One-Way Globalization

I've been taking advantage of the three-gets-you-five aspect of Thanksgiving week and have been taking the entire week off. I decided to explore my neighborhood on foot today and thought that I would walk over to the next area of Queens known as Corona.

Corona is a heavily Latino neighborhood with Dominican, Mexican, Ecuadorian, Peruvian and Colombian immigrants. I decided to have lunch at the Guatemalan-based fast food chain called Pollo Campero. I first heard of the chain in an article in Latin Trade magazine. I remember the article  discussed how boxes of the wildly popular chicken was fast becoming the carry-on luggage of Guatemalan immigrants who returned to the US with a taste of home.

Since then the company has opened a few restaurants in the US and even more in Latin America. I had a three-piece combination with a side order of rice and tostones (green plaintains) and a couple of corn tortillas. It was delicious and the breast piece may have been one of the moistest and meatiest breast pieces I have ever had.

So is this truly globalization? I don't know. I was the only gringo* dining in the full restaurant and I don't see this branch attracting many people outside the Hispanic community. There's another branch in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, another heavily Hispanic community and if I get a chance I'll visit it.

The international success of the dreaded McDonald's, however, is their ability to penetrate the world. When I visited Germany a few years ago, I have to confess that in a moment of weakness I ate at McDonald's and the irony of saying "Ich möchte ein McRib" ("I'd like a McRib") was not lost on me. Despite the occasional local variations  like guaraná soda, pineapple pies and passion fruit sundaes in Brazil, McDonald's product is essentially the same from nation to nation. I'll believe that Pollo Campero is truly becoming a force in terms of globalization when I see one on the Upper West Side or Upper East Side below 96th Street or when I go visit family in Huntsville, AL and when it is doing so much more than appealing to immigrants desiring of a taste for home. Meanwhile, I'll let it be our little secret. It was definitely worth the walk to Corona. Check it out.

*Yes I know I'm technically not a gringo in my own country. Deal with it.

Comments

[Captain Scarlet]

yes.. that evil ronald mcdonald and his aspirations of world domination must be stopped. i'm not sure what your point here is.. are you saying that globalization is only good if it is the smaller markets having success? i'm all for free trade and i wish the best for all countries. i personally don't eat at mickey dees because they have the worst food.

[Randy Paul]

No, what I'm saying is that with all the talk about globalization, much of it in this hemisphere tends to flow from north to south and very little vice-versa. Pollo Campero will have success in this country, but I think that it will be on a limited scale, and I doubt if it would happen at all if it wasn't for the large Latino community here.

[Marc Cooper]

Good post Randy. I discovered Pollo Campero while reporting the war in El Salvador during the 1980's and until now I thought it was a Salvadoran compnay. Might as well be as Salvadorans go nuts over it-- rightly so I might add. To this day, whenever I fly TACA airlines out of El Salvador I can always smell the open boxes of Pollo Campero on board. Beats the hell out of Airplane Chicken.

[SemperFi]

In California there's a franchise called El Pollo Loco that both Hispanics and "gringos" frequent for open-fire braised "crazy chicken" marinated with lime and other secret ingredients.

Not too bad.

[stephen]

I remember blogging on Pollo Campero a while back. My thread was based on a very interesting thread at Metafilter that raises some of the points about reverse globalisation.

[stephen]

BTW, good idea exploring the 'hood on a week off. I hope you'lll post more of your discoveries. A shame we don't have Thanksgiving over here. We're celebrating this weekend in lieu.

[eb]

A friend who fought with the FMLN in El Salvador told me a darkly funny story about the November 1989 offensive involving Pollo Campero. The offensive was the first (and last) military operation for many city kids, who joined units hardened by years of rural guerrilla life. At one point my friend and his company, which included lots of recently recruited San Salvadorenos, had to retreat undetected from a largely open field. After everyone had made it safely to cover, the commanders looked out in horror at the field, which was littered with.... Pollo Campero wrappers and boxes.

They took the opportunity to give a short training update on "what to bring and not bring to an urban offensive".