Among the habits I've broken over the years is a curiosity that once led me to try almost every new non-taco fast food chain outlet I encountered. I'm not sure why I did this as long as I did. Apart from In-n-Out Burger and Koo Koo Roo, I never found much that was that interesting or even that different. The burgers and fries were never significantly better than McDonald's and often notably worse…and I can't recall sampling or even seeing many items on any menu that caused me to say, "Wow, I have to come back here for that." At best, I'd come away from a visit thinking something like, "Okay…if I'm ever stuck somewhere and the only option is a Wendy's, I can survive." Eventually, I got over even that reason.
If I were still doing that, I'd probably make (the pun is unavoidable) a bee-line for Jollibee, a popular fast food chain from the Phillipines which is now arriving on our shores. There are eleven of them sprinkled across California with other states to follow…and every time I drive by the one at Beverly Boulevard and Vermont, I'm curious — not about how I might like the food but about how my homeland will. Some of the food is pretty standard for a place like this but you also have your Palabok Fiesta, which is a serving of high quality bihon noodles topped with a special pork-shrimp sauce, garnished with pork strips, shrimps, toasted garlic, flaked smoked fish, pork cracklings and sliced eggs. That doesn't sound bad to me but, you know, it's not exactly a Big Mac. And a lot of Americans are scared off by something that feels a little foreign to them.
Which may not matter to the Jollibee people. They're opening primarily in neighborhoods that have a high Filipino population and apparently think they can make a go of it, just on that demographic. I'm just wondering to what extent, if any, they fantasize about luring a wider audience into their drive-thrus. The company website seems to have no such wish-dream. They even say, "Jollibee has grown to be so well loved that every time a new store is opened, especially overseas, Filipinos form long queues to the store without fail. It is not just a place where they feel at home; it is a stronghold of heritage, a monument of Filipino victory." So maybe they don't even want a lot of non-Filipinos coming in, diluting that sense of Filipino victory…or maybe they'd regard it as a greater victory if we did all flock to our neighborhood Jollibee.
I honestly don't know, nor do I know if a wider audience will go to a Filipino fast food stand or if they'll regard it as an alien presence. Obviously, everyone accepts a Chinese restaurant or a Japanese restaurant or even a traditional Filipino eatery without any issues…but there's something about the "fast food" format that may seem invasive to some people, especially since a Jollibee outlet looks like your basic American burger/fries establishment. I'd like to think a chain like this could be accepted and could thrive and could even blur a few of the sillier ethnic divisions. I just wonder if some people can bring themselves to patronize a stronghold of Filipino heritage. The fries will have to be pretty damn good.