The Connecticut chef began his culinary career as a cook while in the Navy. Afterwards he spent years working in kitchens at Connecticut restaurants including the Hard Rock Cafe at Foxwoods and New Haven spots such as Caseus, Olmo and High George. But he always knew he wanted to venture out on his own in some capacity.
“The industry is tough,” says his husband, Seth Wallace. “Not a lot of folks see a great future for themselves cooking on the line. And so we had talked for a long time about, ‘What are you going to do? And do you want to open something? And if so, what?”
Eventually, McGuire realized the answer could be found in his Filipino heritage and its culinary traditions, which he had never delved into professionally.
“It was one of those moments where I was like, ‘Oh, it's been with me this whole time,’” McGuire says. “I started to dig into my own culture and actually get more acquainted with just a lot of the things that I wasn't aware of when I was growing up as a child.” He adds, “It's been a really cool way to build relationships with other branches of my family.”
Quick! Name a Filipino restaurant that’s close by!
Time’s up!
Stumped? Don’t worry, all of us in lower Fairfield County had no clue until now.
But before Zul Cafe and Grill opened its kitchen in Norwalk in early June, you likely had to venture to Yonkers, Nyack, or Queens to get your fill of Filipino fare.
The “why” behind Zul is simple. Owners and Norwalk residents Rob and Gladys Luz not only saw a void in Filipino cuisine in the area, but they also wanted it more readily available for themselves. Opening a restaurant of their own became all the more real when Rob had one of his cravings for the food of his culture.
“We would always just go to Queens because they have a lot of Filipino food in one small area, but we got tired of traffic and casually discussed opening a Filipino restaurant ourselves,” Gladys says. “We saw this house for sale and Rob said, ‘This is a nice spot for a Filipino restaurant,’ to which I replied, ‘Where?!’ I didn’t notice it because it’s residential. The roof was falling apart, the grass was high, there was a big tree out front. You couldn’t even see the building! It was a fixer upper. Rob had the vision. He saw it. I didn’t!”
One of the ways to celebrate Filipino American History Month (every October) is with a kamayan meal. A what? Don’t worry, when I was asked to attend one, my response was, “What’s that now?” And I do have a few Filipino friends, including those who invited me to this one, my first one.
There was a kamayan dinner and it was held in South Norwalk. The event, hosted by Chris Gonzalez of Hapa Food Truck with public relations pro and event planner Ria Rueda, was the first of its kind in the area, not counting the off chance you’ve attended one at a friend’s house.
At Sherkaan’s first pop-up last Thursday night, the Flipindian Feast, I had to swim through the the hungry crowd and make my way to, literally, the last seat available at the long copper bar. From the pervading tiger logo (Sherkaan means Tiger King in Hindi) and hindi phrases on the walls, to the cascade of bicycles hanging from the ceiling, diners are definitely transported to the packed spaces of a Southeast Asian hot spot. In addition to all the things to look at, pungent spices filled the room; they were so entrenched in the air that my hair smelled of them the next morning.
Over the past few years, Hapa Food Truck and chef/owner Chris Gonzalez have gained quite the following. I’m guilty of following up a few weightlifting sessions at Crunch Gym with a Hapa Burger or tacos when Gonzalez parked his trucked at the Priceline building. So, yes, I’m a fan just as much as all of you are. But every winter, Hapa goes into hibernation, leaving many of us yearning for warmer weather and his Filipino-Hawaiian inspired food.
Well, friends, you don’t have to wait for spring and tracking Hapa down just got a whole lot easier. Gonzalez now has a physical Hapa location in Mamaroneck’s new microbrewery, Decadent Ales inside of the popular craft beer store, Half Time.
I initially held off on sharing my tasting notes for Fortina's epically unique "underground" dinner last week, as it felt like a tease to share an eating adventure that could not be experienced by our readers. Well, all that has changed. The private dinners that began as a way for the Fortina culinary team to stretch their legs, experiment with flavors and dishes, and ultimately serve to inform new menu items, can now be booked by YOU. Here is a little inside scoop on last week's carefully orchestrated 8 person dinner/performance, complete with 10 courses, alcoholic icees, an opera singer, a comedian, escargot served on a VCR, and heck of a lot of fun.
Dig Inn, a highly successful natural restaurant with 13 locations in Manhattan and one in Boston is opening its first suburban venture on January 12th at 112 S. Ridge Street at the Rye Ridge Plaza. Dig Inn mindfully sources ingredients to deliver wholesome meals at a reasonable price, democratizing good, food. Along with the company's signature menu with farm fresh options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this location will include new and unique features specifically created for Westchester County.
The Rye location will feature family packages, long tables for communal noshing, private nooks for working and reading, and cooking classes with our head chefs. In addition, it will offer an intimate 10-seat chef’s counter, serving vegetable-forward entrees, including mushroom tartare on flax crackers, and black lentils, grilled chicories, and butternut squash conserva…perfect for date night.
