Fil-Am restaurant in Philly puts sisig and longganisa on hotdogs and bistek on cheesesteak

Photo from Tabachoy/Instagram

Hotdogs are decidedly an American staple, and nothing makes you realize this more than the celebration of the Fourth of July.

But all year long since 2019, Filipino-American restaurant Tabachoy in Philadelphia has been making a case for making hotdogs a Fil-Am fixture by infusing them with Filipino flavors, namely sisig, and longganisa.

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Husband-and-wife duo chef Chance and Maria Anies started Tabachoy as a food truck concept that evolved from pop-ups, which honored his Filipino heritage.

The sisig dog of Tabachoy is a quarter-point Filipino hotdog, topped with sisig, curry mayo, scallions, fried shallots, and atchara | Photo from Tabachoy Instagram

Today, it’s a 28-seater brick-and-mortar restaurant located at Bella Vista where it serves filling adobo, lechon, laing, pancit bihon, and lumpia, among other beloved Filipino dishes that he grew up eating.

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Hotdog is a meaty topic at Tabachoy

The Anies’ inventive takes on hotdogs and Philadelphia’s favorite cheesesteak made with Pinoy bistek, which propelled his food truck business, meanwhile have become pop-up and brunch exclusives. And yes, you can book their food truck for private events, too.

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It’s hard to imagine that this restaurant almost didn’t materialize as Chance was initially employed as an English teacher and then as a university researcher before realizing his true calling in hospitality. His dad, after all, was a chef in the Navy. His formative cooking memories included helping his father at catering jobs, where he learned how to cook pork adobo.

Tabachoy’s culinary journey started with a $2,500 capital used to purchase a four-by-eight-foot cart. “Being a food truck, we’ve been able to give the food side, but we haven’t been able to show the hospitality side of Filipino culture,” he told a Philadelphia newspaper last year.