[CLOSED] Engeline's

PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭

[UPDATE: Engeline's is now closed]
[UPDATE: Re-published on 02 May 2011, original article from 2008]

I tend to eat at Engeline's for lunch on weekdays, when it rarely has more business than a couple tables and is an entirely sleepy atmosphere. If you have been here on the weekend, you know it is a hub of the Filipino community, one of the best non-turo turo joints in the city. Unfortunately at this time the service is always very lazy, despite the lack of customers. You have to flag down people to order, to get more drinks, and for your bill.

Whatever. The food shines high above any of this, and you won't mind after your meal.

I like to start my meals here with the lumpiang sariwa ($6, below), a filipino crepe dish with sauteed vegetables, a heap of garlic, and a nice thin peanut sauce on top. This is not a date dish, beware, you will be wreaking of garlic for the rest of the day!

Also listed as an appetizer, but always one of my main focuses when dining here is the sizzling sisig ($9, below). I cannot think of many things I like more than this dish of pork belly and peppers which is indeed sizzling with an egg cracked on top upon arrival. Sprinkle the lemon all over the place, mix up the egg, and dig into the crispy, fatty, chewy morsels.

Always a good barometer of good Filipino food is the chicken adobo ($7, below), the national dish of chicken in garlic, vinegar, and soy sauce. It is that vinegar in this version that makes it stand out from other soy sauce based dishes, a simple tangy quality that is perfect.

Finally for this meal, our group tried the dinuguan ($7.50, below), stewed pork in vinegar and pork blood gravy. It is this móle-like gravy that really makes the dish outstanding. It is full of flavor despite being unspicy, and a bit on the grainy side.

The restaurant also makes a full line of fresh juice drinks, and the buko ($2.50, below), a young coconut drink is always a crowd-pleaser.

The nice display of baked goods is usually too much to resist, and don't hesitate to grab a few items to take home with you for later. There are many savory and sweet options to choose from, some of which you might catch coming from the kitchen freshly baked.

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WOODSIDE Queens
58-28 Roosevelt Avenue