What makes a carinderia a carinderia?

VISITORS to the Philippines all say that the Filipino brand of hospitality is one of the most attractive features of the country that will make them want to come back and even ask their friends and family to go with them.

Perhaps one of the best expressions of that unique Filipino hospitality is the carinderia, the neighborhood eatery that is the best place to go to for a nice, hot and affordable meal that comes close to the taste and quality of the food that one eats at home.

You can rely on the carinderia to provide the good-old Filipino fare that can immediately turn a bad day into something worth looking forward to. Usual comfort food offerings include menudo, liempo, adobo, afritada, pinakbet, chopsuey, pansit, arroz caldo, spaghetti and even bar chow such as sisig and bopis.

And in the carinderias that are always bustling with activity, customers get a kind of service that they won’t get from the more expensive dining options.

Where else, for example, can you eat and ask the friendly manong or manang to pour extra sauce on your rice? Or even order half a serving of the day’s pork, chicken or beef dish because that is all you can afford at the moment? Or ask for an extra helping of free soup? And is it not hospitality when the carinderia owner allows you to pay for your meal the next day or even at the end of the week when the salary comes in? Or even accommodate your specific requests for meals for special occasions?

The neighborhood carinderia can do all of these and also provide customers with a homey place they can hang out in, a tambayan that’s the proverbial home away from home. It’s casual and friendly, as if the carinderia were welcoming through the doors not customers but good friends and loved ones.

And in these carinderias, everybody can feel at home. There is no caring about background or income levels as in these welcoming places, everybody just sits together to enjoy a good meal. Indeed, you are not Filipino if you have not eaten in a carinderia.

The carinderias are able to do all these while going through the daily challenges of preparing and cooking different kinds of delicious and hearty meals that most everybody can afford and enjoy.

Now that’s hospitality.