"Any new restaurant that dares open in Santa Clarita’s Canyon Center faces a challenge: how does one compete with Tiny’s, the iconic sub shop on the strip mall’s corner? Only Melvin Blanco, the owner of Juan & Nita’s Bagnet-Silog (named for Blanco’s parents), has devised a solution: offer remarkable food at no price. Law enforcement, clergy, and first responders eat free (by day, Blanco is an oncology nurse), but it’s well worth joining the growing stable of regulars willing to pay menu price for executive chef Jake de Guzman’s inventive takes on traditional Filipino classics, like candied pork belly bagnet candies doused with sesame." - Sean L. Malin