Evolving attitudes about Filipino cooking in D.C., both by local diners now routinely seeking out sizzling sisig and purple yam-based desserts as well as Asian chefs excited about sharing their culinary traditions, have propelled Pinoy food from strip mall treat to nationwide dining sensation.

When Eater compiled its previous guide to Filipino dining, there wasn’t a single restaurant dedicated to the Southeast Asian cuisine located inside the District. But the local hospitality scene has changed significantly in just a few years — so much so that Filipino kitchens have attracted attention from national media, with more high-profile restaurants still on the way — thanks to a growing wave of chefs and restaurateurs working to push the culinary boundaries behind staples such as crispy lumpia or zesty adobo.

Why are so many Filipino restaurants opening right now? Perhaps the question should be: Why weren’t there more Filipino restaurants around before?

The D.C. area has long had a significant community of Filipino immigrants. Rita Cacas, an archivist dedicated to preserving the history of Filipino-Americans in the area, credits the modern Filipino food boom in part to changing generational attitudes. A native Washingtonian whose father left the Philippines for the United States in 1929, Cacas remembers a Georgetown restaurant called Manila.

“It was a fancy white tablecloth restaurant, and my mother would always say, ‘It’s not good — it’s too fancy!’” she says. …..click on the first image above to read the whole article