Here’s a little history on the word pulutan which has become so ingrained in the Filipino food culture. Coming from the word pulot, meaning to pick up, pulutan is food paired with alcohol. Alcohol plus pulutan usually spark an appetite for more serious conversations. The most known pulutan are mani (peanuts), sisig, tapa, chicharon, isaw, inihaw na isda (fish), kilawin (ceviche), pusit (squid), and in Ilocos, dinakdakan, caliente, insarabasab, caldereta, but typically, pulutan can be anything from leftovers to junk food and de lata (canned food).

These days, into the bar scene — buttered mushrooms, hotdog, nachos, French fries, onion rings, and something like this creative bowl of crispy molo wrapper strips and nori seaweed (exclusively at Giannis). But when the weather’s excessively crazy humid, you order light pulutan with fresh fruit slushies:)

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