Please Support The Park's Finest BBQ - P.S. They make the best Filipino-inspired BBQ in town!

Ever since I first tasted The Park's Finest BBQ which you can read about by clicking here, I've been in love with their food.  You can also click here to also read a post about a Tweatup I put together for Northern and Southern California Filipino Bloggers for a delicious lunch sampling food from The Park's Finest BBQ. My bbq favorites have included their Ribeye Roast, their Mt. Malindang Pork Rack of Ribs, their Batangueno Beef Ribs and their Taal Manok. You can see some of those mouthwatering dishes below.

What I love about them is how Owner, Johneric Concordio, has incorporated Filipino flavors into the BBQ sauce that the meats are prepared in. In fact, there has been such a demand for his sauce from customers that he even started bottling it and selling it.

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But it's not all about the meat, I also love their various vegetable dishes that includes Grilled Asparagus and a Ligaya Veggie Medley, which is a interesting mix of apples, zucchini and other assorted veggies.

And of course, a meal with The Park's Finest BBQ wouldn't be complete without Ann’s Cornbread Bibingka. This bibingka is like crack. It's impossible to stop at one piece.

In the past, the only way to have The Park's Finest BBQ experience was  through catering with them because they didn't have a brick and mortar restaurant. In conversations I had with Johneric, he had mentioned that there have been opportunities to open a restaurant earlier, but he wanted to stay in Echo Park. For him, it's about keeping The Park's Finest BBQ in Echo Park as a way for him to support the community he grew up in.

Well, now an opportunity has come up for The Park's Finest BBQ to finally open up a restaurant right in Echo Park, but it's going to be more than just a restaurant. Johneric wants this restaurant to be a center for community, culture, art and of course, for fabulous food. By the way, when it comes to the food, it may be more than just BBQ, Johneric has talked about introducing more rustic Filipino dishes that aren't normally found in stateside Filipino restaurants and believe me, that has definitely piqued my interest.

Right now though, they need our help. They're asking for donations to help with the renovation and other costs involved in opening a new restaurant.  In fact, check out the videoS below where Johneric talks about the importance of feeding the community and where you can also get a glimpse of their new restaurant space.





In exchange for your donation and depending on the level, you will get a few perks. It could be 15% off a future meal, a T-Shirt, an invitation to their pre-opening party, a free meal or even a combination of some or all of the things I just mentioned.

If you're interested in supporting The Park's Finest BBQ, please visit them at IndieGogo, where you can make your donation and also see what you'll get in exchange. Whether it's just $5 or more, it would definitely be appreciated and would go a long way in them finding a permanent home. I, for one, am looking forward to being able to just drop in for my bbq fix instead of having to make special arrangements and I'm sure that many of you would be too. 

Support The Park's Finest BBQ by Clicking Here
The Park's Finest BBQ Website
The Park's Finest BBQ on Facebook
The Park's Finest BBQ on Twitter

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Norcal and Socal Filipino Tweatup with The Park's Finest BBQ

Social Media can be a wonderful thing because it could allow you to meet like-minded people that you may never meet otherwise.  Such was the case when I went to my first Filipino tweatup last year at Jeepney Asian Grill and got to meet for the first time other Filipino food lovers that I only knew previously through Twitter. While I knew I'd be seeing some of my new friends again, I didn't think beyond that.

Then one day, I got a tweet from @joanneisafoodie asking me if I was free for Sunday brunch.  Joanne is a Filipino Food Blogger from the Bay Area. Along with building connections with other Socal Filipino Food Bloggers, I've tried to do the same with just Filipino Food Bloggers in general. Lo and behold, a contingent of  Norcal Filipino Food Bloggers decided to a "Bay2LA" road trip down south as a way to not only enjoy Southern California's great eats, but as a bonus, to meet up with their Southern California counterparts, namely us. I later met with Joanne and the rest of the crew for brunch at Fraiche, but first, we feasted on The Park's Finest BBQ.

One of the foodie experiences they definitely wanted to try was the food from The The Park's Finest BBQ, a catering company whose specialty is Filipino-inspired BBQ.  You can click here to read about my first experience with The Park's Finest BBQ and why I've been a fan ever since. Once the location was set, I was able to make arrangements with Park's for them to bring all their meat goodness to us for a picnic at the park. After waiting with much anticipation, Park's arrived and the first thing they did was to start slicing some of the meats.

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First to be sliced was the Ribeye Roast and of course, we all had to take pictures first of that gorgeous hunk of meat.

Even while the Ribeye Roast was being sliced, pictures were still being taken.  It was so hard to keep your eyes off the Ribeye as juicy slices were hitting the cutting board.

From the Ribeye Roast, it was time for the Compostela Pork Tender Loin to be cut into.  The crusting on that pork looked amazing.  Park's apparently has a special spice rub that they use.

The Mt. Mayon Hot Links were the last to be sliced. One thing I didn't know before is that Park's doesn't make their own sausages; however, they do have plans to start making their own longanisa, a Filipino-style sausage, in the near future.




Other bbq offerings included their Mt. Malindang Pork Rack of Ribs, Taal Manok (Chicken) and Pork Riblets.

Parks' definitely knows their meats, but they also do awesome veggie sides that include mushrooms, asparagus and their Ligaya Veggie Medley.

For dessert, we also ordered their Ann’s Cornbread Bibingka. I'm not sure who Ann is, but she's a genius.  I love how the cornbread has corn kernels cooked in it and the sprinkling of sugar on the surface gives it the Filipino twist.

