Yahoo Finance Love that lechón: New Filipino restaurant arrives in Wynwood with Latin flair
Filipino cuisine is coming to Miami, and it should feel right at home.
Chef Nicole Ponseca is opening a second location of her famous Manhattan gastropub Jeepney at Wynwood’s 1-800-Lucky Asian food hall.
Introducing South Florida food lovers to a new flavor profile can be a little intimidating, but Ponseca says the Latin echoes in Filipino cuisine make Miami the perfect fit for Jeepney.
“When you’re introducing a new cuisine, you have to be an ambassador, and it’s not a role I take lightly,” says the American-born James Beard Award nominee, who published the cookbook “I Am A Filipino: And This Is How We Cook” in 2018. “I’ve spent the last 20 years being a little bit of an anthropologist. As Filipinos we don’t always have a lot of access to our culture and history. . . . I see Puerto Rico as being like us —we never became U.S. territories, and we didn’t have a lot of access to our history. We knew we were Spanish people. . . . we just took it at face value. But the Philippines were part of Spain for more than 300 years.”
All those foods Miami loves? Flan, lechón, chicharrón? They play a robust part in Filipino cuisine, which relies heavily on citrus and vinegar highlights.
Naturally, pork will play a big part in Jeepney’s menu, Ponseca says. One specialty will be sisig, which Ponseca describes as a “sexy dish” with three kinds of pork cooked three ways and served on a sizzling plate with an egg on top that’s scrambled at the table.
“It’s sizzling and aromatic,” she says. “You want to have a beer or a cocktail with it.”
Also inside the food hall, Ponseca will introduce Tita Baby’s, which will sell traditional pastries and desserts with a twist. Among other choices, customers can order a cornbread bibingka, a traditional rice cake served in a cast iron skillet or halo halo, a shaved iced dessert.
Jeepney and Tita Baby’s will join 1-800-Lucky’s other vendors – Usagi Tokyo, Taiyaki NYC, Yip, B-side by Itamae, Gold Marquess and Poke OG – in mid-December.
Jeepney and Tita Baby’s
Where: 1-800-Lucky, 143 NW 23rd St., Miami
Opening: Mid-December
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