Pista Sa Nayon aka Filipino Meat On A Grill

Don't get me wrong. It would be unfair to oversimplify Pista Sa Nayon as a meatfest. This beloved fiesta originated in harvest celebrations and has taken root in many Filipino/American communities around the country. But my memories of nearly every Filipino celebration, from bazaars to baptisms to Independence Day - tend to be paired with meat on a grill. Something visceral to remember by, right?

Vallejo's Pista Sa Nayon sprawled out by the waterfront. Onstage, musicians like Little Brown Brother brought the music. On the lawn, I navigated the mix of vendors displaying everything from plasticized Filipino barbies, Hawaiian kukui leis, southern brass gongs, to t-shirts emblazoned with the iconic freedom fighter Lapu Lapu. But it was the combination of heat, smoke and the smells of cooking that are always the most intoxicating spectacle. I was drawn to the source:

Recognize this? It's a whole pod of longganisa sausages (and two wayward hotdogs) on the grill, getting crispy and ready to be served up on a mixed plate with rice and eggs, a combination called "longsilog." In fact, there's a magic formula for such meat, egg and rice combinations. Take the first syllable of the meat, and add "silog" (Itlog, by the way, means "egg," so you get the idea). A similar combo with bangus (a type of fish) = bangsilog, or with tapa (another meat) = tapsilog. Needless to say, there's endless variations.

My favorite eat, though, was not a silog at all. It was a tocino taco (a cousin of longganisa) served up by Ramar Foods, with chopped up bits of salty-sweet meat, salsa, and avocados bursting out of a warm tortilla. The only reason I don't have a picture of it is because I ate it, and fast. This taco was bound to happen some day - innovators like Seoul On Wheels won't be the last to figure out this charmed marriage.  And you could say Filipino and Mexican foods have been interwoven for well over 400 years now, beginning with the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade. So I guess this is keeping in tradition.

If I could have one critique of Filipino fiesta foods - its the usual lack of greens that makes veggie lovers and vegetarians alike weep. But for now, I was happy to dig in, knowing the greens are waiting patiently at home.