Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Who would want a teriyaki donut?

For years I've been fascinated by teriyaki donut shops. There used to be one about a mile from my apartment and I would walk past it almost every day, but it's no longer there. However there are a couple other teriyaki donut shops that have popped up nearby.
I've seen them in other cities as well, including Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento.
I've never actually been in one - I'm not much of a donut lover - but I see these stores as a strange subset of our culture. It could be cultural clash, the collision between Japanese and American culture that creates a situation where a family can make both teriyaki rice bowl meals and donuts under the same roof and be succesful.
I don't understand it, but I respect it.
I see it as akin to the taco truck, another cultural collision. Taco trucks are unique to the West. They are a combination of the old sandwich trucks that are still commonly seen in Chicago and New York that visit construction sites. The philosophy there is "These workers can't go far for lunch, so bring the lunch spot to them."
Out in the West, it was originally the same principle. Agriculture workers had no where to go for lunch since they were often in the middle of nowhere, so to speak. So lunch went to them. Since most ag workers in the West are Hispanic, the food was changed from sandwiches to tacos and burritos.
Except the clash has gotten more severe. As the ag employment economy continues to shrink, many of the traditional ag employees are getting jobs in cities where they can go somewhere to eat. So the taco trucks have followed them there. It's not unusual to see a taco truck permanently placed in a parking lot like a restaurant. They have awnings, furniture, music piped outside for their diners. Some of them are just absolutely fascinating.
I see it as cultural art, sort of like a violin or a tribal shield. It's built for practical reasons, but decorated to carry its ethnic brand.
But I digress.
I'm hoping to use this blog space to post pictures of any shopt that shows a clash of cultures, such as teriyaki donut shops. Maybe by looking at them, we can figure out the cultural clash and get insight into our ever-evolving culture. For example, one shop that I will photograph this year for this project is a local Hof Brau near my workplace that specializes in Chinese food. No kidding.
I'll also post pictures of some cool-looking regular donut shops I've seen, as well as ornate taco trucks.
I'm hoping submissions from readers also will be entered.

On a side note: as I was discussing this project with my teen-aged daughter (who gave it a hearty thumbs up), I was prompted to Google the term teriyaki donuts. Imagine my surprise to learn that I'm not the only one fascinated by teriyaki donut shops. Quentin Tarantino also likes them. In "Pulp Fiction," just before Marcellus is run down by Butch, he is seen walking out of a donut shop called "Teriyaki Donut" with a box of a dozen glazed.
Also, in his film "Jackie Brown," in the food court scene in the mall, a restaurant in the background is named "Teriyaki Donut." Jackie Brown is eating food from that restaurant.

And there it is.

2 comments:

Adrian said...

Way to go, Patrick. I'm interested to see where this project leads. And by the way, yes, I think you should invest in a digital slr camera - prices are low enough and there's just so much better quality that might otherwise leave you frustrated at the limitations of a simple point and shoot.

Lori Stewart Weidert said...

What a great idea; I'll be on the lookout!