Salo-Salo Kitchen

Given the large Filipino American community in the area, West Covina is full of good Filipino restaurants. Still, Salo-Salo Kitchen manages to stand out even in the competitive local dining scene thanks to its pitch-perfect rendition of crispy pata once featured on the Cooking Channel’s Best Thing I Ever Ate, plus other soulful preparations of homey Filipino recipes like escabeche isda (fish escabeche) and bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) fried rice. Many people flock here for the ihaw-ihaw, or grilled skewers, including the chicken inasal. It’s true that Salo-Salo is definitely a trek for many people closer to L.A. proper, but the restaurant is worth the day trip if you’re hoping to experience some of the finest Filipino food in greater Los Angeles. Making the drive out just for Salo-Salo? Bring a group and order one of the restaurant’s $54 build-your-own family-style platters, which come with all manner of meat and seafood items, including crispy fried chicken and grilled jumbo squid.