We hate imposters in our midst. Fakes, phonies, worthless wannabies. We want the authentic item (though fake Chanel earrings are so out, They’re in).

In 1979, Le Anh Huynh came to America from Vietnam to start a better life. She started the Le Anh food cart, eventually selling it to another woman. The other woman kept the name for its publicity value, and no one seemed to care about the difference.

And then, several years later, Le Anh came back. She started her food truck again: bigger, brighter and with more variety than before. She set up on the south side of Spruce at 36th , right across the street from her original Le Anh, and called her new truck “The Real Le Anh.”

A certain Greek organization is facing a potential similar rivalry as they return to West Philadelphia. Two years ago, the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was expelled from campus following four major violations in three years. Some members of the group kept the ZBT name and formed an off-campus “underground” society. Now the original fraternity is being reinstated on-campus, and they say that they are the real deal.

Which begs the question: what does “real” really mean? Is something real because it came first, or because it is just better?

Which one is saltier? Which one is least likely to get you killed? Which one has a better location? Which one follows code?

Sometimes breaking the rule–in food and in fraternity life–is half the fun. Sure, I know that undercooked eggs can give me salmonella, but I still want them runny in my egg drop soup. And a frat without violations is similarly too dry. I didn’t show up for soda, thanks (side note: The Real Le Anh has bubble tea).

Underground ZBT or “the real” ZBT? Le Anh or the Real Le Anh? Gents, should you choose to pledge allegiance to one or the other, check to see which one makes you less inclined to vomit. Ladies, check to see which one is cleaner. Try both and see which one is tastier. Whichever one has the longer line is probably the better time. I prefer underground and south side, myself.

But, honestly, everyone knows that Hemo is the best.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 at 1:57 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.