"What It Is: A counter-service Filipino restaurant in the East Village Perfect For: Group Dinner, Casual Weeknight Dinner Mama Fina’s is a new Filipino restaurant on Avenue A between 10th and 11th streets in the East Village. The main draw here is the very filling and very good Filipino food like pork sisig, taro leaves with coconut milk (called Laing), and steak with garlic rice. We went ahead with many of the items marked “must-try” on the menu, and we can confirm that those dishes are indeed the things you should be trying - they were great. That said, the atmosphere doesn’t make as much sense - it’s counter service, but also looks like a place where highly-regarded knights would eat during the Renaissance period. The Verdict: The Filipino food makes Mama Fina’s worth knowing about for a casual group dinner in the East Village, but you don’t need to go out of your way for a meal here." - hannah albertine, bryan kim, katherine lewin, hillary reinsberg, chris stang, matt tervooren
