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Thursday, July 11, 2013

Lunch at Fiesta Grill: All About the Pork

Let me preface this review by saying I am not Filipino and while I’m familiar with Filipino food, I am far from an expert and so may very well have no idea what I’m talking about.  Am I inspiring confidence yet?

I’d walked by Fiesta Grill several times before finally deciding to stop in for lunch.  It’s very cafeteria/buffet style where you just go up to the counter, point, pay and they give your food in Styrofoam bowls (which I'd love if they switched to plastic) on a plastic tray.  When I went, I stared at the approximately 16-20 chafing dishes of food they had out on display for about 5 minutes which really didn’t make my choice any clearer. Approximately 75% of it was pork and while everything has a name, there’s not much by way of description. I ended up asking the (brusque but very polite) woman behind the counter what their most popular dishes were and going with that. She recommended I get the combo: rice, 2 main dishes, and a drink – all for $7! – and suggested I try the pork adobo and lechon paksiw.

The lechon paksiw is basically a stew of roasted pig in a sweet and peppery sauce.  While it was interesting to eat and I was glad I got it, it was a little too sweet for my personal taste.  I definitely got a lot of pepper but then I just kept tasting what seemed like sweet milk and it was a bit cloying. Because it is roast pig, there was a lot of what I refer to as not-food. There were a lot of pieces of soft and chewy skin/fat which texturally and taste-wise, I did not care for and I ended up leaving a lot of it behind. So while it was good, and from what I can tell, pretty authentic, I just wasn’t crazy about it personally.


The pork adobo was the opposite as far as taste goes.  Vinegary but well-balanced with a bit of sweetness and pepper. It was sour, but not mouth-puckeringly so, instead, just tart and acidic. I loved it. It was really good, flavorful but without one flavor topping or ruining everything else. There was a lot more actual pork and less skin pieces. This is something I would (and plan to) absolutely go back for over and over.


The rice was also good. They gave me two more than generous scoops and it worked well with both of the dishes I had, soaking up sauce and helping to provide a little carb balance to the meal. There were a couple sauces on the table, including one called banana sauce that I tried with the rice, hoping it might be a bit spicy.  It smelled exactly like bananas, but taste-wise I couldn’t find anything besides more sweetness. Between the two pork dishes and the rice, it made for a very filling meal. I would say there were a good 4-6 pieces of pork in each cup I got and while the lechon paksiw had a few I didn’t eat, I was very satisfied anyway.

While I was sitting there, I noticed another man got a huge bowl of soup that looked a lot like ramen. It smelled and looked delicious so I asked the cashier what it was and he said it’s best just to call it Noodle Soup and they don’t really keep it listed on their menu.  Once I saw it, I immediately knew I'd be back to try it. I’ve also heard that their Halo Halo (shaved ice with sweetened milk, dried candied fruits, seeds, etc.) is very good so I’m eager to try that as well.

All in All:

Fiesta Grill, located at 655 Newark Ave near Journal Square, may not be fine dining, but it is very tasty, satisfying food at an extremely reasonable price. From what I gather, it is very authentic cuisine and a great place to grab lunch or dinner if you’re in the area. I will definitely be going back. 

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