Support NeoGAF

[Tripon]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-cambodian-fried-chicken-20170227-story.html

Behind the glass is a Cambodian immigrant family, and on the other side is the chain’s mostly black clientele. Bean pies and sweet potatoes are on the menu. So are whole pickled jalapenos.

The restaurant, part of the Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken chain, is a cultural mixtape that only Southern California could have produced: fried chicken, served by Cambodian refugees to black and Latino customers, from a chain founded by a white man from Michigan, Joseph Dion.

Dion started the chain in South Los Angeles in 1976, and it now has more than 148 restaurants in seven states and three countries. A big reason for the chain’s success, Dion said, is Cambodians.

“If there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken on one corner, a Church’s on another and Popeye’s on the third one, I will open a Louisiana chicken on the fourth. I will try,” said Eng, 46.

After some of Dion’s first franchises went out of business, other Cambodians took them over.

By 2009, 90% of the 100 or so restaurants were Cambodian-owned. And most of them were friends of a particularly enterprising and ambitious employee: Eng.

 

[Chichikov]

That's a great and well written story, never heard of it or that restaurant.

 

[see5harp]

Cambodians basically run the entire donut industry in nor cal. It's pretty crazy how quickly both the Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants have started to integrate into US society. It wasn't overnight but the kids of the first generation are now graduating from Med School. Any time I look at a office directory at a Doctor's office, I'm shocked at how many Vietnamese names I see these days.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Cambodians basically run the entire donut industry in nor cal. It's pretty crazy how quickly both the Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants have started to integrate into US society. It wasn't overnight but the kids of the first generation are now graduating from Med School. Any time I look at a office directory at a Doctor's office, I'm shocked at how many Vietnamese names I see these days.

Wow that's great to hear!

 

[Dinokill]

It's great to see that despite all the shit American is going trough due to Trump , nationalists and right-wing nut jobs America still a great place for immigrants of all nations.

 

[Goro Majima]

Hey I had grubhub deliver from this place in downtown Houston! Always figured they were a chain but I never saw another location.

It had pretty decent tenders but I'd still stick with Popeye's spicy tenders.

 

[ZackieChan]

Ditto in SoCal - roll through Long Beach and you'll see they're all Cambodian run. There was a Cambodian run donut shop near where I lived in Palm Springs, as well.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

“People don’t know that this neighborhood and a lot of our people are very open to diversity,” Turner said.

Good. That's what I want to hear. Hope they are actively doing their best to employ people that live in these communities from all backgrounds. That's my only complaint when it comes to some small businesses that open up in the hood: Suck the money out and don't give back.

 

[terencecah]

i have two Cambodian friends and they separately own donut shops, I live in socal

 

[Tripon]

Yeah, my family (Cambodian) owned a donut shop.

I also had some Louisiana fried chicken and they also sold Chinese food. Weirdest combo I seem

 

[Electric Eye]

A lot of those places are kinda dumps though so I usually stay clear. Just my personal take on it though.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Yeah, my family (Cambodian) owned a donut shop.

I also had some Louisiana fried chicken and they also sold Chinese food. Weirdest combo I seem

It was normalized in the Bad and Boujee music video

 

[smurfx]

only time i go to one that is near me is to get general tsos chicken. their chicken is ok but i rather have popeyes. i do like their fries though.

 

[shintoki]

Yeah, my family (Cambodian) owned a donut shop.

I also had some Louisiana fried chicken and they also sold Chinese food. Weirdest combo I seem

Chinese and Fried Chicken go hand and hand.

 

[Sunster]

The America I know and love.

 

[djkimothy]

Cambodians basically run the entire donut industry in nor cal. It's pretty crazy how quickly both the Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants have started to integrate into US society. It wasn't overnight but the kids of the first generation are now graduating from Med School. Any time I look at a office directory at a Doctor's office, I'm shocked at how many Vietnamese names I see these days.

Immigration is vital to economic development and its good to see it paying off.

 

[IggyChooChoo]

Cambodians basically run the entire donut industry in nor cal. It's pretty crazy how quickly both the Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants have started to integrate into US society. It wasn't overnight but the kids of the first generation are now graduating from Med School. Any time I look at a office directory at a Doctor's office, I'm shocked at how many Vietnamese names I see these days.

Huh, there's a Cambodian-owned donut place here in Louisville. Didn't realize that was a thing.

