Fil-Am Star Cafe and Bakery

I checked out the newly open Fil-Am (short for Filipino-American) Star Cafe and Bakery on Buford Highway – a small restaurant located in Asian Square. Filipino restaurants are few and far between in metro Atlanta so it’s nice to see a new kid on the block.

And since they just opened, I’m going to refrain from giving an opinion until a later date. With that said, my experience was a bit chaotic (as expected) and I’m speculating that yours could be too if you go there anytime soon.

Here is a description of the dishes that appear in the slideshow above (in the order they appear):

Sinigang – A hearty and sour tamarind flavored soup.

Pancit palabok – Bihon (rice noodles) with a thick shrimp sauce and topped with crushed pork cracklings, diced scallions and slices of hard-boiled egg.

Adobo Pork – Slow cooked pork. A popular Filipino dish that has many different variations depending on the family or restaurant. It can also be made with chicken, beef or seafood.

Kalderata – Beef chunks cooked in a “spicy” tomato sauce with bell peppers, cassava and peas. This dish is influenced by the Spanish settlement in the Philippines. My dining companion stated that this generally has ground liver added for enriched flavor.

Lumpia – Filipino eggrolls stuffed with a pork/shrimp sausage

10 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Sundays, 5150 Buford Highway NE, Suite A-170, Doraville, 678-381-1524. $.

In other news:

Banh mi

The New York Times Magazine food blog ran a story about “banh mi in America.” Two Atlanta restaurants – Quoc Huong and Lee’s Bakery made the cut.

Shortly thereafter, cookbook author Andrea Nguyen posted some interesting thoughts about the story on her blog. Congratulations to Quoc Huong and Lee’s!