Chipotle's Asian Concept -- CALLED IT

A long time ago on this blog, back when it was still in its infancy and I was figuring out what shape it might take (I say as if I have since figured out what shape this takes...), I wrote about Chipotle's new "Asian concept" that was reportedly in the works.

Specifically I wrote:

Sidestepping the PC-minefield of conflating the diversity of Asian cuisines into one concept, I can see a Vietnamese "inspired" (for all you purists out there) menu that could easily work within the Chipotle model:

Banh mi sandwiches
Bun (room temp vermicelli salad-type dish)
Spring/summer/garden rolls (I'm thinking of the fresh ones, rather than the deep fried ones)

All of these draw upon easy to source local ingredients, can be adapted to suit a variety of diets and food preferences, and can be quickly assembled to order. Oh yes, and they're delicious.

Well ShopHouse has been open for a few months now, and all I have to say is,

CALLED IT.

The basic components of ShopHouse's menu? "Bowls" of protein, veggies, and sauce over your choice of jasmine or brown rice, or chilled rice noodles, and banh mi sandwiches.

Interestingly, despite being almost a year old, that original post has the most hits of any post here, and people still regularly find my blog from searching for "chipotle asian concept."

Apparently Chipotle is not the only one to draw on the mainstreaming banh mi bandwagon, though, as I discovered when I stumbled upon BONMi, just a 10 minute walk down the street from Shophouse. BONMi's website seems to espouse a lot of the same values as ShopHouse: inspiration in Vietnamese/Southeast Asian cuisine of course, but also "locally sourced environmentally friendly products whenever possible", and even similar tones of orange in their color schemes.

Despite emanating from national companies (Denver-based Chipotle and the New York-based JBH Advisory Group), both ShopHouse and BONMi are currently only located in Washington, DC. In another example of eerie similarities, both proprietors have talked about how DC is actually a great city for trying out new food concepts.

The District is an ideal launching pad for the concept, according to [Lynne] Jacoby [a partner in the JBH Advisory Group that has conceptualized the new 40-seat eatery]. "...D.C. is the best place for restaurants to open, believe it or not," she says. "Unemployment is very low here, it's a very eclectic group of people here, and there's a high concentration of educated people..." (BONMi Opens Today In Downtown D.C.)

"As for why ShopHouse chose to debut in the District of Columbia and not in New York City, [ShopHouse's director of concept development, Tim Wildin] explained that D.C. is a better "proving ground."
"There are just hundreds of restaurants in New York City that aren't great, but last," he said, noting that New York City's high population density might sustain an eatery even when the concept isn't exceptional. On the other hand, Wildin said, a restaurant's performance in D.C., a city with a burgeoning food scene but fewer people, might be a better indication of a concept's potential success elsewhere. (ShopHouse, Chipotle's New Asian Spin-Off, Opens In D.C. )

This is one of the few times that, from a food perspective, I feel lucky to be in Washington, DC.

Happy Fourth!

In honor of the Fourth of July, here's a sampling of America's bounty, procured from the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market:

Approximately clockwise from top: blueberries, corn, milk, eggs, cucumber, garlic scapes, radicchio, red onions, green tomatoes, green beans, apricots, and white onions.

Some macro fun:


This is what gets me excited about food.

America’s Food Image Needs to Get a Move On

(cross-posted from a class assignment to write an op-ed)

As Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative to eliminate obesity within one generation celebrated its one-year anniversary last week, it has yet to shake its critics. Most recently, Rush Limbaugh decried the First Lady as a hypocrite on his radio show Tuesday for indulging in short ribs while in Vail, Colorado for the long weekend. Yet it’s no wonder some have cited the First Lady’s project as an example of “nanny state” interventions; should she finally solve the age-old question of how to get kids to eat their vegetables, parents the world over might pronounce her a modern-day Mary Poppins.

+ = ?

I am not a parent, however, and probably should not conjecture on the role of government in parent-child mealtime struggles. Rather, as an international communication student who looks at the way food represents and constructs messages about culture, I see in the First Lady’s campaign an as-yet unrecognized potential to reform international perceptions of American food, and of Americans themselves.