 

[see5harp]

Huh, there's a Cambodian-owned donut place here in Louisville. Didn't realize that was a thing.

I actually worked with two completely different Cambodian guys in college and both of their parents owned donut shops. It's basically what the Chinese immigrants did with laundromats.

 

[norm9]

Used to work next door to a Louisiana Fried Chicken. Cheap eats. Ate it all the time.

 

[Septimus Prime]

I think I went to one of these once. It was honestly pretty bad, but I'm open to giving it another shot.

 

[Tagyhag]

Never heard of this chain, will see if I have one nearby.

 

[Spaced Harrier]

One thing I noticed about the us is how you have branded franchised fast food everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Saw very little independent, gourmet or ethnic fast-food.

 

[Atenhaus]

One thing I noticed about the us is how you have branded franchised fast food everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Saw very little independent, gourmet or ethnic fast-food.

You generally need to head into the cities/Inner suburbs for that.

 

[Robot Carnival]

guess I'll look up where they are. I actually had one of them near my home before I think, but it got turned into a Chinese fast food place before I moved in.

 

[ThisGuy]

I strolled in here to shit talk and brag about hot chicken takeover. But truthfully. Pickled jalapeños sound so good right now. I they go great with beer.

 

[The Illiterati]

So it's the Cambodians taking all our jobs! /s

 

[shira]

I'm finding it pretty hard to find bad fried chicken.

Any restaurant that isn't superb is almost always out of business fast.

 

[mollipen]

You generally need to head into the cities/Inner suburbs for that.

I think it's more that you just have to look. It's very easy not to, and not even realize that you aren't.

One thing I noticed about the us is how you have branded franchised fast food everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Saw very little independent, gourmet or ethnic fast-food.

This is a really funny statement given the thread is about Los Angeles, where there's an endless sea of all three of those things.

 

[Tagyhag]

One thing I noticed about the us is how you have branded franchised fast food everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Saw very little independent, gourmet or ethnic fast-food.

Depends on where you are in the US.

Come to Los Angeles and you'll see literally 5 different food places per block.

 

[Yaboosh]

Filipino bakeries in nor Cal, most notably Starbread, make senorita bread that will completely replace donuts for you. So goddamn good.

 

[LewieP]

Huh. I live in Cambodia and you can't get good fried chicken or donuts here. The brain drain in full effect.

 

[ZackieChan]

Filipino bakeries in nor Cal, most notably Starbread, make senorita bread that will completely replace donuts for you. So goddamn good.

I gotta try this. There any in the Palo Alto/Mountain View area?

 

[The Technomancer]

One thing I noticed about the us is how you have branded franchised fast food everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Saw very little independent, gourmet or ethnic fast-food.

You generally need to head into the cities/Inner suburbs for that.

Yup. In every city I've lived in there's five or six local places for every chain restaurant. Head out to the suburbs and smaller towns and the ratio inverts

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Huh. I live in Cambodia and you can't get good fried chicken or donuts here. The brain drain in full effect.

Fried chicken and sticky rice from a street vendor > some US chain

 

[ShowDog]

I've popped into many SoCal donut shops for work over the years and I have a lot of respect for the families that operate them. It's basically a 24/7 operation, cook donuts all night, work the morning rush, and then nap the rest of the day as customers trickle in and out before starting over again.

Definitely a first-generation immigrant life creating those opportunities for their children. Lots of respect for those folks (and their kids that get stuck working afternoons until they move on to a better job/higher education).

On the same note, I hope Dunkins expansion out here fails miserably because it would come at the expense of the mom and pop shops that dot every corner.

 

[LewieP]

Fried chicken and sticky rice from a street vendor > some US chain

Eh some street food is great, but I've never had good fried chicken.

 

[Rice-Eater]

Filipino bakeries in nor Cal, most notably Starbread, make senorita bread that will completely replace donuts for you. So goddamn good.

First time I tried one is when I went back to Stockton(where I was born) to marry my wife and I had a cousin who told me that I just had to try them. So we ordered ourselves a dozen or so and I really liked them.

I must admit I didn't really like them when they got cold hours later but I thought they were really good when they were fresh. But what I missed most about that broke ass city was the burrito trucks. Those burritos are god tier compared to the crap I've had in North Carolina and Georgia.

 

[AntoneM]

First time I tried one is when I went back to Stockton(where I was born) to marry my wife and I had a cousin who told me that I just had to try them. So we ordered ourselves a dozen or so and I really liked them.

