Widely celebrated for his skills in running the kitchens at two of Edmonton's most popular restaurants, Rostizado and Tres Carnales, chef Edgar Gutierrez is getting set to add one more interesting restaurant concept to his schedule. Kanto--which means “a place in the corner” or “end of street” in Tagalog--is all about Filipino street food, like bao, rice bowls and barbecued meats on a stick.
"I decided to open Kanto to showcase Filipino food and its accessiblility," says Gutierrez. "A lot of people from Edmonton associate Pinoy food as weird or extreme and something that is only enjoyed by mostly Filipinos. I just want to get the culture out there by highlighting the American and Spanish influences combined with the native ingredients and techniques that Filipino food is known for."
The chef goes on to say that he is lucky to have two great kitchen teams at Rostizado and Tres Carnales that will maintain the quality of food there while he focuses on getting Kanto up and running. The small 15-seat space boasts plenty of punchy colours with an accent wall of vibrant Filipino cartoons. On the menu will be plenty of barbecued skewered meats, fried chicken and different types of bao.
"I [have put together] a street style Filipino restaurant with focus on accessibility, so no balut," jokes the chef.
Kanto is Edmonton's first contemporary Filipino restaurant and with only a small number of seats, one can only assume this place will fill up in no time once Gutierrez officially opens the doors come mid-April.
