If you're Pinoy, married to one, or are otherwise enamored with the under-appreciated and under-rated cuisine of this island nation, you are well aware that one of the best places to get a crispy pata (a honking piece of a deep fried pork hock) is a place called Magic Wok in Artesia. You would also be aware that it was closed for the latter part of last year due to some sort of undisclosed problem that required them to regroup.
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I got word that Magic Wok opened again recently, though not as Magic Wok. It now is reportedly calling itself Crispy House, but is still serving the same crispy pata.
And from a few food bloggers I read that have visited the new place, the menu seems to feature the same food and the people behind it are the same people–just under a different business name, perhaps because of the previously mentioned undisclosed problem.
But whatever it is calling itself–whether it's Magic Wok, or Crispy House–I, for one, am excited it's back. I've long considered Magic Wok as the best Filipino restaurant in Southern California. If it is truly the same owners and the same food, I hope I can say the same about Crispy House.
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Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.