While critics of Michelle Obama’s initiative deride what they perceive as the elimination of freedom of choice, as a nation we have failed to see that our underinvestment in a healthy food system has larger international implications than our individual eating decisions. America has some of the most talented chefs in the world, some of the most bountiful produce belts, and a whole holiday dedicated to (let’s be honest) stuffing ourselves silly. Yet no American city made it into the top 5 of the Anholt-GFK Roper City Brand index cities for eating in 2009, based on the impressions of 10,000 people representing 20 countries. Ask a foreigner what American food is, and they’ll likely say something about pizza, hamburgers, French fries, etc. They might mention processed foods or fast food, or simply give the one-word answer, “McDonalds.” Some people (probably French) might scoff and say with a sneer, “There is no American cuisine.”

To take one example of how the Let’s Move initiative can change these perceptions, consider the national school lunch program. Founded in 1946, the program provided lunch every day to more than 31.3 million children in 2009. School lunches play an integral role in ensuring that, per Michelle Obama’s vision, government subsidized meals for kids do not contribute to rising rates of childhood obesity. Yet, if the recent Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution TV program is any indication, school lunch administrators currently fail at this task so completely that, as with most things, we apparently need to call in the real experts: the British. With all due respect to the Naked Chef and his countrymen, that foggy grey isle has hardly been known as a historical hotbed of haute or even healthy cuisine, what with its mushy peas, boiled beef, and beans on toast.

Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative is an opportunity to reform not only what the world thinks about American food, but what they, by extension, think about Americans. What message do we send to the world when the most prosperous nation spends less than $1 per eligible child for ingredients for lunch? How little do we value American children that they get the cast-offs of large industrial food companies, not because these foods are nutritious, but because they can’t be sold elsewhere? And who is to take on the patriotic American torch when we are seeing the first generation of kids expected to live shorter lives than their parents due to diet-related disease?

Americans are often criticized for lacking a real culture, and thus for lacking a real cuisine. But a national school lunch program that reinforces the vision of a fit and healthy youth can be a start in building a national food identity that conveys more than just overindulgence, laziness, and convenience. Some might scoff at the idea of increasing America’s international prowess through reformed school lunch programs, but soft power matters. How the rest of the world sees us invest in our children’s health sends a message about who will be leading this country in the future. And though it is a bitter pill to swallow that we have thus far underinvested our energy and resources in properly nourishing our kids, now is the time to demonstrate that we are up to the task, and don’t mind saving that spoonful of sugar for special occasions.

Chipotle's Asian concept

I have yet to read details about Chipotle's plans to launch a quick-service Asian concept (perhaps because there aren't many), but I find this article interesting for how it characterizes and generalizes about Mexican and Chinese cuisine.

3 Challenges Chipotle Faces Launching an Asian Chain

I'm guessing that certain figures of Mexican cuisine, including Top Chef Master Rick Bayless, Diana Kennedy, and those who advocated for UNESCO to recognize Michoacan cuisine as a form of intangible cultural heritage might object to the idea that "Mexican food is pretty simple to execute. You throw together beans, tortillas, a few meats and cheeses, guacamole, rice, and you’re pretty set."

Oddly, she contrasts this to Asian food which "involves a lot more chef expertise, more ingredients, different spices, and more complex dishes that are tricky to keep appetizing-looking in a warming tray — just hit your local grocery store’s hot-deli line or a shopping-mall food court and take a look." Rick Bayless's preparation of mole negro for a recent state dinner at the White House included more than 20 different ingredients and took several days to prepare. That's just for the sauce.

Tice also thinks that quick-service Asian food based on local, organic ingredients faces a greater challenge compared to doing the same for Mexican food. But my guess is that Chipotle will choose those Asian dishes that serve their model well, rather than trying to represent the range or depth of Asian cuisine. Sidestepping the PC-minefield of conflating the diversity of Asian cuisines into one concept, I can see a Vietnamese "inspired" (for all you purists out there) menu that could easily work within the Chipotle model:

Banh mi sandwiches
Bun (room temp vermicelli salad-type dish)
Spring/summer/garden rolls (I'm thinking of the fresh ones, rather than the deep fried ones)

All of these draw upon easy to source local ingredients, can be adapted to suit a variety of diets and food preferences, and can be quickly assembled to order. Oh yes, and they're delicious.

You could even throw pho into the mix, though I would only recommend it for eat-in customers (and squeamish eaters probably wouldn't want the raw beef on the side). Takeaway pho is never a good idea...