Barrio Fiesta
2262 Westborough Blvd.
South San Francisco, CA 94080
650-583-3136
Hours:
Mon. & Fri.: 6 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.,
Sat. – Sun.: 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Prices:
appetizers: $3.65 & $8.95;
soups: $6.50 – $12.95;
entrees: $5.95 – $25.95
Credit cards accepted
FOOD: Fair (2 out of 4)
AMBIENCE: Good (3 out of 4)
SERVICE: Good (3 out of 4)
The one thing I’ve noticed when eating at Filipino restaurants is that everyone is happy and eating. I think part of the staff’s job is to keep customers from leaving the restaurant on an empty stomach.
You don’t have to order half the menu to fill up. Several dishes are enough to hold you over for the night and the next day. You don’t enter Filipino restaurants with a feedbag around your head; rather, you’re in an environment where you eat (a lot) and appreciate what you’re eating.
I got that feeling Friday night when my friend and I hopped on the 280 to go to Barrio Fiesta in South San Francisco. Tucked inside the Westborough Shopping Center, Barrio Fiesta can’t be missed thanks to its neon green sign. When you enter the restaurant, you pass through a bamboo-trimmed waiting area with autographed posters of Filipino movie stars and even one of Rob “The Hot Chick” Schneider. Filipino music is played in the background and nautilus shell chandeliers hang from above.
The dining room is bright, airy and spacious, and even though it resembles a banquet hall, it retains a nice, personal, family feel to it. My friend really enjoyed the atmosphere, and our servers treated us like they were our parents. Even when I was ordering, it seemed our server wanted me to eat and order more because she was afraid I wasn’t going to be full. I didnÕt feel like she was pressuring me to order more food because she wanted more money out of me, she seemed more like a mama who tells her kids, “eat, eat, eat.”
I was disappointed that the restaurant was out of both the Pancit Malabon ($13.30; half order $8.80), Filipino noodles with shrimp, pork, squid, peanuts and tofu sauce; and the Kiliwing Isda ($8.60), fish in spicy vinegar. Our server suggested we get the house special, Crispy Pata ($8.95-$13.95), but we werenÕt in the mood for fried pig’s knuckle. But a glance around the tables, and it seemed her gentle pushing got everyone to order the pata.
The Pork Barbeque ($3.95) came with two skewers of Filipino-style barbequed pork slathered with a sweet and sticky brown sauce. The chunks of pork were sweet, tender and juicy and had just enough of fat-to-lean meat ratio. The pork was marinated in a soy sauce, sugar and garlic mixture, flavors that went well with the vinegar, garlic and calamansi (Filipino lemon) dipping sauce.
Often referred to as the national dish of the Philippines, the Chicken Adobo ($8.75) came in a pot with three chicken legs, two thigh pieces and three quail eggs swimming in the rich, brown gravy. Vinegar and garlic are the two key ingredients in adobo, with peppercorns, soy sauce and bay leaves adding flavor to the dish. Sugar is added to balance the acidity of the vinegar and the saltiness of the soy sauce.
I thought the chicken was dry and might have been sitting out for a while since the thigh meat had developed a slight crust to it, one similar to that of turkey jerky. The hardboiled quail eggs were like marbles.
The Chinese influence on Filipino cuisine can be seen in Pancit Canton ($6.75), a mound of egg noodles with carrots, napa cabbage, pork, shrimp and onions. Much like a lo mein, pancit canton is unlike American chow mein, in that it has a more saucy and wet consistency to it. The noodles are stir-fried; however, more liquid is added. Lemon wedges came with the dish and a squeeze of lemon juice to the noodles was a good thing. The pork and the shrimp were a bit dry and tough to chew, and they didn’t have much flavor to them.
We passed on ordering dessert, since we felt our stomachs getting tighter by the minute. I realized that I hadn’t eaten much, it was just because the food was really heavy and rich. I sipped on Kalamansi ($1.95), Filipino lemonade made from a citrus fruit from Southern Tagalog, in hopes that the acid could cut through some of the grease I had eaten.
All our dishes came at the same time, which was nice since we could create a combination plate. At the center of most Filipino meals is rice, which is eaten together with saucy dishes, crispy fried meats dipped in vinegar and noodles. Traditionally, Filipinos eat with their fingers and hands, a technique called kamayan. Small balls of rice are formed by pressing them against a plate and pieces of meat and fish are picked up by rolling the ball around.
The Spanish and American influences introduced cutlery to the Philippines, and the spoon and fork are used as the main pieces. The fork is held with the left hand and the spoon on the right. The fork spears the meat while the spoon cuts or tears off the meat into small pieces. You put the food on the spoon and use the fork to push the rice into the spoon, which is then brought up to the mouth to be eaten.
I liked the service and family atmosphere at Barrio Fiesta, but I thought it was a bit pricey and some of the dishes lacked freshness and flavor. If you’re in the area, you may want to check out the restaurant. But make sure you go on an empty stomach.