Our 5 Favorite Filipino Restaurants in NYC

Address and phone: 40-06 70th St, Woodside, Queens (718-205-1480) Website: Facebook/Ihawan Good for: Grilled meats and group dining Head to Woodside's Mini Manila, trek up a flight of narrow stairs, walk past a nail salon, and enter Ihawan. The unmistakable smell of grilled meat will hit you as you open the door to the family-filled dining room, where parties order platters for the table—barbecued meats, deep-fried fish, rice, and other delicacies arranged on a huge banana leaf. If you're rolling with a considerably smaller crew, focus on the essentials: glazed and caramelized pork served on bamboo skewers is a must, as is the lumpiang Shanghai, or Filipino spring rolls filled with pork and shrimp. (If they have fresh lumpiang, get those, too.) The perfect ending to a meal at Ihawan involves an avocado shake, which is a large soda fountain glass layered with shaved ice, sweetened condensed milk, and avocado puree. (Pro tip: There's no alcohol, but you can BYOB if you're discrete about it.)—Erin Mosbaugh Order this: Lumpiang Shanghai, pork BBQ skewers, avocado shake

Address and phone: 81 E 7th St #A (212-473-4900) Website: krystalscafe81.com Good for: Authentic Filipino breakfast and Filipino beers You would think being located around the corner from the acclaimed Maharlika would pose a problem for a Filipino restaurant, but not for Café 81. Unlike its neighbor that specializes in “Filipino Moderno,” Café 81 carves a lane for itself in homestyle Filipino cooking. Breakfast is served all day, which usually consists of sinangag (garlic-fried rice), two sunny side up eggs, and a choice of ulam (main dish). As with any Filipino breakfast, you’ll have the choice of tapa (dried or cured beef) or longanisa (sweet sausage). If breakfast isn’t what you’re looking for, you can also help yourself to a crispy pata, also known as a deep-fried pork leg. Although it’s listed on the appetizer menu, the succulent fried pork is big enough for a two-person meal when accompanied with a side of white rice. There’s also a selection of Filipino beers, such as Red Horse or San Miguel, to pair with that comfort food.—Gerald Flores Order this: Topsilog, crispy pata, halo halo

Address and phone: 201 1st Ave (212-533-4121) Website: jeepneynyc.com Good for: A Pinoy-style party in the East Village Getting New Yorkers to try Filipino food is one thing. Getting them to party, Pinoy-style, is an even taller task, which is why Jeepney—as well as its sister restaurant, Maharlika—has been the breakout star of the current vogue grub from the Philippines. Giant murals of voluptuous, bare-chested ladies set the tone for a raucous onslaught of mashup creations that owe as much of a debt to New York as Manila: sisig finds its way into tacos, wings are doused in a banana-ketchup glaze, and the Chori Burger adds longanisa (cured pork sausage) to the usual beef blend. The adventurous drinking food peaks with the infamous balut—a hard-boiled duck egg encasing a fertilized duck embryo (close your eyes and it's pretty damn good). For the best way to experience the Pinoy fun, reserve ahead of time for Kamayan night (available Wednesdays and Thursdays), when the restaurant serves communal feasts spread out on the table—no plates, no cutlery, just massive banana leaves and food. The riot of Filipino dishes, both classic and new-school, is the best way to see what all the fuss is about.—Chris Schonberger Order this: Chori Burger, banana-ketchup wings, halo-halo, Tiki Tuesday cocktails

Address and phone: 1314 Cortelyou Rd, Ditmas Park, Brooklyn (718-940-8188) Website: purpleyamnyc.com Good for: Home-cooked Filipino flavors with worldly influences Filipino food may be trending these days, but Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan have been repping Pinoy flavors in NYC for more than 15 years. They started at the now-shuttered Cendrillon in Soho before moving to Ditmas Park to open Purple Yam—a neighborhood joint infused with the globe-trotting influences of its owners. While you'll see the keywords you expect—lumpia, sisig, and halo-halo are all accounted for—you'll also notice nods to Korea in dishes like bibimbap served over heirloom rice, not to mention France, Malaysia, and Bali. The most solid bets are the classic of Filipino home-cooking though, like a sizzling platter of sisig—crunchy, fatty bits of pig snout, ear, and cheek lifted by lime and chilies. The kitchen also does well by the lesser-known noodle dishes of the Philippines, such as thin rice noodles (pancit bihon) tossed with pork, citrus, and vegetables. Eat on the calming back patio, then head down Cortelyou Road for a nightcap at Sycamore, a whiskey bar in the guise of a flower shop.—Chris Schonberger Order this: Tocino, sisig, pancit bihon, lumpia

Address and phone: 62-29 Roosevelt Ave, Woodside, Queens (718-426-4445) Website: jollibee.com Good for: Simple, honest Filipino fast-food I didn’t grow up with McDonald’s. I grew up with Jollibee. I was born in the Philippines and had the illest birthday there, and to this day the restaurant holds a special place in my heart. But memory can be deceiving, so when I first moved to New York a few years ago, it was nostalgia that convinced me to take a solo hike to Woodside and see if the fast-food joint was as good as I remembered. If there’s one thing I miss, it’s Filipino spaghetti, which is made with a much sweeter sauce than its American and Italian counterparts. It’s also known for containing hot dogs and sometimes a cheese topping. Jollibee gets it right, adding a hint of Jufran banana ketchup for even more sugary zing. The N2 plate offers it with a chicken drumstick, with awesome crunch and a great salty flavor. Even though the G.O.A.T. of Filipino chicken joints is Max’s, this Jollibee combo wins because it provides that salty-sweet balance, one of the trademarks of Filipino cuisine. Seriously, Filipinos are some of the only people who would butter the crap out of a roll, sprinkle sugar on the top, and then melt cheese on top of that (it’s called ensaymada, look it up). Dessert-wise, Jollibee traces its roots as a Magnolia Ice Cream Parlor—which is known for offering flavors like sweet purple ube and the “don’t knock it ’til you try it” mais queso (corn kernels and cheese bits). That’s why it gets the tried-and-true classic halo-halo right too. There are more artisan options these days, but there’s something about the simplicity of the Jollibee version that makes it so appealing.—Jian DeLeon Order this: Filipino spaghetti, N2 plate, Halo Halo, ube ice cream, mais queso ice cream