Sisig is a popular Filipino comfort food traditionally prepared with pigs’ head. Pig ears and face are chopped, seasoned with salt, pepper, vinegar, and a type of Philippine lime called calamansi, before being served on a sizzling plate. Onions and chiles get mixed in. I always order an extra egg as garnish — but the move is optional and has been subject to debate within the food community.
While there’s a “traditional” way of cooking sisig, restaurants in different regions of the Philippines create their own versions, mostly subbing in pork belly or bangus (milkfish) due to accessibility and appeal to general taste. Either way, a spoonful of sisig, best paired with garlic or steamed rice, should lure you in with its crunchy and tangy flavor. Even the late Anthony Bourdain couldn’t stop raving about it during his numerous trips to the Philippines.
But aside from international recognition, sisig is a sentimental, historical dish for many Filipinos. In Pampanga Province, where it is said to have originated, the dish is a reminder of American occupation. U.S. air base commissaries would throw away pig heads and other “undesirable” animal parts, which the Kapampangans would salvage and turn into one of the country’s national dishes, according to a study published in the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science.
Personally, sisig reminds me of my hometown in Laguna Province, south of Manila, where my best friend and I would buy a budget-friendly meal from our local eatery. Sisig also brings me back to bars in the Philippine capital, where it’s served as pulutan — or food best paired with beer — after a long day at the office.
So, in search of a new memory in my new U.S. home, I launched a personal mission to find good sisig in Chicago, and here are my favorites.
The OG: Ruby’s Fast Food 4551 N Pulaski Road
Eating sisig at Ruby’s Fast Food feels like being at a mom-and-pop restaurant in the Philippines. Alyssa Rola/Eater Chicago
Located in Albany Park, Ruby’s Fast Food serves classics you’d find at a regular restaurant back home. Dine-in customers can get breakfast silogs in a casual space. A separate to-go kiosk serves food turo-turo-style, with customers pointing at pre-cooked items they want to buy, so it wasn’t surprising that out of all the spots, this family-owned restaurant served the classic version of sisig, complete with all the good pork.
Light smoke sizzled out of the skillet plate as the sisig finally reached my table. Crackling oil seeped through the chopped pork. Green peppers and parsley provided a vibrant contrast to the light golden meat. Topped with egg and chiles, the dish’s aroma wafted through the air, and a customer at the neighboring table asked about my order.
The first bite was everything I expected a classic sisig to be — a nice intersection of crispy and chewy, thanks to the different textures of the pork face, accentuated by herbs and spices.
Ruby’s makes their sisig in-house, so expect around a 20-minute waiting time. The best part? You’ll hear the loud chopping of the meat in the kitchen, reminiscent of what it’s really like to dine in the Philippines.
Rich and creamy: Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant 4337 N Western Avenue
Boonie’s serves its sisig with a creamy sauce and pork belly hash for a richer bite. Alyssa Rola/Eater Chicago
Michelin-recognized Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant in Lincoln Square similarly serves sisig on a sizzling plate, but its version is a refined take.
The restaurant’s sisig is comprised of pork belly hash mixed with egg, calamansi, and a secret sauce. The creamy dressing adds to the hash’s rich profile, complimenting the fatty pork for a balanced bite.
Boonie’s chef and owner Joe Fontelera hops from table to table serving the restaurant’s specialty. The runny egg yolk spreads through the hash as Fontelera mixes the plate while explaining the dish.
I’ve been to Boonie’s twice and have ordered sisig on both occasions. On my latest run, I brought a friend who was trying Filipino food for the first time, and safe to say she brought home all our leftovers. Every visit to Boonie’s has left me craving for more, even if I grew up eating the dishes served there. The spot is easily one of my go-tos if I want to introduce someone to Filipino cuisine for the first time.
The overall favorite: Taste of Kawayan 4859 N Milwaukee Avenue
Taste of Kawayan’s sisig was the author’s overall favorite. Alyssa Rola/Eater Chicago
Taste of Kawayan has become a sentimental favorite because aside from the staples, it also offers local cuisine from Iloilo Province, where my mom is from.
The quaint Jefferson Park spot uses diced pork belly for its sisig, likewise served on a sizzling platter and topped with a runny egg. The restaurant keeps it simple, sprinkling in garlic, greens, and calamansi to highlight the dish’s peppery profile. But the winning factor for me was the sisig’s consistent crunch. Each crackling bite packs a punch of tangy flavor, leaving a lasting impression in your mouth — the kind that makes you want to sip an ice cold beer after every bite.
The traditional Filipino foods I grew up with bank on complex taste and ingredients, so if you’re looking for a true experience, don’t shy away from bold and sharp-flavored dishes. The sisig pairs well with the garlic rice, which I topped with the restaurant’s signature batchoy soup, a pork and beef broth boiled for up to 24 hours. For a palette-cleansing drink, I got myself a sago’t gulaman — a brown sugar-based refresher containing tapioca pearls and gelatin cubes.
During my visit, I spoke to the restaurant’s chef, Raynell Parreno, who told me how he switched from a career in the medical industry to opening up this “passion project.” As an immigrant business owner, he was happy with the community’s reception, seeing people from other cultures embracing Filipino cuisine.
Sisig is one of those Filipino dishes that you can recreate and adapt however you like. Whether you’re using traditional pork face or settling for other proteins, sprinkling more spices and greens, adding an egg, the plate is open to interpretation and customization — just like how different cities in the Philippines would have their own spin on it.
The important part is to have someone to share it with — whether friends or loved ones — to make new memories and start new conversations.