Here are some pictures of our feast below.

One of the things I absolutely loved and raved to others when I first had Park's was their really addictive bbq sauce, which has coconut as one of their ingredients.  It just had a smoky, sweet flavor to it that just did it for me.  Well, they have finally bottled it and you can purchase it at Figueroa Produce. Of course, they're hoping to expand, but for now, drop by Figueroa Product to pick up your bottle.

You'd think that we've already been blessed by delicious food, but @carolineadobo of When Adobo Met Feijoada brought in a killer Leche Plan (Filipino version of Flan) and a cake version of Halo Halo. Halo Halo, by the way, is a Filipino shaved ice dessert that includes different kinds of beans, jellies and fruits topped with shaved ice and milk or condensed milk, that you usually mix with your spoon. Sometimes it comes topped with a scoop of ube (purple yam) or mango ice cream. The cake was tasty on its own, but when eaten with the leche plan, it was even better.

Overall, it was a wonderfully delicious picnic. It was made even more special because I was able to both re-connect with my Socal Filipino Foodie Friends and also meet our new friends from up North as well.  To think, it all started with Twitter. :)

Thanks @mrfredbriones for the awesome group photo

The Park's Finest BBQ Website 

Follow The The Park's Finest BBQ on Twitter

Join The Park's Finest BBQ on Facebook

Read about the Bay 2 LA Adventures at the links below:

@mrfredbriones - #Bay2LA Foodie Road Trip 2011
@joanneisafoodie - #Bay2LA When Nor Cal Met So Cal

To all my fellow tweaters, here's to breaking bread again in the near future!

Albert - @filipeanut
Arnold - @inuyaki
Caroline - @carolineadobo
Emilie - @nuts4pilinuts
Fred - @mrfredbriones
Joanne -  @joanneisafoodie
Keaton - @phatpanda650
Malou - @malou_nievera
Reese - @nerissas
Remil - @LIMER35
Steve - @asianclarkkent
Tina - @CeeEsBee

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The Park's Finest BBQ Lives Up to its Name!

This past summer, I've had my share of BBQ from Bludso's BBQ to Big Mista's BBQ to Porky's BBQ and much more, so based on all these tastings, I can say without bias that my favorite BBQ comes from The Park's Finest BBQ. What's even better is that TPFB is owned by Johneric Concordia, whose BBQ and BBQ sauce is based on flavors from the Philippines, where I'm from.

I first experienced TPFB in late September as part of a BBQ series hosted for my dining group, by one of my Assistant Organizers, Robert. Currently, Park's does not have a retail restaurant space. They only do catering for now so lunch was at a Filipino gallery, Remy's on Temple and outside the gallery was where the smoker was parked from the wee hours cooking our meal.

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Before we dug in, Johneric, gave us a little history about his company. He talked about how his father, "Big Tony", was a Navy cook and how he had developed the Concordia BBQ sauce as a way to appeal to both the crew's palate, but still stay true to his roots. The base flavor of his sauce came from the combination of the natural sugars from sugar cane and pineapples simmering with soy sauce, peppers, and spices. This secret recipe was passed to his children and grand-children. What's unique about this sauce is that it still allows for experimentation so that there can be variations to the Concorcdia sauce that can suit any palate.

After learning more about The Park's Finest BBQ, it was time to dig in. Check out what was on the menu starting with their Ligaya Veggie Medley which were marinated and grilled zucchini, squash and green onions. I loved the peppery flavors.

Their Compostila Pork Tender Loin was smoky and tender.

The Mt. Malindang Pork Rack of Ribs had a beautiful char and the spice rub was very flavorful.

I couldn't find any flaw with their Taal Manok (Chicken). Even the white meat was juicy, which was amazing since BBQ Chicken Breast can often times be dry.

Their Rib Eye Roast and Batangueno Beef Ribs were also tender and juicy and would make any BBQ lover very happy.

We also partook in another Ligaya Veggie Medley, which was made up of grilled asparagus and green onions and there was also Pulled Pork and Mt. Mayon Hot Sausage Links for the taking.

I wish I could be more descriptive about all the various BBQ meats we ate, but I was too busy eating and not taking any notes Usually, I don't like to over-hype anything, especially, when it comes to food, but I just found Park's Finest BBQ to be mind-blowing good. By the way, while the BBQ could really just stand on its own, the addition of the BBQ sauce took it over the top. The BBQ sauce variation that Johnerico prepared for us was both sweet and spicy and flavored with coconut. That sauce was quite addicting.

As for dessert, there was an interesting twist on a Filipino dessert called Bibingka, which is usually made with rice flour and coconut. Based on the name, Park's version called Ann’s Cornbread Bibingka probably contained cornmeal. I wish someone thought of that earlier. The addition of the cormeal made this bibingka a little more dense, but also a little sweeter. What an awesome variation to something so traditional.

Overall, even months later, I still can't forget The Park's Finest BBQ. I hope that they eventually do get a retail restaurant. I'll certainly be a good customer. As it is, I might just have to plan party just so I can get more of their BBQ or if any of you are planning on having them cater an event, I certainly wouldn't turn down an invitation to chow down on what I think is the best BBQ I've ever had.

The Park's Finest BBQ
theparksfinest213@gmail.com
(213) 247-4909
http://theparksfinest.com



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