Beer and sisig

For the best Kapampangan (from the province of Pampanga) food this side of Quezon City, nothing beats Trellis Restaurant along Kalayaan Avenue. It opened in 1980 and I think that it single-handedly popularized sisig in Metro Manila. Now, almost every Filipino restaurant serves it. Traditionally it's made of pork, but there are now tuna, bangus (milkfish), and even tofu variations. I haven't had pork sisig in years, but Anthony Bourdain has this to say about it: "If you've never had this divine mosaic of pig parts, chopped and served sizzling and crisp on one side on a screaming hot platter, then you've yet to have one of the world's best beer drinking dishes." One of these days, I'll have to order it just to take some pictures.

Day off

Trellis Restaurant, which I posted about back in 2009, has been in our neighborhood since 1980. The quality of the food has never changed throughout those three decades. One other thing about it has not changed either: it remains closed during Sundays. In a city where many families gather together for lunch out after Mass, it's quite surprising.

The art of eating

During the past three years, our neighborhood has become quite a popular location for small, independent restaurants and bars. Aside from Trellis, which has been around since the 80s, there's Pino, Tomato Kick, Friuli and Kiss the Cook, and many others that I have not yet featured here—all within walking distance or a tricycle ride away from our house. Makes for very happy taste buds but I'm beginning to despair of my waistline. Leona Art Restaurant used to be located in a different part of Quezon City but recently moved in too. Both their grilled and fried pizzas are good and we're looking forward to trying other items on their menu. I should ask the owners why they call it an "art restaurant" but I won't be surprised if it has to do with all the eclectic, quirky and lovely decorations they have in the place.