1. Perla
Philadephia
Perla is an ode to Chef Lou Boquila’s Filipino upbringing. Named after his mother, Perla, this East Passyunk restaurant is a tribute to the traditional dishes Boquila grew up watching his mom make. Expressing the flavors of his childhood and the culinary techniques he developed over his career, Boquila has created a modern Filipino menu. For now, indoor dining is limited to their Kamayan family-style menu — a prix-fixed meal where banana leaves are spread out across the table and covered in Perla’s signature dishes, including a lemony chicken inasal, fried pork bell or pork shank, sinangag (garlic jasmine rice), pinakbet (eggplant, long beans, bokchoy), and lumpia, traditional Filipino rolls filled with ground pork, carrots, onions, and ginger.