The Western San Fernando Valley has been building a bigger reputation for their Filipino food scene. However, at least shining star has arisen east of the 405 freeway. A North Hollywood strip mall best known for Vallarta Supermarkets is now home to Tatang, which has quickly become one of the Valley’s best Filipino restaurants. Tatang chef JR Martin and wife Chiho honor their cultural heritage in modern ways while tipping their caps to the past. The name Tatang translates from Tagalog to English as father. In this case, the father in the spotlight is JR’s late grandfather. He was a dad to 16 children. Martin’s mom is the large family’s eldest child.

Tatang devotes an entire menu section to ini-haw (grilled) items. Choices include Organic To-ci-no (Cured Pork), Heritage Li-em-po (Pork Belly), Fresh Water Prawn, and Tam-ba-kol (Amberjack). I strongly recommend starting with Li-em-po ($6.95). Chef Martin marinates thin heritage pork belly slabs in tart calamansi juice, soy sauce, black pepper, garlic, and some water to thin out the sodium. He grills pork bellies until charred bits form. Chef Martin slices the pork into thin strips that take dips in spicy vinegar and serves with cooling tomatoes.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.