# Foreign restaurant chains that have made inroads in the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 30, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078 "2023-01-30T23:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/81 "2023-02-01T01:25:23Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I was looking into Jollibee more last night, and apparently their spaghetti is a particular Filipino style “sweet” spaghetti, made with banana ketchup. You’re right, hot dogs. Plus ground beef and diced ham. Like I said, it’s weird. Banana ketchup/sauce has been a thing in the Philippines since WWII. There was a shortage of tomatoes but plenty of bananas, and they improvised. (It’s red because of dye, to make it look more like tomato ketchup, none of the ingredients added for flavor are red.) Spaghetti also usually has hot dogs for similar reasons. Hot dogs take longer to spoil than ground beef, so getting ahold of it was easier. It’s the same reason why Spam is so popular on Hawaii and is part of so many dishes there. (It’s also very popular on Guam too, and when I lived there many local dishes had Spam in them.) But banana ketchup was meant to be as close as they could get to tomato ketchup without having access to actual tomatoes. It ends up being sweeter than regular ketchup (but not by an extreme amount; remember that tomato ketchup also has a lot of sugar and is itself pretty sweet). But yeah. Spaghetti with sliced hot dogs and instead of marinara it has ketchup made from bananas. So, as I said, pretty weird. I’ll note that I grew up in a Navy town, with a huge Filipino population, and grew up with a lot of Filipino food. Things like lumpia and pancit were flavors from my childhood. I love Filipino food. But we didn’t have banana ketchup, and definitely not on hotdog spaghetti. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/82 "2023-02-01T01:27:08Z")
But the taste will destroy ya! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/83 "2023-02-01T01:29:40Z")
Jollibee spaghetti seems like something that a Westerner concocted while stuck there and trying to make spaghetti out of whatever he had available, then the locals erroneously thought that’s what spaghetti was supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/84 "2023-02-01T01:47:58Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > But the taste will destroy ya! Nah. There was a rice bowl place in the food court at the mall near where I used to work that was awesome. At least 10 times better than Yoshinoya. > [@DCnDC](#): > > Jollibee spaghetti seems like something that a Westerner concocted while stuck there and trying to make spaghetti out of whatever he had available I love Asian versions of spaghetti. I’ve tasted a bunch and liked them all. But that was when I was working in the San Gabriel Valley, and there were billions of Asian restaurants from which to sample. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/85 "2023-02-01T01:49:50Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Baked chicken with a tortilla, EPL Chicken is fire grilled, not baked. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/86 "2023-02-01T01:50:14Z")
Vancouver based [Japadog](https://japadog.com/location) has a cart on the Santa Monica pier. I’ve only been to their BC locations so I can’t vouch for their single US location. But the ones I’ve tried north of the border have the best hotdogs on the West Coast. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/87 "2023-02-01T01:52:24Z")
There are five Wagamama restaurants, a British chain, in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/88 "2023-02-01T01:57:05Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Nando’s, the South African chicken chain Although the corporation headquarters for Nando’s is in South Africa, the food served there is that of Portuguese immigrants to Mozambique. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/89 "2023-02-01T06:16:33Z")
Not really though. It’s much closer to what happened when Chinese immigrants to America opened restaurants, they adapted their old country’s cuisine to the tastes of locals in order to satisfy customers. Or look at the regional variations of the various McDonalds restaurants around the world, that change their food items for local preference. Banana ketchup was a thing of necessity, for example, but it was made sweeter on purpose because the Philippines grows a lot of sugar (it’s an export) and people there have a sweeter palate, much as people in India prefer spicy food. Spaghetti was introduced to the Philippines sometime around WW2 or not long after, and they adapted it. Much the same way that your regular American taco is probably going to be very different from a taco in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/90 "2023-02-01T08:49:17Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m in Boston, and I’ve never seen any of the chains mentioned so far in this thread, not even Boston’s Pizza. “Boston Pizza” is a Canadian chain of family pizza restaurants. The founder was a European immigrant who wanted to sound American, so he named his restaurant “Boston Pizza,” in the hopes that people might equate it with “Chicago pizza” or similar. Never mind that Boston has never been known for its pizza; Canadians didn’t know that, and so it grew. If the US doesn’t have it, you’re not missing a thing. It’s adequate pizza, bordering on good, actually. Table service, and licensed, so Dad can have a beer; Mom, a glass of wine; and the kids can have bottomless soft drinks. Think Little Caesar’s with table service and alcohol, and that would describe it well. