Labor Day weekend is at hand. Allow Harana to march with you through this work week and into that annual three-day red carpet of a weekend that toasts your hard working ass—with pork parts. I recently boiled, grilled, chopped and fried a nice heap of pork face, ears, liver, and brains and proceeded to rain on toppings like it was pizza. Shoutout to Greenwhich and their Super Sisig Pizza. It was like taking my fly skillet of golden pork hash on a date to the mall and letting her try on some outfits. This "date" may have ironically made me late for work but I did sweat doing this. I maybe wept a little too at first crispy bite. That is labor my friend. I'll update this post as the week unfolds.

Monday: With Mussels

Tuesday: Con Nopales y Queso Cotija

Pork sisig week Tuesday: Con nopales y queso cotija (cactus and cotija cheese). Harana does Mexican. And with the desert sun fully flexed on CA last week, I got with these mildly tart strips of cactus meat to play along. Cotija crumbs finish strong with a little salty funk and texture.

WEDNESDAY: With Charred Okra

Pork sisig week Wednesday: With Charred Okra. This is a bit of a precursor to tomorrow's entry but it holds its own. Rounds of smoky green ballistic tips add body and vitamins into the mix to fight those midweek woes.

THURSDAY: On Pinakbet

Pork sisig week Thursday: On Pinakbet. We bring out the wok for this one. There's nothing wrong with caesar salad with Bac~Os but for the deep-digging workhorse, pinakbet is the hearty vegetable tour de force you need to overcome. Bits of crunchy sisig and ground chicharron don't hurt either.

FRIDAY: With Deviled Balut

One thing Harana is is unapologetic. This fact will be repeated and manifested, perhaps annoyingly, as time passes. I floated ideas or melting pucks of foie gras, funky artisanal cheeses, smoked this, foamed that. I arrived at this. This is where my palette lead me. This, like much of the food you see here was packed up in Tupperware and eaten at my desk job lunch hours after photographing.