One of metro Detroiter's few options for Filipino fare is chefs Dorothy Hernandez and Jake Williams's Sarap pop up, and April brings us two of their events.
The first is billed as an a la carte street/bar night on Sunday, April 9 at Nancy Whiskey's in North Corktown. Among the menu items are longanisa sliders made with Filipino sausage patties on turmeric pandesal with calamansi aioli and achara for $3.5o. Another intriguing options is the sisig made with pork belly, snout, and ear seared with chilies and topped with duck egg. Check out the full menu here.
The second, a collaboration with chef Aaron Egan in Eastern Market's Shed 5 on April 24, will see the pairing of Filipino and Jewish cuisine. While it seems like an unlikely match, the cultures shared a dramatic moment in history.
As Sarap explains in its press release: "About 1,200 European Jews fleeing the Nazis during World War II found safe haven in the Philippines. Manuel Quezon, the Philippines’ first president, and Paul McNutt, the U.S. High Commissioner to the Philippines, worked together to grant visas to Jews escaping the Holocaust."
Adds Egan: "Upon (the Jewish refugees') arrival in the Philippines, they must have cast about for recognizable, acceptable nourishment in a land dominated by shellfish and pork.”
So what might their dinners have looked like? One can only guess, but perhaps something along the lines of what Sarap and Egan have planned for the evening's five course meal, like "borscht" made with beets, coconut milk, cilantro oil, and sprouts. Or the adobo schnitzel with chicken, ube spaetzle, gribnes, and calamansi coconut “beurre blanc.”
The event's seating is at 6 p.m. Check out the menu and purchase the $50 tickets at sarapdetroit.com.
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