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/91 "2023-02-01T11:44:52Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > “Boston Pizza” is a Canadian chain of family pizza restaurants. Confusingly, there’s also a chain called Boston Market. It’s not headquartered in Boston either. Their headquarters are in Golden, Colorado. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/92 "2023-02-01T12:46:21Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > There are five Wagamama restaurants, a British chain, in the U.S. I don’t really understand the logic of this, Wagamama did well in the UK, but it’s expansion into Europe was long dead well before covid (a friend is a fan, and I was looking in Antwerp where I knew there was one, and it had closed alongside many others). It’s a British version of Chinese and Japanese food, for a country which doesn’t really have Ramen in many places, or a lot of Japanese restaurants either. It’s often where the few times you’d see Katsu curry for sale. So to expand into a country which does the likes of Ramen very well and in quantity, or does Chinese and Japanese either authentically or their own way. seems futile and doomed. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/93 "2023-02-01T13:28:38Z")
I wish [this Hong Kong outfit](http://www.yomama.com.hk/) would expand into the US. Heck, I wish they would expand into Beijing! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/94 "2023-02-01T14:02:19Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > . It’s about as simple as you can get. I personally thought it was delicious, I loved the way the chicken was seasoned and how fresh everything was. (This would have been back in '90-91, I have no idea what it’s like these days.) But yes, it was not just simple for a Mexican food place, it was probably the most simple fast food place I’ve ever seen. It’s still like that; nothing bad about it, and we actually get it somewhat regularly. But when compared to the other competing Latin-style roast chicken places we’ve tried, it comes up a bit lacking, since it’s all just less… _intense_ by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/95 "2023-02-01T14:02:40Z")
Yeah, my daughter and friends have been to Vons and brought some home. It’s good chicken, as I recall. Looking at their locations, they are in “Levermore”, “Santa Babara”, and “Rosevile” Heh-heh. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/96 "2023-02-01T14:11:07Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > The founder was a European immigrant who wanted to sound American, so he named his restaurant “Boston Pizza,” in the hopes that people might equate it with “Chicago pizza” or similar. I noticed that same trend in the UK actually- as well as the usual KFC outlets, I saw Georgia Fried Chicken, Tennessee Fried Chicken, and Mississippi Fried Chicken stores as well. As far as I’m aware, there are no state-based differences in fried chicken like that, unlike say… barbecue. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/97 "2023-02-01T14:31:26Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I noticed that same trend in the UK actually- as well as the usual KFC outlets, I saw Georgia Fried Chicken, Tennessee Fried Chicken, and Mississippi Fried Chicken stores as well. > > As far as I’m aware, there are no state-based differences in fried chicken like that, unlike say… barbecue. Oh, there’s a bazillion variants on the “[place] Fried Chicken” in London alone. You want California Fried Chicken? Texas Fried Chicken? Chicago Fried Chicken? They’re all out there. It’s all just cheap greasy fried chicken. The name is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/98 "2023-02-01T14:33:22Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I noticed that same trend in the UK actually- as well as the usual KFC outlets, I saw Georgia Fried Chicken, Tennessee Fried Chicken, and Mississippi Fried Chicken stores as well. There’s an area of Manchester (Oldham) last year where this is almost a joke, as we noticed as the taxi went past them last year. California fried chicken as well as Georgia. To be fair, KFC isn’t a hard or special food to reproduce, I don’t think their spices were very special, though some say the gravy is (or was) very good. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/99 "2023-02-01T14:42:48Z")
It’s more the “ Fried Chicken” part that amuses me. It would be about as silly as me opening an “Oxfordshire Fish and Chips” restaurant. I mean, there are fish and chips in Oxfordshire (I’ve eaten it before), but there’s nothing unique about it either- it’s the same style of fish and chips you get anywhere in the UK. But people here in the US don’t know that, and they may think I’ve got something special because it’s _Oxfordshire_ fish and chips, not just plain old fish and chips. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078/100 "2023-02-01T14:44:44Z")
Well, KFC’s pressure cooking process is a little different from traditional fried chicken. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-restaurant-chains-that-have-made-inroads-in-the-us/979078.md?page=6)