Category: Filipino Restaurants

Having the day off I decided to take a trip down to National City; and start off with a hearty "brunch" at Zarlitos Family Restaurant:

Located on 8th Street in National City, this little "diner" serves all the usual suspects; Adobo, Sinigang, Daing, Pinakbet, Pancit, and also has "turo-turo" (point-point) style food from 8am-2pm. But I had a specific dish in mind, and I found it on the menu under "Filipino Delights".

There it was Longsilog($5.00), anybody who knows how much I love Loco Mocos, can figure out how much I enjoy this dish:

Longsilog is Longanisa, that wonderfully sweet Filipino sausage, Fried Rice, and Egg. So the name is a derivative of all three items Long(longanisa), Si (sinangag, fried rice), Log (itlog, egg), in that wonderful way that Filipinos have of creating easy to remember and entertaining  "slang"(i.e. Adidas = chicken feet). The Longanisa was nice and slightly charred on the outside, and cooked all the way through, moist, sweet, and slightly chewy, the eggs were done easy over, I would’ve wished for the edges to be a little more crisp, but this was fine. The rice was simply rice fried with some soy and egg. A little dish of vinegar with chilies was served along with my Longsilog(I’m sorry, I can’t remember the name of this style of vinegar), though I opted for this:

I love Jufran with eggs, so I mixed the eggs and rice with Jufran(Banana Ketchup). I hope I didn’t insult anybody by eating it this way. If you’ve never had Jufran, by all means try it! Jufran is a bit sweeter, and perhaps a bit more savory than regular Ketchup. A friend of mine back home makes a Barbecue Sauce with Spicy Jufran that rocks!

This hearty home-style brunch got me on my way, with enough "fuel" for the whole day.

Some notes on Zarlitos; Parking is limited, it was 1030am, on a Friday morning and there was only 1 open stall in the whole parking lot. The service is very nice, and in some ways calming, the Waitress was somewhat surprised at what I ordered, and smiled and said, "Really, longsilog?" When a little one threw his bottle across the room, She came out with a mop and smiled and said; "No worry, just a small spill…"

One thing I really like about Zarlitos, is that tax is already included in all prices! What a great idea! So if you think about it, my meal was actually about $4.65 or so. Prices mostly range between $5.00-$8.25. Also, I know Zarlitos is open pretty late as well……

Thanks for the recommendation MaryAnn!

Zarlitos Family Restaurant
505 East 8th St.
National City, CA 91950

Spamsilog anyone?

I know my friends from "back home" will get a kick from the name of this Restaurant. Located on bustling Plaza Boulevard, I dare say that Tita’s is a scoop of macaroni salad short of being the best plate lunch in San Diego.

In reality, Tita’s is a "turo-turo"("point-point") style restaurant; that is, most items are on a hot table and you "point" out what you want. In my opinion Tita’s is the finest example of his style of restaurant in San Diego. And the crowds and insanity around lunch time reflect this. In fact most of the "Local Bruddah’s", all know about this place, word gets around! In order to  avoid the craziness, I’ll usually plan a visit around 10 am on a weekend.

Even at that hour, the service is terse and tense. Where a place like Sammy’s, is where everybody knows your name; at Tita’s nobody wants to know your name. They just want you to pick your food, pay, and get out of Dodge…Next!!!! So today I’m asking, "Pansit Palabok?" Negative nod of the head. "Hamonado?" "No." Oh-oh two strikes! The little Filipino Lady behind the counter starts smacking her Metal Spoon into her hand; SMACK, SMACK, positively sending chills up and down my spine. I’m absolutely terrified of this barely five foot Female; I can feel a bead of sweat building on my temple. SMACK-SMACK. "Okay, Pork Adobo, Kaldereta, and two Chicken Barbeque." The Little Lady scoops up a huge spoonful of Kaldereta; "Dis Goat, you sure you want?" A reply is somehow stuck somewhere in my throat, I just give a positive nod. Everything is passed to the cashier, I pay, and walk quickly out of Tita’s, as if flames are licking at my butt. So why do I put up with this pressure?

What you see costs $4.99, and it’s enough for at least two meals. It’s also good enough for me to put up with 5 minutes of intense pressure! The adobo is moist, sour, sweet, salty, with a nice touch of pepper. This is my favorite restaurant adobo. There’s also a nice amount of oil and fat, in this case, very delici-yoso!!! The Kaldereta is nicely gamey, tart, spicy, sweet, and salty. Reggie on his site, KauKau Time has a nice description and recipe for Kaldereta. If this was actually goat is debatable, but it sure is good eats!

The reason I get there at ten is that I’ll be assured of having Barbeque at that point. Go earlier and the barbecue may not be ready.

  The barbecue is priced at $2.09 a piece and consists of large pieces of marinated chicken or pork. One skewer with rice is enough for a small meal. I enjoy the chicken more than the pork which can be dry at times. The grilled chicken has a nice flavor, slightly smokey, and full of nice, possibly carcinogenic charred bits. There’s a very light touch of chili pepper – delici-yoso!

The service at Tita’s is not rude, but definitely not friendly. You’re almost expected to know what you want by the time it’s your turn in line. For some reason, having to make such a snap decision places such heavy pressure upon me. I really can’t explain it!

Tita’s Kitchenette
2720 East Plaza Boulevard
National City, CA 91950
(619) 472-5801

Did you say Adobo??????