Comments on: Elvie’s Turo-Turo, New York

By: perkycinderella

perkycinderella — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 03:00:35 +0000

Acidboy, these carinderia’s ais in Project 4. My daughter called me just to tell me this. We laughed in stitches. Also for a laugh there is a flower shop next to it aptly named, Susan Roses.

By: Epi

Epi — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 11:16:36 +0000

If you are looking for an authentic Bulakenya fare, then please try Tita Celia’s along carson, cali. Adobo, beefsteak, sinigang na halibut and kakanin, my personal favorite Carioca the size of Golf Balls.

By: acidboy

acidboy — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 02:26:45 +0000

It’s like the “Luto ng Ina Mo” carinderia and a copycat “Luto ng Ina Mo Rin” carinderia story all over again! Guffaw!

By: divalicious

divalicious — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 02:25:13 +0000

this is why i enjoy reading MM’s blog, you’re always assured of an intelligent discussion. :)

By: connie

connie — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 02:16:32 +0000

“Tell me, why do Filipinos have this penchant for opening exactly the same business right next door to each other?”

I don’t know if that sort of thing is distinctly Pinoy however. I understand what you are saying but for me, I’ve seen such competitive behaviour in other cultures too. For example, where I live it is not unusual to see a Vietnamese restaurants right next door each other, a Mexican restaurant right in front of the other one, same goes with Italian restaurants. Survey the streets of Tijuana (Mexico) and you’ll find lines of stores that goes on for blocks, selling the same stuff (carved woods, blankets, silver jewelries) right next to each other. It makes you wonder if they even make profit at all if everybody is selling the same thing. Even the US is not immune to this clustering, it’s not unusual to see Barnes and Noble right next to a Borders, a Circuit City next to a Best Buy, Williams Sonoma steps away from Sur La Table, Pottery Barn next to say a Pier 1 Imports or Crate and Barrel. And I could go on and on, the only difference I see is that, some stores just try different “gimiks” to lure you in.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:04:39 +0000

ECC and Fabian, yes, I agree with clustering where there are interdependiencies, hence auto companies in one state where parts suppliers also thrive, ditto for motorcycle repairs, etc. For corn or pineapples, yes, beside the fields they are harvested and definitely where the set-ups are intentional such as MALLS specificially for food products or clothing, etc. But what I am referring to in the Philippines are products that are relatively simple and completely replicable… i.e., a buko pie where you will see several businesses offering practically the same thing on the same street instead of spreading out throughout the province. Or, the 4-6 turo-turo restaurants in 10 square blocks of New York, when the rest of the city doesn’t have one. There just seems to be less individuality in the businesses, less pride in having something unique or differentiated. I am not saying this doesn’t happen elsewhere, I just think the tendency is one where countries have lower per capita GDPs, or less focus on intellectual property rights, patents, branding, etc… Take a last example of barbecue vendors in say Cebu… on some street corners, there are 50 small vendors selling nearly the same thing, fanning away. Or lechon manok…

By: ECC

ECC — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 20:48:18 +0000

MM, you asked if this penchant for similar businesses locating next to each other is a phenomenon that occurs primarily in lower income economies. I understand about the “gaya-gaya mentality” but my instant thought on this matter was … they have it too in developed countries but probably in a much larger scale …. say, in Japan, Tokyo has Akihabara for electronics and, as I recall, they also had specific districts for motorcycles, restaurant supplies, etc. In the U.S., Detroit is known for automobile plants; Houston for the energy industry; Napa and Sonoma Valleys for wineries, and every large city in the U.S. will have a Chinatown. I did a quick online research and found out that this is called a “Business Cluster” or the broader “Cluster Effect”. Wikipedia has a good article on these.

By: Jdawgg

Jdawgg — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:40:20 +0000

Mr. Marketman,

Ted is right and Mr. Xiao Li you should also try this spots aside from what Mr. Ted suggested. Kuya’s Resto, Ihaw-Ihaw, Alido’s Resto. and Sinugba. They are within 1-2 miles away from each other. I’d stay away from Patio Filipino the service is bad (Attitude Adjustment) and the food Uh!!! what can I say I’m a gourmet chef and I could make it better at home.

By: Ted

Ted — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:14:58 +0000

Xiao Li, Goldilocks at concord is an upscale version of their branch here in the SF bay area, but still the service and quality of food is the same as turo-turo style. But, you may find a lot of this fusion or upscale pinoy restaurants in Burlingame, San bruno or San Mateo area, they are lined up along El Camino Real (Patio Filipino, Luneta Bistro, Tribu Grill,..etc). They do serve good to excellent pinoy food. I would suggest trying these 3 places. You may find their reviews at yelp.com

Incidentally, although these fine pinoy resto’s are more than a few blocks away from each other, they do tend to concentrate in one area (westbay), eventhough pinoys here in the SF bay area are everywhere. Mr. Mangahas has a good point there regarding economies of scale.

By: corrine

corrine — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:32:19 +0000

Yes, Mr. Mangahas. I learned that Collette and Original’s have the same owner. Sadly, the buko pie we bought in Tagaytay is of bad quality…it was mixed with some tough coconut meat. The one we bought in San Pablo or Los Banos is better. If I remember correctly, the Collette brand is the one being franchised.