In a recent interview with foodie website Eater, co-owner of the popular French-inspired bistro Wildflour (a.k.a. our go-to joint for brunch… at all times of the day) Walter Manzke said, “[Filipinos] are so connected to the Internet. Moreso there than even here. They know everything that’s going on in the world, and they want it more than anyone.”
The popular LA-based chef also owns a restaurant similar to Wildflour (from the pastries, down to the Courier-font menu) called Republique, which he runs with his Filipina wife Margarita. This idea, that at the very moment you slice into a crisp croque madame, someone else is doing the same at Wildflour’s LA. counterpart, sends a shiver down my spine. The Goop-approved Republique is a hugely popular eatery on the West Coast, which booked 50 reservations per day for a month prior to its opening, and every time you dine at Wildflour, the ambience and the food are so good, it may as well be on 624 South La Brea Avenue.
That brunch, practically a religion in L.A., is even a thing here in Manila says a lot about our predilection for foreign culinary imports. Dean and Deluca just set up shop in Rockwell. Pretty soon, the Manzkes will be bringing in Pink’s Hotdogs to BGC. And we wait with bated breath for the opening of New York institutions like Halal Guys and Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, along with Vegas import Sugar Factory.
But is Filipino food finally catching up Stateside? Eater seems to think so. So do The Washington Post and The Plate on National Geographic. Even New York, home to celebrated Filipino restaurants Purple Yam and Jeepney, held its first Filipino Restaurant Week just this month. Celebrity chef and Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern called it three years ago.
So where else in the US are people jonesing for adobo? Click through the slideshow to find out!
Wildflour photo by Tammy David