Filipino Flavors
Cuisine expands its reach at two new locations
By Greg Sabin
Photography By Linda Smolek
June 2025
Joanne Suavillo and her husband Ray have run The Lumpia Truck for more than five years. Their new restaurant, Spoon and Fork, is a grab-and-go spot on Broadway that serves some of the most flavorful dishes in town.
The Suavillo’s restaurant is new. Yet the food and service act like they’ve been open for years. In a way, they have.
“We’re still figuring out a few things with staffing,” Ray Suavillo tells me. “But we’ve been running the truck for years and could turn over 1,000 plates without batting an eye.”
He earned his confidence. Spoon and Fork’s lumpia are the best I’ve tasted. Hot, crispy, savory and sumptuous, served with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce that puts packet sauces to shame.
But lumpia aren’t the stars of the show, just high-watt co-stars. Rice plates and noodle dishes elevate the menu.
You can’t go wrong with the adobo pork. Tender braised chunks of pork served over rice, dressed in an addictive sauce of soy, vinegar and garlic. Lick the plate kind of stuff. Flavors that make you groan with joy.
Other pork dishes round things out. Fried pork belly over rice. Grilled pepper pork with over-easy egg, Spam and sausage. A pork lover’s paradise.
The traditional breakfast plate silog arrives with garlic fried rice, egg salad and an over-easy egg. Topped with a pork offering. You won’t go hungry for days.
The place is new, but there was a line out the door at 11:45 a.m. last time I visited. The line moved fast. The wait was worth it.
Shifting to Carmichael, Palo Palo Kitchen & Bar dishes up Filipino food with attitude. Open just a few months, this place has a bro vibe. Record albums from the 1980s hang on the walls. Liquor bottles line a wall. Sports are on the monitors. The scent of a barrel smoker lingers.
With the bar and minimally decorated dining room, Palo Palo leans into a fusion of California and Filipino recipes, plus cocktail options.
If nothing else, go for the spareribs. Dry-rubbed, falling apart, dazzlingly spiced, these hefty ribs are worth the trip. Topped with sliced serrano peppers and green onions to highlight a bay leaf and ginger-garlic rub, the ribs salute the efforts of a true pit master.
The rest of the menu is cheeky: Filipino fried chicken sandwich (no breading) and small plates such as skewers, wings and French fries coated with Cheetos dust. Fun and creative.
Whether on the grid or in Carmichael, Filipino cuisine is gaining popularity. It’s a cuisine with its own funk and flair. We’re lucky to have it join the local scene.
Spoon and Fork is at 2022 Broadway. Palo Palo Kitchen & Bar is at 5804 Marconi Ave.; (916) 274-4337; palopalokitchen.com.
Greg Sabin can be reached at saceats@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insdsidesacramento.
