American Legacy Pop Culture Food

American Legacy 1

When I went to the Iloilo Comic Con I wrote about the American Legacy Pop Culture Food booth. (http://expatinphilippines.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/iloilo-comic-con-2014/) They were cooking a small, p50, burger ($1.25 USD). I was talking to the guy running the booth and he said they were going to open on 4JUL14 across the street from SM Delgado, here in the city. I jokingly said ‘oh, the 4th of July… in Filipino time what is that… August 15th?’   How prophetic of me. I have been watching them build their shop – the 4th of July came and went – and they were still working on it. Today is 31JUL14 and they are doing their soft open. Been going on for a week or so, I think. But guess what their official open date is? Yep! You guessed it 15AUG14 ha ha. Maybe I should buy some lotto tickets while I am so lucky on numbers.

American Legacy 2  American Legacy 5

My wife and I went today to try it out. They are operating on a partial menu during the soft opening. Working out supply issues, and helping the cooks learn the menu in stages. Pretty normal for a soft open. But the limited menu is a bit…limiting. They have the same p50 burger I got at the Comic Con. It is still p50 and called the “Regular Joe”. I did not get one today, since I already had one, I want to try new things. But it is a good burger for the price. A bit small for a fat American appetite, but quite good. I was hoping to get the “Beefster” but it was not available today. They ran out of steak strips. It is a regular ¼ lb burger with steak strips added.   So since there was no steak strips I got the regular quarter pound burger – the “Uncle Sam”. ¼ lb of beef, coleslaw, tomato, onions, and lettuce.   As I said in the Comic Con post I had not had coleslaw on a burger before, and I am not a slaw fan. But this is good! And the beef was really good.

American Legacy 6

My wife wanted steak strips with rice, but again, no steak strips today. So she asked for the burger steak with rice. I did not hear why – but it was also not available. She does not like hamburgers so she just ordered French fries and a Coke. (If we ever moved to the US I really don’t know what she would eat!)   I ordered the Uncle Sam burger, potato wedges, and a Coke. So we get to try the regular fries and the wedges. The menu looks pretty good and can’t wait to try the other items after the restaurant opens fully. They have quite a few Add-Ons for the burgers. I was kind of bummed to see that pickles are p10 add-on though. To me pickles are not optional, and almost 25 cents for pickles is a bit steep. Unless it is a whole pickle, I did not think to ask. And in their defense it says “Vlasic” pickle, which is an import brand here. P8 (about 18 cents) for chili is a good price (I will have to try the chili later). Sorry the pics are a little blurry but my Android has a crappy camera; I forgot to bring my good camera. The menu pic is pretty blurry.

American Legacy 3

They said it would be 15 minutes for the food, and we got it in about 5 minutes. It all looked very good. And it all tasted very good. The fries were good, but the potato wedges were great! They were not technically wedges, more like what is called “steak fries” in the US. Just a thicker cut fry with the skin still on. And really good. Most burgers here in the PI’s are pretty bad. It is always a Filipino version of an American hamburger. As I am sure the US “Chinese” and “Italian” joints are Americanized versions.  But this burger was pretty much an American burger! Big, juicy, lots of toppings – 3 things you do not generally get on a Filipino burger. Mine was a little pink on the inside. I don’t know if that is standard, or a rushed burger. I will ask next time because I don’t want any pink in my burger. It was not pink enough to send back… but just not quite done. And it was still a really good burger. They said they are still working on a supplier for regular yellow mustard, but I added my own.

American Legacy 4

Overall I was very happy with the meal. Friendly staff, nice décor. Good food. I can’t wait to try the rest of the menu, and they say they are working on a shake. The prices are good for what you get. A bit high for the Philippines though. The Uncle Sam burger was p112 ($2.60 USD). Not an expensive burger by US standards, just kind of high for the PI’s. But the quality is very good. It looks like a fast food joint but is priced like a restaurant.   But since the food is cooked per order, no pre-cooked, heat lamp food here, it is fairly priced. Most expats ask where to get a real burger, and now I have an answer.   It will not be an everyday stop for me, but for an occasional, almost American, burger it is definitely a winner!

5 thoughts on “American Legacy Pop Culture Food

  1. Good post Tim…

    Some things not found in restaurants here are salt and pepper shakers. Perhaps from the humidity (salt shaker), stealing, or simply the higher cost of putting them on the tables. (all 3)?

    It seems you have to always ask for more napkins and they are thin like tissue…and ice in your drinks? In the US the restaurants stuff your glass full of ice to lower their food cost. Here the ice is more expensive so you usually only get a couple of cubes unless you ask for more.

    We did the American Legacy visit with Dave the owner and had a great meal. The “Regular Joe” (cheapest burger) is made with filler meats so the cost is low. The flavor suits Filipinos on a budget too. The other burgers are more Angus meat and charbroiled so the burgers are awesome.

    1. I always keep a supply of hand towels in my bag, and my own yellow mustard. Actually I am glad there is little ice in the drinks. I don’t like the watered down, melted ice, drinks in the US.

      Everyone uses so much soy sauce that they don’t add salt… 🙂

  2. I’ll keep my eye out for that chain,,, we have Army/Navy around here pretty good burgers. Plus they also have a small selection of Mexican food, mainly burritos. I also have noticed that portion size (of American type food anyway) is not really up to our expectation. Solution I have found is order 2 :). You know what else? Not a salt shaker to be found lolol.

    1. Yeah… I was looking for a salt shaker for the fries. I almost never add salt – but these could use a bit more. 🙂

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