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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The undercuisine

Just before my recent trip out to visit friends, I picked up some freshly made bibingka at a bakery not far from where I work. Bibingka is a type of cake adapted to Filipino tastes, baked in a charred banana leaf shell, and I realize that we have a sizeable Filipino population here. The presence of the largest medical center in the world may have something to do with it. Yet, in the recently released Fearless Critic Guide to Houston dining (link on the sidebar), not one Filipino restaurant makes the cut to the 450 reviews in the book.

To make my point, the Houston Press just announced their Best Of Houston awards, which, of course, included restaurants. There were categories for Best Tex-Mex, Best Burger, Best Vietnamese, etc. Of which there are numerous samples in the city. There was no category for Best Filipino.

This bothers me, because there is a category for Best Spanish restaurant. Checking the comprehensive website lists 12 Spanish restaurants in the city, equal to the number listed for Filipino restaurants.

Or is it?

The last restaurant listed under the Spanish category is Tony's Grill in Stafford. Which is actually a Filipino restaurant with a chef that had worked in Spain.


  1. You need to make us more Filipino cuisine. I confess to having eaten very little of it (though Anthony Bourdain makes it all look crazy good).

  2. I'll think of a few things for my next visit. I'll probably adapt a few things for more easily available ingredients.