Food tripping in the USA

MANILA, Philippines - You’ve all seen it, heard or read about it — Philippine President Benigno C. Aquino III munching on a hotdog in Manhattan during his first official visit to speak before the UN General Assembly.  P-Noy’s message is clear — no expensive meals for him and his entourage. 

In spite of the average Filipino’s fondness for home-cooked viands and rice, an American meal will do just fine for the Pinoy tourist, and this was demonstrated by no less than the president himself.  To borrow a popular phrase, when in America, do as the Americans do — or eat as they eat.

This is exactly what my family did during a recent vacation in the USA. Being the mother of all melting pots, the US probably has the most diverse culinary culture, with every conceivable ethnic food represented in mega-cities such as Los Angeles and New York.  Yet, when we visited these places, we gravitated toward the familiar (eating places also found in the Philippines) and the safe (restaurants serving food the way Pinoys like them).

In Los Angeles, where many kababayan immigrants prefer to reside, our very own Jollibee locks heads with McDonald’s and Wendy’s.  Our hosts, Rico and Letty Nicasio, strongly endorsed In-N-Out Burger, one of the foods actress Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo reportedly craved for while she was “infanticipating.”  

With its slogan “Quality you can taste,” it has been around since 1948, the first drive-through hamburger joint in California, the brain-child of founders Harry and Esther Snyder. 

“Though times have changed, little has changed at In-N-Out,” goes the literature.  “The menu — burgers, fries

I hop, I hop: IHOP or International House of Pancakes, is the American equivalent of Pancake House. The menu is quite diverse, but the bestsellers, of course, are the pancakes, which are served in huge, sinful portions.

and drinks — is still the same basic menu customers have enjoyed since 1948.  Everything is still made fresh to order.  There are no microwaves or freezers.  Customers may observe French fries being made from hand-diced, fresh, whole potatoes.  And the shakes are made from real ice cream.” 

Mama Juday would agree.  The slow, labor-intensive process was just fine, especially in laidback Orange County, where we tried it.

The City of Angels is home to a considerable Mexican population.  A US vacation would not, therefore, be complete without trying authentic Mexican fare.  Alas, the good ones that fit our twin standards lay in the heart of East LA, which was too far from the OC.  We did manage to try honest-to-goodness Mexican food on the East Coast, of all places, in Virginia.  That story is for later.

Speaking of the East Coast, “fast food” took on its literal meaning at some of the places we tried.  Sabrett, with its ubiquitous blue and yellow umbrella, is a familiar fixture in New York City.  P-Noy saw it, tried it, enjoyed it, and so did we.  With hundreds of stalls dotting Manhattan alone, it offers really fast food to the harried New Yorker.  Either clad in casual, bohemian fashion or dressed to the nines (as the Philippine delegation was), people on the go would stop and line up at one of many stalls to grab a quick bite before going to an all-important meeting or watching the latest Broadway show.  Other fast-food chains like Popeye’s and Arby’s also attract Filipino tourists pining for their familiar chicken and biscuits, and roast beef sandwiches.  Not too long ago, Popeye’s and Arby’s had a few stores in the Philippines.  They have closed shop, to the great disappointment of their fans.  Sabrett is still around, though, to give Pinoy Gen-Y a taste of “The Hot Dog New Yorkers Relish.”

On Broadway, one place boasts of the “Most Fabulous Cheesecake & Desserts.”  Junior’s Restaurant has been around since 1950, opening its first store on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn.  In spite of its reputation, it only opened its first branch in 2000 at Grand Central Station.  Junior’s Times Square is a “taste of Brooklyn in Manhattan,” and has been drawing crowds to Broadway since 2006.  Even at near midnight, you’ll be lucky to find a table, but when you finally do, you’ll be treated not

Going in and out: In Los Angeles, In-N-Out Burger has been around since 1948. It is the first drive-through hamburger joint in California, the brain-child of founders Harry and Esther Snyder. The menu is still the same basic menu since 1948.

just to the sweet stuff but to the greasy stuff as well.  Their burgers and corned beef with pastrami sandwiches, to say the least, are to die for.  Non-New Yorkers can now enjoy it with the opening of just the fourth store at MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Mashantucket, Connecticut.

If hotdogs and burgers are not your idea of a New York meal, you can, instead, look for genuine New York pizza all over the city.  One, in particular, definitely should not be missed: Pomodoro Restaurant & Pizzeria is Little Italy’s big pride.  It is the only place that has Vodka Pizza on the menu.  You can leisurely dine inside while listening to Italian conversation, or go al fresco as you observe New York life.  If you’re lucky, you can even catch the shooting of TV shows like CSI: NY or Castle while enjoying your handmade pizza.

For the hearty eater, New York has a number of buffet restaurants, especially in Queens and Brooklyn.  Century Super Buffet along Hillside Avenue is a Chinese restaurant infused with an international selection for the picky customer.  The food is tasty, and the price is right, which may be the reason why it is always jam-packed at dinner time, where a 30-minute wait is not uncommon.  Panda Garden Restaurant also offers a buffet, but it pales in comparison to Century, notwithstanding that it has more branches in New York City alone.  Panda attracts mostly Asians, but the clientele is generally as diverse as the food served — international.

While most of these places are roadside eateries and accessible through New York’s extensive and enviable public transport system, using a GPS is still advisable if you’re driving.  (Alternatively, you can download directions using MapQuest.) And unless you’re adventurous, be careful when setting your search parameters.  My quest for the KFC nearest my aunt’s house in Queens led me to KFC, all right — Kennedy Fried Chicken, that is.  It stands in the predominantly African-American neighborhood of Jamaica, where most businesses are run by Indian or Pakistani immigrants.  Getting the last few pieces of chicken while a group of tough and hungry-looking young men were queued behind me was not my idea of an adventure.  After tasting their scrumptious specialty, I no longer wondered why Kentucky Fried Chicken considers this food chain a serious competitor in the New York-New Jersey area — or why the disappointed thugs eating pizza at the other table looked as if they were ready to pounce on me (or my chicken).

Kennedy Fried Chicken stores are not, however, as omnipresent as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Hardee’s, Subway, or IHOP.  Huh?  IHOP, or International House of Pancakes, is the American equivalent of Pancake House.  The menu is quite diverse, but the bestsellers, of course, are the pancakes, which are served in huge, sinful portions.  Try it once, shame on you; try it twice, shame on them.  With its 50-year history, it has built quite a following.  Anyone interested in joining the IHOP family must nonetheless be willing to shell out at least $2 million for a franchise, and that’s just in the US.

If pancakes are a tad too heavy for the satisfaction of your sweet tooth, maybe a quick trip to one of many Cold Stone Creamery stores in Manhattan will do the trick.  At Cold Stone (not to be confused with Cold Rock Ice Creamery, an Australian firm that employs the same technique), every “creation” is a “freshly made, smooth, creamy ice cream blended on a frozen granite stone with endless combinations — fruits, nuts, candy, cookies, brownies.”  It’s supposedly worth visiting one of their 1,400 stores just for their coffee, so they say, but I think our very own Coffee Dante (exclusively offered at the Manila Collective in Cubao X) is much, much better.