One good thing about not being the most "popular kid" in the San Diego Food Blogging Class is the lack of Spam emails….at least these days. Though once in a while I'll get a couple….they're mostly rather harmless and annoying, but occasionally there would be one like I caught about 3-4 weeks ago. It really ticked (off course I was more than "ticked" but you get the point) me off because it was somewhat racist in content, actually describing Filipino "turo-turo" joints as the breeding ground for Coronavirus, and finished off with a "slogan", you can guess what it was. For some reason, it really bugged me, because as a whole I haven't run into any real xenophobic/obnoxious/racist folks during this pandemic….except for the one guy at Costco who yelled at me "your kind are causing Coronavirus"….while (of course) driving away….there's always once, right? So, instead of letting it stew, I decided to do what would probably bug this individual the most. I'd go and check out those turo-turo places and let's see how they're doing. And to stretch things out; I'll probably do this in two or three parts.
First up, R & B Filipino Cuisine, which in my opinion has the most consistently decent Sisig in the Mira Mesa area…..feel free to disagree; because it gives me an excuse to keep eating sisig.
Instructions where clearly marked as I arrived.
They were doing some decent business when I arrived.
You need to find your box……..it's ok to think (and dream) outside the box….but if you want your food….stay inside the box.
So, you can see that things are pretty well organized. The only issue I saw was that even though there's space for one at the register and one at the steam table….folks are used to walking back and forth….so the customer at the register wanted to look at something on the right, while the person now at the steam table wanted to check out how the sisig was doing on the left and they kept passing each other. Well, at least they had face coverings on.
I decided on the sisig and a nice hot tray of Bicol Express came out while I was in line so I got that.
The sisig, while not perfect, is my favorite in the MM area. The Lechon Kawale is not overly waxy and has a decent texture and there's more spice and a nice amount of vinegar.
I wasn't as fond of the Bicol Express as it had a strong "livery" flavor, lacked spice and not enough bagoong. It was also, as you can see, really greasy.
Overall, I was just happy to have sisig. And as you can see; there are procedures in place to handle spacing and other issues.
Heck, I just might need another sisig fix soon….so, if you see a middle aged Asian guy sporting a "Covid-19-in-need-of-a-visit to-the barber mullet" that might be me! On second thought, that might not be a rare sighting these days!
R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126