FAIRMOUNT (WPVI) — Chef Chance Anies describes Manong as a Filipino Outback Steakhouse, a grill house that celebrates the chain restaurants where his mom worked while he was growing up. They were places, he says, where he created so many memories.
The “family first” restaurant reflects his biracial background with American staples like chicken skewers grilled with banana ketchup barbecue sauce and house-made creamy pasta with American cheese and coconut milk Alfredo sauce.
His riff on a Bloomin’ Onion is made with enoki mushrooms and dubbed The Bloom Shroom.
There are more traditional Filipino dishes too. The Lechon liempo is a whole roasted pork belly.
There’s a half pound Balong burger, served on 4 pandesal buns, and because his parents opened a Rita’s Water Ice when he was in high school, he’s making it here along with house-made ice cream, in flavors like mango, ube and pandan.
Manong means elder brother in the Filipino Ilocano language.
It’s the big brother to Chance’s first restaurant, Tabachoy, in Queen Village, which he opened more than 6 years ago as a food cart.
The cocktails at Manong are all named for Filipino people and experiences.
The Otso Otso is a take on a Calamansi (Filipino citrus fruit) margarita, named for a popular Filipino dance.
For a riff on an old fashioned, try the Larry Itliong, named for one of the original Manongs to move to the United States in the early 1900’s.
As Philadelphia prepares to welcome the world in 2026, Chance hopes Manong will be a destination, and he hopes diners will walk away having learned a piece of Filipino or Filipino American history.
Manong | Instagram
1833 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa. 19130
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