“I knew I wanted to do something with Filipino food,” says Tara Monsod, executive chef of Animae in San Diego. In recent years, Filipino food has seen a renaissance in fine dining, and Animae is nestled within one of the biggest Filipino communities in California. “For Asians or Filipinos especially, some of whom are really surprised that our food is in a place like this, I’m like ‘Why not, dude?’ You see Japanese food done this way. You see Chinese food done this way. Why can’t we be in the map?” Read the full story at #ZagatStories. 📷: @megan.morello.photo