Pick Your Plate, Hawthorne CA

I ordered food for my nephew’s despedida party last July 13 I ordered kare kare pancit & everyone loves the food the owner is very friendly the price of their catering food is reasonable it’s delicious & fresh I definitely will order again for my future parties

Filipino food to me has always been a tabula rasa cuisine, with some corresponding dish found in another culture. It's always up to personal preference which version a person might prefer, but the one thing I think they do unquestionably better than any other version of the thing I've seen is pork belly lechon. The meat is juicer than Tommy DiNic at Philidelphia's Reading Terminal Market. The skin is so crispy I actually prefer it to Peking duck. There is enough fat left over to grease the gears of an M1 Abrams tank. It's fantastic.

Pick your Plate is a hole in the wall establishment that makes you feel like you've teleported back in time to an old style taqueria on the edge of Inglewood in the days before air conditioning. It is sublimely authentic to a degree you just don't see anymore especially post pandemic, and the establishment absolutely makes no efforts to suggest theyre anything but just a small cafeteria style eatery serving authentic Filipino food.

As far as I can surmise this place has a loyal cult following. The owners know the names of the customers, people bring their own Tupperware to take food to go. Strangers are talking religiously and competitively to each other about how much of this food they can eat. Apparently the winner had a catering event where they bought 5 pounds for every person. There was no leftovers.

The prices are surprisingly good, almost r pre pandemic compared to other establishments and the portions are generous. Hell even the serving of rice is significantly larger than the equivalent serving at any Asian franchise in the area.

And the staff is extremely friendly, almost offputtingly so for someone as introverted as I am. They are helpful and gregarious and full of smiles and friendliness. They seem like they enjoy their work and their positivity is infectious, which is very Filipino in my book.

It truly was a weirdly unique experience with some of the best food I've ever had.

And to be clear, it's not going to be for everyone. Vegans beware, I don't think I saw a single vegetable the entire time I was here and the food is as unhealthy as it is delicious. But if you know what you're getting into, I would definitely recommend this place.

Lechon is Thursdays only. I plan on bringing some of my Filipino coworkers here to get their opinion of this place.

Great quality food. Very fresh! The best Filipino food I've ever had. The staff is friendly you must try! Thank you Pick Your Plate!

It's a lot of food, be prepared. Haven't found a dish I disliked though

If you want to taste Filipino food you should try this place. When I was there, they were having some construction in their front area, so we had to go through the back door. The back door was little hard to find. Very few Parking spaces. Food was tasty. Price was great compare to the food amount. Staffs were friendly.

This place is a total hidden gem for Awesome authentic Filipino food! I've been working in the Hawthorne area for the last 5 years and just found this place a week ago sadly enough. Just like most of the comments here, don't let the small location and Aesthetics fool you! Not too many places offer great quality with enormous portions and competitively priced. They truly will let you sample everything before you decide to order. I ordered a 2 item combo and it was easily enough to feed 2 people or 3 with small appetites. Will definitely be coming back when I'm craving the homeland food!

I love this place! They have good home cooked Filipino food! Delicious Claire is so sweet and the help is very friendly.