Joe Isaw, A Street Food Binge Fix

WARNING: What you’ll read is an Andrew Zimmern material. Andrew is the host of Bizarre Foods. I suggest that you be brave and follow the post. You know you want to 🙂

Hubby and I have been craving for Isaw for a very long time. The last time we had one was during our streetfood-concept birthday celebration at my Uncle’s Garahe 25 Restaurant.

Isaw is a Filipino street food made of barbecued chicken intestines. The process is really a tedious one (at least for those who want to preserve their names) because ideally, the intestines are cleaned, turned inside out, and cleaned again for several times. After which, the intestines are boiled and then grilled on sticks.

Because isaw is a street food, traditionally, you can only find it in street carts or stalls along the streets. It’s only recently that most restaurants are trying to infuse the concept of street food into their menu. I have written a review in my other blog sometime before about Lime 88 and Garahe 25.

Now here’s a place that sells the usual isaw, not along the streets, but in Ortigas Home Depot.

The place is really small, it’s like half the size of the usual restos in Ortigas Home Depot. There are only like two tables outside and the four stools I saw inside are where clients wait for their take-out orders. When we got there, one of the tables has been occupied and we’re lucky to get the other one for ourselves.

I noticed a lot of stuff hanging on the wall and so I went around to take pictures as we waited for our orders.

This is the story of Joe Isaw. I think it’s cute and funny.

Then there’s this frame that defines our street food made of pig’s eyes, chicken ass, and pig’s ears! *gross!?@?!*

Pig's Eye, Chicken Ass, and Pig's Ears

Let’s now talk about the food.

We ordered Zigzags (grilled chicken intestines) and pork barbecue. Zigzags cost P20/stick while pork bbq is P25/stick.

They’re juicy, hot, smoky, and sweet. You might see some charred parts in the photo but really, they’re perfectly grilled. They’re good even without sauces but we still tried the sauces out.

They got three sauces. The first one is called “Napalm.” It’s the usual vinegar with minced garlic and ginger. The next one is called “Nuclear Bomb.” It’s vinegar with sugar. And then the last one is called “Atomic Bomb.” It’s the spicy one.

What I did was I combined the three and came up with my own. I call it “The Bombshell.” 😛

Ideally, we should have ordered San Miguel to go with this. But hubby and I decided to go with Coke. We got this variant called Coke Sakto (sakto means exact; nothing more, nothing less). It’s a 200 ml Coke and it really is tiny! What’s more surprising is that true to its name, it was really sakto! Next time I’m in a Coke binge, I will definitely get one for a less guilty feeling. Goodbye Coke 1.5-liter!

Joe Isaw is a winner. I’m not sure if it’s cheaper than the others but for me P20 a stick is pretty cheap so I’d say it’s a real value for your money. Taste-wise, it’s better than Lime 88’s and will compete well with Garahe 25’s isaw.

Just a tip before you head to Ortigas Home Depot, call first so you can pre-order your isaw. They cook it right on the spot so if you go there without pre-orders, expect to wait for a while until your isaw is cooked.

*Joe Isaw, Ortigas Home Depot, 0933-508-3362 or 02-871-9208

What about you? What’s your favorite street food?