Filipino cuisine in Jacksonville comes of age
by Jeffrey Spear
Cities throughout the United States and other countries derive their character, in part, from their colorful and distinctive ancestry groups. While many of them have centralized commercial districts bearing names such as Chinatown and Little Saigon, Jacksonville’s ethnic communities tend to be scattered. While there is no recognized central neighborhood like a Little Italy, the River City boasts the largest concentration of Filipinos in the state of Florida and throughout the South.
While a small number of Asian grocers and nondescript takeout shops have offered Filipino specialties, primarily adobo (stew), pancit (noodles) and lumpia (spring rolls), the depth and variety of Filipino foods is somewhat lacking. The opening of Jollibee in 2017 (a Filipino fast-food chain that rivals McDonalds in popularity) was certainly a catalyst for change. When The Baker’s Son, a prominent Filipino bakery, opened several years later, the demand for Filipino foods became obvious.
According to Agnes Lopez, Founder of Jax Filipino Chefs, “Filipino food has been called ‘the next big thing’ by culinary experts around the country. While Jollibee was the first to attract attention here in Jacksonville, a number of highly creative Filipino chefs have been planning, and are now opening, restaurants that feature praiseworthy Filipino cuisine.”
When you consider that the Philippines is just one of several Pacific rim countries, each with its own culinary culture, it becomes readily apparent that chefs in this region, over time, have shared recipes and ideas with their neighbors. A few dishes worth investigating, apart from the well-known pancit, lumpia and adobo, are silog (a class of dishes that includes meat, garlic fried rice and egg), kare kare (stew with a rich peanut sauce) and sisig (chopped pork with chicken livers in a spicy and sour sauce). When it comes to baked goods, the pillow-like breads called ensayadas, or a slice of sansrival (cake layered with buttercream, meringue and chopped cashews) should not to be missed.
Recognizing that one of the most talked about ingredients in Filipino cuisine is ube, an intensely purple yam that brightens up desserts and sweet baked goods, make sure to try halo-halo (a shaved ice confection with ube), a slice of ube cheesecake or a scoop of ube ice cream drizzled with ube syrup. If you are curious, there are some wonderful Filipino bakeries, cafes and restaurants around town worth visiting. While their numbers are increasing, be sure to check out the breads, pastries, sweet treats and take-home specialties from The Baker’s Son, SaySoSweets Filipino Cafe and Kûsína Good Eats. If dining out is your preference, spend a little time enjoying the savory and sweet offerings at Purple Roots (pictured) or the recently opened Abstrakt Filipino Essence.