I must admit I didn't really like them when they got cold hours later but I thought they were really good when they were fresh. But what I missed most about that broke ass city was the burrito trucks. Those burritos are god tier compared to the crap I've had in North Car and Georgia.

You can't get a good burrito, in the USA, outside the SW USA. Pacific NW there might be like 5 places, South? nah, Midwest? forget it, Northeast will have a lot of places but per capita it's pretty much nothing.

 

[PassiveObserver]

I can vouch for the chicken and mac and cheese. Definitely a tier above KFC and Popeyes. The San Francisco location is also a Happy Donuts run by Southeast Asians, so this whole story checks out.

 

[Yaboosh]

You can't get a good burrito, in the USA, outside the SW USA. Pacific NW there might be like 5 places, South? nah, Midwest? forget it, Northeast will have a lot of places but per capita it's pretty much nothing.

SF has plenty of good burrito joints.

 

[Spaced Harrier]

This is a really funny statement given the thread is about Los Angeles, where there's an endless sea of all three of those things.

Well I was touring through Nevada, California and northbound on a roadtrip, so I saw the smaller towns etc Moreso than the cities.

Well we did see all the major cities bar LA. But I guess I wasn't really talking about them.

 

[Bubbavelli]

Yeah, my family (Cambodian) owned a donut shop.

I also had some Louisiana fried chicken and they also sold Chinese food. Weirdest combo I seem

I went to one today that also sold donuts. I got a 3 piece and a jelly filled to go.

 

[aznpxdd]

One thing I noticed about the us is how you have branded franchised fast food everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Saw very little independent, gourmet or ethnic fast-food.

Heh, that's not true. Los Angeles' food scene and diversity > anywhere in the world.

 

[Boogie9IGN]

I gotta try this. There any in the Palo Alto/Mountain View area?

There was a Goldilock's in Mt View on Rengstorff but I'm not entirely sure they're still there

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

Cambodians basically run the entire donut industry in nor cal. It's pretty crazy how quickly both the Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants have started to integrate into US society. It wasn't overnight but the kids of the first generation are now graduating from Med School. Any time I look at a office directory at a Doctor's office, I'm shocked at how many Vietnamese names I see these days.

I dunno, Vietnamese doctors seem somewhat underrepresented compared to other Asian Americans. Vietnamese pharmacists are another story. For some reason, pharm seems to be overrun with Vietnamese

 

[Boogie9IGN]

I dunno, Vietnamese doctors seem somewhat underrepresented compared to other Asian Americans. Vietnamese pharmacists are another story. For some reason, pharm seems to be overrun with Vietnamese

In San Jose/OC it's nothing but Vietnamese doctors with a smattering of Chinese

Then again, SJ has the highest concentration of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam and OC has the highest per capita iirc so it's not really too surprising

 

[wandering]

You can't get a good burrito, in the USA, outside the SW USA. Pacific NW there might be like 5 places, South? nah, Midwest? forget it, Northeast will have a lot of places but per capita it's pretty much nothing.

There's some decent burrito joints around Seattle, but Japanese food is our forté.

 

[see5harp]

I dunno, Vietnamese doctors seem somewhat underrepresented compared to other Asian Americans. Vietnamese pharmacists are another story. For some reason, pharm seems to be overrun with Vietnamese

Sure, compared to the chinese and japanese who have been in this country for a long time. But just 20 years ago I basically never even saw Vietnamese last names. I see at least one or two now, and chances are that their parents immigrated here in the 70's and they are first generation Americans. That's pretty awesome.

 

[rockinreelin]

In my local socal Kaiser medical building all the old retiring doctors were just replaced by a bunch of fresh young Vietnamese doctors though they were either first/second generation. It was definitely surprising but they seemed a lot more professional and enthusiastic then the old regime at least in my one time visit.

Oh and one thing I notice in socal is the abundance of Japanese optometrists lol.

Lousisana chicken is alright, I didn't think much of it honestly. And Space Harrier is right, there is a glut of franchises everywhere though the majority are in the suburbs.

 

[ahoyhoy]

I dunno, Vietnamese doctors seem somewhat underrepresented compared to other Asian Americans. Vietnamese pharmacists are another story. For some reason, pharm seems to be overrun with Vietnamese

In Maryland and I feel like every medical building directory has at least one Nguyen on it. Only Asian names I see more of are probably Indian, followed by Koreans.

I feel like they're pretty represented around here.