#SXSW…

….Sorry, this isn’t a #SXSW post. (But the headline made you look, yes?) While South by Southwest IS, without a doubt, the biggest #FOMO event of the year in Austin as thousands descend upon the city to experience a seemingly infinite amount of panels, concerts, conferences, movie premieres, pop up exhibits (just to name a few) across the film, interactive media, and music industries-I’ll sit this one out. I live here now so I fully intend to take in SXSW in years to come but I’ll definitely need to take a few PTOs but I digress.

Sun’s Out!

Yesterday was the warmest day here in quite some time. I haven’t felt 90 degrees since September, a friend from New Jersey was visiting, and yesterday morning, I saw THIS.

That made the decision to take our friend to Be More Pacific Filpino Kitchen and Bar easier. Oh, and then there was this Time Out feature on the top places to eat to avoid #SXSW crowds.

“The Next Big Thing”

I grew up in a place which now boasts a population of over 16,000 Filipinos in Jersey City, NJ, of which, I am very proud. The population grew over time, of course, and as a kid, I didn’t notice the influx of Filipino immigrants until around high school in the 1990s. As a first generation Filipino-American, I remained close to my roots; its’ food and its’ culture. The Philippine Bread House and FilStop (the former Fil Am Grocery) were fixtures in Jersey City early on. As the Filipino population grew, more and more restaurants began opening up around town, especially in my neighborhood along West Side Avenue. So, Filipino food was always accessible. If it wasn’t in my mom’s or Nanay’s kitchen, I had plenty of restaurants to choose from in not only Jersey City but many other towns in New Jersey as well.

Andrew Zimmerman has called Filipino Food the ‘next big thing’ and in the video above, he explains why.

Be More Pacific is bringing the ‘big thing’ to the masses in Austin, TX and this newly transplanted kid from Jersey couldn’t be happier. We’ve brought every visitor we’ve had to Be More Pacific and not only do I enjoy the food (which is delicious) but I love seeing, first hand, how they are acting on their mission to bridge the gaps between our culture and the American culinary mainstream-even moreso with the Kamayan Experience that they’re offering every Tuesday. (If interested, it’s by reservation only)

Finally, a key factor we consider and look out for in any new restaurant we visit is whether it’s family/kid friendly?

Be More Pacific is renbAPPROVED. BMP is absolutely kid friendly. They have a nice outdoor patio with an astro turf set up for bocce ball and bean bag toss. My kids love it and it has evolved into a bit of a distraction each time we’ve visited but that’s a good “problem” to have.

Pictures from yesterday’s visit after the jump! (including Chef Buddy’s Special Filipino BBQ Beef Ribs)