sisig, i found it

So the following day after I found Tana, I made my way up to Ellen's Pinoy Grille. And yep, they have sisig. I ordered two item combo, but for the life of me can’t remember what the entrees were. I also got some sisig which looked like it was just freshly cooked and the biggest siopao I've seen. I planned to baon it with me on my San Gorgonio hike the following weekend. Total damage was around eight bux.

I thought I knew what sisig tasted like, but it was actually better than what I’d anticipated. Some of the meat was crispy and it was not sour like I thought it would be. I could see how it would go great with some beer as pulutan. It was certainly a lot of food, and I just finished less than half my order.

I left Ellen’s full, happy, and ready for my afternoon nap.

Ellen’s Pinoy Grille
7971 Valley View St.
La Palma, California 90623
Tel No. (714) 522-8866
Fax No. (714) 522-0275

Click here for an OC Weekly article on EPG.

in search of sisig

Because of the recent chanting on the H@ppy Feet message boards about UP runs followed by "sisig, sisig, sisig" at Jimmy's grill and a post on Ben's blog, I started having the cravings for sisig, not that I even remember what this tastes like. It's not a common Filipino dish like adobo, for instance, but more specialized from the province of Pampanga. It's some sort of hog cheeks, nose, and ears that are chopped, boiled, drained, grilled, and fried before it's served with rice. Apparently it goes great with beer.

I looked up online and found a place called Sisig Grill in Anaheim, about 20 miles from me. So off I went up the 5 Fwy, my mouth watering (well more like curious), anticipating the exotic flavor that I was about to indulge in. I pulled up to the address, and guess what? The place closed down. In its place is an Ethiopian Restaurant.

Hmmm...

Well, I was hungry at this point and decided, why not? I've never had Ethiopian food, and the only place I knew where to try it was on Fairfax. Well, here's my chance. I shifted gears and subdued my cravings for sisig, entered the Ethiopian establishment and sat down.

The lady that helped me (who I'm assuming is the owner, don't know why) asked me if I've ever tried Ethiopian before to which I said no. She recommended a couple of "beginner" dishes, either the lamb or the beef cubes. I'm so bad. I wish I remembered the name, but it was some sort of tibs. I went with the beef.

The flavor to say the least, was divine. It's served with some salad and apparently an Ethiopian staple, injera bread, which sorta looks like a cross between a large flour tortilla and a pancake. I put an injera on my plate, poured some of that spicy beef tibs with the sauce and onions over it, and added the salad to the side. I then cut out a piece of the injera, and used that to pick up the meat and salad to transport them to my already eager taste buds. No silverware needed. The portion didn't look that much, but about halfway through my meal, I was full. That injera sure has a way of expanding in your stomach.

I'm thrilled by this new find, and only a 30 minute drive as opposed to about an hour to get out to Fairfax.

Tana Ethiopian Restaurant
2622 W. La Palma Avenue
Anaheim, CA

But my hunt for sisig was still not over. I did another search and was happy to find out that Ellen's Pinoy Grille serves it. It's been awhile since I've eaten at Ellen's, which coincidentally was just down the street from Tana, and it looks like I'll be coming around tomorrow for a long-overdue visit.