The popular food truck now has a storefront where you can get all your faves, and then some. It’s small, but clean-lined with gunmetal walls and dark wood tables. Ordering is done at a window (just like at the truck), with food orders called out into the dining room for pick up.
Starters include pork skewers, ukoy (fried veggie fritters) and lumpia (spring rolls), fresh or fried. There are some salads, including one with green papaya, along with rice wraps, noodle bowls and platters. Don’t miss the drinks, Filipino concoctions like fresh limeade, hibiscus tea (needs sugar) and ‘punch,’ a sweet concoction that includes coconut water.
The 800 lb. Guerrilla ($12) is a combo platter with Adobo chicken and slow-cooked pork, each with its own sauce but served together over rice in the same bowl. The flavors are good, and the pork, especially, is fork tender and tasty. The chicken, all white meat, was a little dry.
That definitely is not the case with Iron Manok ($10), a chicken dish made with dark meat. It’s as good a variety of fried chicken as I’ve had, made with boneless meat dredged in chickpea flour and cooked deliciously crisp. The two thighs are lightly drizzled with sweet and spicy sauces (hoisin and mango), which also are drizzled on the plate for extra dipping. This was a don’t-miss dish. Also on the plate was sautéed napa slaw, which was nicely prepared to limp and slightly tart/bitter.
The Garlic Fried Rice ($3) is an excellent side dish, prepared with scallions and crisp-cooked bits of garlic. These add an oily crunch that was exceptionally good. Garlic Peanuts also were a pleasant ‘side dish,’ as they were liberally seasoned, and the legume itself is somewhat hearty.
A special that night, Kara Kara, had a large portion of beef short rib sitting on top of rice and covered with a dark peanut sauce, green beans and baby bok choy alongside. It was fork tender and had an earthy, almost mushroomy flavor. The beans were also sauce-soaked and flavored with soy and spices—very tasty and prepared still-crisp. Order it if it’s offered.
Not as satisfying was the Pancit Guerrilla, which on one visit was quite tasty—a blend of noodles and vegetables pan-sauteed with light ketchup sauce and garlic. It was typical street food—slightly greasy and very flavorful. However, on the second trip, it tasted almost burnt and the oiliness had an ‘off’-flavor. Very good, however, is another quintessential street food item, the Veggie Ukoy, which was basically a fried egg pancake with sprouts, cabbage and scallion (think egg foo young).
[amuse bouche]
the scene | Urban ethnic spot with Filipino food
the chef | Brian Hardesty
the prices | $2 to $4 appetizers, $9 to $12 entrees
the favorites | Iron Manok, Kara Kara, Garlic Peanuts, Garlic Fried Rice, Calamansi Cooler
[chef chat] » brian hardesty
culinary pedigree | Self-taught
favorite ingredient | Pork
favorite st. louis restaurant | White Knight Diner
favorite cookbook | 7,000 Islands by Yasmin Newman
most memorable dining experience | Sushi in Seattle from a master sushi chef
guilty pleasure food | Pork rinds
3559 arsenal st. | 314.529.1328
Photos: Bill Barrett