Bistro Filipino

Some retired friends of ours from the UN decided to become “unretirees” and put up a Filipino restaurant in Rockland, NY. It’s called Bistro Filipino and it’s now my favorite Filipino restaurant, even more than Grill 21 and Cendrillon, and certainly at par with Little Pinoy, my other favorite Filipino restaurant in Geneva.  I’ll admit I’m biased since the founders of Bistro Filipino are good friends.  But we definitely had a great meal of kari-kari, ukoy and lengua (ox tongue).  I especially liked the lengua and banana turon which were easily the best I’ve had in many years.  Henry, husband of Emma (one of the founders) served us an Australian red wine with an unusual name – Evil.  It was actually pretty good (I had 2 glasses), went very well with the food and has had great reviews. 

While it has the obligatory turo-turo displays, Bistro Filipino is a decidedly upscale restaurant with a lot more food choices (I think more than 10 from the turo-turo plus a lot more from the a la carte menu).  No plastic forks or styrofoam here, but nice white plates, silver, cloth napkins and cool native Filipino decorations.  But the owners – Emma, Laura, Kathy - and their spouses, who dabble at being busboys and waiters during peak hours – make Bistro Filipino a really comfy place to have a great, leisurely, authentic Filipino meal.  We’ll be back.  They promised to feature cuisines from the different regions of the Philippines.  BTW – it’s BYOB at Bistro Filipino.  I will buy a bottle of Evil Chardonnay for my next meal there.  If you’ve ever wondered what wines to pair with Filipino food, here’s a nice link from Eden Vineyard in California which was founded by Filipinos.  Hmm . . . maybe I’ll buy some Eden Vineyard wines instead.