Chibanos pop-up restaurant at Solar Myth in South Philly
Five years ago, Evan Fong Jaroff decided to transition from a career in finance to “something more closely tied to my family and my history.”
The result is Chibanos, a “culinary concept that has stuck with me,” the 37-year-old told Billy Penn for more than a decade. This was accomplished in late February, with a series of pop-ups at the Solar Myth cafe-bar-music venue at 1131 S. Broad St., which ends Sunday evening.
It’s a tight menu by design, Jaroff said, centered around a trio of pressed sandwich options. The Chickibano is filled with slow-cooked chicken topped with Chinese broccoli and onions in a garlicky black bean sauce; The Vegano blends braised jackfruit and grilled tofu with a spicy black bean chili spread. The namesake sandwich layers ham, Swiss cheese and Chinese pickles on roast pork simmered in a marinade inspired by a recipe from his maternal grandmother.
“It’s something we wanted to convey,” he explained, and which is “consistent in all the sandwiches we make.” The menu offered there, he said, is inspired by its multicultural background.
Jaroff was born in Philadelphia to a Chinese mother born in Cuba. His family had fled their country in the face of communism; Watching the rise of Castro and the seizure of private businesses, “my grandmother in particular decided, ‘We’re not going to go through that again,'” Jaroff said.
They emigrated to the United States, with Jaroff’s mother eventually meeting his Russian-American Jewish father in Iowa before returning with him to New York, then to Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. The marriage was short-lived; Jaroff’s family now includes an Irish American mother-in-law and a British father-in-law “to add to the melting pot of cultures.”
Growing up, pork roast dinners made by his mother for Buena Noche, or Christmas Eve, were an annual tradition, Jaroff said, as were leftover sandwiches made the next day by his stepfather, a chef now retired pastry chef with over four decades of experience. experience. He was the first to suggest that a similar combination might sell well “in a sandwich town like Philadelphia.”
The idea stuck with Jaroff during his time in finance and a move to London five years ago, with his wife, Eliana. The pandemic, he said, has brought it to the forefront of our minds.
“I had less and less time to spend on what I wanted to spend time on,” he realized. “The pandemic has had an impact on everyone. For me, it was that I would regret not giving it a try and seeing what I could do with it.
The couple returned to Philadelphia, with Jaroff working to bring the concept to life. A name was chosen, a shortened version of what his mother and aunts playfully called, los Chinos Cubanos, by their childhood neighbors in Jaruco.
With no professional cooking experience, Jaroff sought advice from his father-in-law and, crucially, recruited chef-consultant Aya Iwatani, whose career over the past 12 years has expanded from neighborhood bars to fine dining, with stints at Alder and the NoMad in New York. and Michelin-starred Castagna in Portland, Oregon. Most recently, she worked at Honeysuckle Provisions in West Philly as a consultant and pastry chef, before focusing on consulting and recipe development.
“We both come from a mixed Asian background and I really respect his family history, his ideas and his business model,” Iwatani said. She explained that his role was to help translate the flavors he grew up with and adapt those family recipes to a restaurant.
“There was a lot of trial and error around the different components,” Jaroff said. A particular challenge was successfully scaling the same 10 ingredients for her grandmother’s marinade who had “moved with my family from China to Cuba and then to the United States.”
New menu items have been created, a vegan tofu and black bean chili oil dip to accompany tapioca-based salt and pepper shrimp chips, or plantain chips seasoned with a blend of ‘mojo spices – “this is the one Aya created from scratch”. Plantain chips also come with any of the sandwiches, which can be ordered in half or full portions ($8/$14).
The Solar Myth pop-up, organized over the last two weekends and Mondays, returns for a final two-day edition this Saturday and Sunday, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Beyond that, the search continues to find a suitable physical site. “It’s been tricky,” said Jaroff, who found an appropriately sized, second-generation place that fit his vision of a multicultural space.
“Growing up outside of Philadelphia, not many people besides my brother looked like me,” he said. “I would have loved to have a space where I could see people from multiple cultures and backgrounds sharing their experiences and connecting with each other.” Once the location is determined, the plan is to partner with organizations that focus on multicultural events, conferences and activities.
It’s possible that more pop-ups will be created in the meantime, Jaroff said, as he continues to work on building relationships in an industry he’s new to.
“I’m very grateful to the Philadelphia culinary community,” he said. “When I arrived, I was afraid it would be tough, but I was touched by everyone’s kindness and welcome.”
For more information, follow Chibanos on Instagram.
Solar myth | 1131 S. Broad Street | Chibanos: from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday; Solar myth From 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day.
