Get Across Town:
Palencia Filipino Cuisine
By Susan Dyer Reynolds

My best friend in junior high school was Filipino, and man, could her mom cook. She often invited me to stay for lumpia, chicken adobo and kare kare. To my friend, this was just mom’s cooking – she loved staying for classic Italian at my house (the lemongrass is always greener, I suppose). Unfortunately, Filipino restaurants are tough to find, even in this Culinary Oz, but over in the Castro you will find something even better: Filipino food prepared with fresh, local ingredients served in an upscale (but not uptight) setting.

Owner Archie Palencia will be familiar to Northsiders from his days as manager of Chestnut Street’s Dragon Well. He recently brought in a new executive chef, 25-year-old Drey Roxas, who grew up in Manila, received his degree from the California Culinary Academy in 2003, and honed his chops at the Shangri-La Hotel in his home city.

On a recent visit for Philippine Independence Day (June 12), we sampled from a prix-fixe menu that featured wonderful pork adobo (tender chunks of meat simmered in a garlic-soy-vinegar gravy); kare kare (beef simmered in rich peanut sauce with long beans, eggplant, bok choy, hearts of banana and optional tripe); and pancit sotanghon (tender chicken slices with bean thread noodles and shiitake mushrooms). The regular menu includes more favorites like lumpia – try vegetarian or beef in a thin, crunchy crepe (like an egg roll), or a fresh, steamed crepe (like a spring roll), filled with vegetables or prawns.

Palencia Filipino Cuisine: 3870 17th St. (at Noe), 415-522-1881,
www.palenciasf.com
– S. Reynolds