The fried chicken is in New York. The cashier is in the Philippines.

A customer reacts to a virtual host at SanSan Ramen restaurant in New York on April 4, 2024. A handful of New York City restaurants are experimenting with virtual staff members, who greet customers on a screen via Zoom from the Philippines. — Victor J. Blue/The New York Times

NEW YORK: At Sansan Chicken in Long Island City, Queens, the cashier beamed a wide smile and recommended the fried chicken sandwich.

Or maybe she suggested the tonkatsu – it was hard to tell, because the Internet connection from her home in the Philippines was spotty.