is being turned into an R + D Kitchen, a Hillstone (formerly Houston’s) brand, so at least it will be keeping with the spirit of things. [Eater]
Smashburger and Fatburger always blur together in my mind as chains we don’t have in NYC and that I don’t think about, but if three Smashburgers are coming to Brooklyn I could get interested. [Metromix]
I watched this CNBC documentary Behind the Counter: The Untold Story of Franchising right before the holidays and had no idea it was controversial. Chains have images to uphold, of course, and now CNBC has pulled the program after Cold Stone Creamery sent a threatening letter. [Blue Mau Mau]
I don’t see a branch of North Korean Okryu-Gwa opening up in the US any time soon. Dubai gets everything. [NPR]
Chinese Burgers For the Masses
I was a little surprised when Xi’an Famous Foods made the reverse migration from Flushing to Manhattan’s Chinatown around this same time last year. Maybe that’s the natural progression after appearing on No Reservations and Bizarre Foods.
Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, the father and son team behind the popular Northern Chinese food shop are setting up a 5,000-square-foot “commissary” in East Williamsburg and have visions of franchising the business, branding harder and creating a line of frozen food. Very chain-like, indeed.
Fittingly, P.F. Chang’s is already on the bringing-it-to-masses beat. CEO and president Rick Federico has sampled Xi’an’s cumin lamb and stewed pork burgers and is “thinking about how we might apply a sandwich into our business." The closest thing the Chinese chain has so far is (no, not a banh mi) a Sichuan Chicken Flatbread containing the most American of ingredients: melted cheese.
I’m anxious to see how P.F. Chang’s might interpret the cuisine—but they had better hurry or Xi’an will make it to the suburbs first.
KFC China's Spanish burger ad from Ads of China
Chain Links: Muy Nuclear
Pizza Hut and Burger King will soon be opening in Cambodia, and it has street vendors worried. Already present KFC, the first international chain to enter the country, could be the reason that one vendor used to sell 80-90 chickens per day and now sells half that. [Phenom Penh Post via QSRweb]
I’m not familiar with the mouthful of a business, Nestle Toll House Café by Chip, but Saudi Arabia soon will be. [QSRweb]
Wing Zone opened their first international location in Panama and will be expanding to the Bahamas, Mexico and Japan. Sadly, nuclear, on the sauce list, is simply translated as muy picante. [QSR]
There are still countries in the world untouched by McDonald’s. Zimbabwe is one of them. They’re certainly not without fast food, though—I spy hot dogs, pizza and fried chicken. [The Zimbabwean]
Siam Reap KFC photo from saopaulo1/waymarking.com
