Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published June 8, 2007 A Filipino Sunday Brunch Buffet New Orleans has not had a restaurant featuring the food of the Phillippines since the 1970s, when the misleadingly-named Tahitian Room on Tulane Avenue offered that unique cuisine. Because the Phillippines govered by the Spanish through their New World colonies, those islands have a unique cuisine. It has elements both of Mexican and Southeast Asian cooking. However, we do have a Filipino population here. And a very good Filipino chef. His name is Chris Pasia, and he owns the Streetcar Bistro, in the old Sears Building on the corner of Baronne and Common. Chris is an alumnus of the kitchen at K-Paul's (Chef Paul considered him a protege), and that experience forms most of the menu at the Streetcar Bistro. However, Chef Chris has been persuaded to offer a Filipino buffet, to see whether New Orleans is ready for it. (I think it is.) It's at Sunday brunch time, from 10:30 a.m. till 3:30 p.m. While that is not the most promising of times to draw a crowd to the CBD, perhaps the proximity to the Jesuit Church might inspire people to make the trip. The price is attractive, too. It's only ten dollars, for a buffet including dishes like these: Entrees Kare-Kare (oxtails with tripe) Pork Menudo Dinuguan (blood stew) Pork Adobo Arroz Caldo Pinakbet (vegetable stew) Pancit Canton (Filipino chow mein) Ginataang Manok (chicken in coconut broth) Escaveche Fish Vegetable Fried Rice Salads Pipino (cucumber salad) Atsara (pickled green papaya) Tokwa at Baboy (tofu with pork) Fried Eggplant with Tomato Green Beans Adobo Soup Sinigang na Hipon (shrimp in sour broth) Desserts Palitaw (rice cake) Turon de Manila (fried banana rolls) Fried Bread Pudding Leche Flan Exotic, yes. But this is an exciting cuisine, and Chef Chris is a terrific cook. Worth trying for those who love new flavors. Streetcar Bistro. 201 Baronne . 565-5455 . © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com