Cutting Board

I’ll be the first to admit that when it comes to Filipino food I have almost no experience. Aside from lumpia and pork belly I have absolutely no gastro-footprint in this cultural cuisine. A lot of this has to do with where I grew up. We took a part of the chicken that most people threw away, dropped it in the deep fryer and got lucky. We’ve done little to advance cuisine in Western New York since. Before I get carried away, let me digress and get back on track. Filipino food.

I’d also like to admit that I know very little about the Philippines other than Manny Pacquiao and Steve Harveys Miss Universe flub. Thankfully I have a lot of Filipino friends and almost all of them art foodies. So when I was invited to Cutting Board Filipino Gastropub I was stoked. I also prepared myself to be stuffed.

Let me just say that the menu here is stout and has a full range of flavors. Plenty of pork and lots of deep fried goodness. Lumpia, escargot in coconut curry, gambas, roasted bone marrow, tamarind wings, ox tail kare kare and crispy pata. It was like the scene in Hook when the lost boys imagines all that food on their plate and had no choice but to start a food fight. Instead of breaking it down one by one I’ll just play the hits.

Roasted bone marrow was way up on the list here. There’s something about bone marrow that brings out the inner glutton in us all. Roast it in a compound butter and herbs, all I need it some toast and I am golden. “But Tony, bone marrow isn’t Filipino!” In the words of Rob Burgundy “Go fuck yourself San Diego.” In all seriousness, the mixture of cultural flavors is what makes this place so great, there’s something for everyone.

My second favorite was a dish call sisig. This was a play on the traditional sisig which I believe is served with some type of fish (I’m probably wrong and too lazy to google it). This dish was another cholesterol buster but totally worth it. Crispy fried tofu toasted in a garlic-y aioli. Thankfully I had my phone near by and was able to confirm sisig means to snack on something sour (of course!) and is typically composed of pork. Either way this ones a winner.

I will say the lumpias were bangin’. That’s millennial slang for amazing, cool, delicious, phenomenal or “would order again,” however I’ll save you on that one as they’re pretty straight forward. Without further adieu; the glorious lechon roll. Crispy pork roll stuffed with their house paella. Crispy should be highlighted, underlined and italicized because it CRUNCHED when you chewed. I love the textural differences of the pork skin, pork and paella. Not only was it flavorful, it was beautifully composed on the dish.