Interview with Aldo Calixto
Cuzco, Peru
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Jollibee Opens in Queens
I first heard about the opening of the first Filipino fastfood chain on the East Coast, Jollibee, in New York Magazine, during Valentine's day weekend, but I was reminded about it while riding the 7 train this past Saturday evening and seeing three teenage girls holding white plastic bags with the Jollibee logo on them. I asked them where it was located, and one of them replied, "63rd Street." So I got off on the 61st. stop in Woodside and decided to check for myself what the hype was about.
I reached Jollibee at 6:15 p.m. - a site one cannot miss due to the long line around the corner and the glowing red letters spelling Jollibee. Men and women were also crowding around Jollibee's mascot - a giant red bee with a white chef's hat - in front of the establishment and taking photos with it. I got in the line to ask what exactly it was that was so special about this place that's making it the main attraction of "Little Manila" - the strip of Roosevelt Avenue from 63rd - 71st Streets.
The first woman I encountered said she is just visiting from the Philippines, yet she still decides to take a picture in front of Woodside's Jollibee.
Maila Marantal, 37, on the line with her mom, while her two kids waited in the car, drove over 50 minutes from Jersey City taste the famous Chicken Joy. "It's been three years that I didn't taste this, so I had to come," she said. "The sauce, or gravy, is number one in the Phillipines. It really tastes good. They are known for the chicken and the sauce." She continues to go on involuntarily about the peach mango pie, and how it's crispy crust way beats McDonald's apple pie.
At 6:38 p.m. I finally reach the doorway, but am stopped by the guard who is still monitoring the number of people entering, as the space only allows a maximum of 70. The manager, Philippe Garcesto, says that it is now much more bearable than the first two weeks when there was a line since 5 a.m. and closed at 3 a.m.
"Part of me being here is that it's important for me to reconnect to my people," said Garcesto, a 23-year-old art student who moved to NY from the Philippines at age eight. "I wasn't able to do that growing up and now I get to practice Tagalog with the customers. Sometimes it goes over my head, but I just do it."
At 6:45 p.m. I decide to come back to eat since there were no available seats, but I will come back - especially to try some Filipino breakfast of tapas and tocilog which should be available in about two months. As I walked away, there was still a line around the corner.
I reached Jollibee at 6:15 p.m. - a site one cannot miss due to the long line around the corner and the glowing red letters spelling Jollibee. Men and women were also crowding around Jollibee's mascot - a giant red bee with a white chef's hat - in front of the establishment and taking photos with it. I got in the line to ask what exactly it was that was so special about this place that's making it the main attraction of "Little Manila" - the strip of Roosevelt Avenue from 63rd - 71st Streets.
The first woman I encountered said she is just visiting from the Philippines, yet she still decides to take a picture in front of Woodside's Jollibee.
Maila Marantal, 37, on the line with her mom, while her two kids waited in the car, drove over 50 minutes from Jersey City taste the famous Chicken Joy. "It's been three years that I didn't taste this, so I had to come," she said. "The sauce, or gravy, is number one in the Phillipines. It really tastes good. They are known for the chicken and the sauce." She continues to go on involuntarily about the peach mango pie, and how it's crispy crust way beats McDonald's apple pie.
At 6:38 p.m. I finally reach the doorway, but am stopped by the guard who is still monitoring the number of people entering, as the space only allows a maximum of 70. The manager, Philippe Garcesto, says that it is now much more bearable than the first two weeks when there was a line since 5 a.m. and closed at 3 a.m.
"Part of me being here is that it's important for me to reconnect to my people," said Garcesto, a 23-year-old art student who moved to NY from the Philippines at age eight. "I wasn't able to do that growing up and now I get to practice Tagalog with the customers. Sometimes it goes over my head, but I just do it."
At 6:45 p.m. I decide to come back to eat since there were no available seats, but I will come back - especially to try some Filipino breakfast of tapas and tocilog which should be available in about two months. As I walked away, there was still a line around the corner.
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