Cue the lines: Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee, which is internationally beloved for dishes like “Chickenjoy” (aka fried chicken) and hot-dog-studded “jolly spaghetti,” is coming to a former Boston Market at Alexandria’s Landmark shopping center, reports the Washington Business Journal. A location at Maryland’s Westfield Wheaton Mall is also in the works.
Fans of Jollibee are a devoted lot (here’s the late Anthony Bourdain sampling the fried chicken on Parts Unknown). In the States, there are over 40 locations—with many of them on the West Coast—and folks sometimes treat the place and its special-sauce-laden Yumburgers as the reason for a road trip.
Count former Bad Saint chef Tom Cunanan as one of its fiercest fans. Not only has he been known to head to Jersey or Queens for a fix, but he is using the place as inspiration for Pogiboy, his fast-casual place for smash burgers and spaghetti in DC’s Block food hall (opening Wednesday, January 27). It’s a collaboration with yet another Jollibee fanatic, former Kaliwa chef Paolo Dungca.
Jollibee, 6200 Little River Tpk., Alexandria; 2800 University Blvd. W., Wheaton.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
