PINOY BOI
Filipino best hits include lechon, crispy roast pork served over garlic rice with two dipping sauces and lumpia, pork-stuffed fried rolls. Pork sisig is citrus-marinated diced pork belly fried to a crisp and served over garlic rice. Kare-kare is beef simmered to tenderness in peanut gravy. Desserts include the kaleidoscopic shaved ice carnival called halo-halo, ube flan, and avocado ice cream.
BUFFALO’S ONLY PLACE FOR:
Beef kare-kare, lechon roast pork belly, ube Basque cheesecake
VEGAN:
Pancit, stir-fried noodles with vegetables
GLUTEN-FREE:
Sinigang na baboy, pork-tamarind stew
OWNER’S STORY
Born in Olangopo City, Philippines, Lloyd Ligao’s mission is to share the Filipino flavors that delighted him as a child with Buffalo, his new hometown. He graduated from Kenmore West High School, then got into the restaurant business.
Starting as a dishwasher, Ligao worked his way up. Pantry, prep, then shucking under pressure and shaking saute pans on the hot line. At Marotto’s in Kenmore and North Tonawanda’s Remington Tavern, Ligao earned his stripes as a professional cook.
When the pandemic put the restaurant world on pause, Ligao decided that if he was going to work that hard, it better be for himself. So he steeled himself, counted his money twice, and jumped.
