New Filipino/Mexican Restaurant Slides into Little Mekong Next Week

Next Friday, Mi Casa Su Casa will begin serving Mexican and Filipino cuisine at 383 University Avenue West in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood. The bright and tropical restaurant replaces Silhouette Bakery on the busy thoroughfare’s intersection with Western Avenue.

The casual spot will bridge the distance between sisig and carnitas with affordable versions of both cuisines.

This is news of the second Filipino restaurant opening in as many weeks. On Monday news broke about Apoy, arriving in Minneapolis. That restaurant is expected some time in July. All of a sudden, Filipino food might just be the Twin Cities next big cuisine.

Common Filipino dishes are adobo, a particular mix of spices resulting in a salty, sweet, succulent meat (usually chicken); lumpia, much like a fried or fresh spring roll, and pork sisig, minced, seasoned meat — a dish Anthony Bourdain called a “gateway drug” to the cuisine.

Other places to get a Filipino food fix in the Twin Cities includes Pinoy Fusion, a food truck often parked on University Avenue and Lola Rosa, a pop up.

• Filipino Restaurant Apoy to Replace Vicinity on Nicollet [ETC]
• Why Filipino Food Should Be the Next Big Thing [E]
• How American Restaurants Are Courting Filipino Palates — and Vice Versa [E]
• Sisig, the Filipino Dish Anthony Bourdain Says Will Win Your Heart [FW]