Five years ago, Evan Fong Jaroff decided to shift gears from a career in finance to “something more closely related to my family, and my history.”
The result is Chibanos, a culinary “concept that’s been stuck in my mind,” the 37-year-old told Billy Penn, for over a decade. It was realized in late February, with a series of pop-ups at coffee shop-bar-live music venue Solar Myth at 1131 S. Broad St., that ends Sunday evening.
It’s a tight menu by design, Jaroff said, centered on a trio of pressed sandwich options. The Chickibano is packed 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 over roast pork simmered in a marinade inspired by a recipe from his maternal grandmother.
“It’s something we wanted to pass down,” he explained, that’s “consistent across the sandwiches we make.” The menu it threads through, he said, is inspired by his multicultural background.
Jaroff was born in Philly to a Chinese mother born in Cuba. Her family had fled their homeland in the face of communism; seeing the rise of Castro and the seizure of private enterprises, “my grandmother in particular decided, ‘we’re not living through this again,’” Jaroff said.
They migrated to the US, Jaroff’s mother eventually meeting his Russian American Jewish father in Iowa before moving back with him to New York City, and later to Philly and surrounding suburbs. The marriage was short-lived; Jaroff’s family now includes an Irish American stepmother and a British stepfather “to add to the melting pot of cultures.”
Growing up, roast pork dinners cooked by his mom for Buena Noche, or Christmas Eve, were an annual tradition, Jaroff said, as were the leftover sandwiches prepared the next day by his stepfather, a now-retired pastry chef with over four decades’ experience. It was he who first suggested a similar combination might sell well “in a sandwich town like Philly.”
The idea stuck with Jaroff throughout a move into finance and a job relocation to London five years ago, with his wife, Eliana. The pandemic, he said, pushed it to the front of this mind.
“I’d been getting further from spending time on what I wanted to spend time on,” he had realized. “The pandemic had an impact on everyone. For me, it was that I’d regret not giving this a shot and seeing what I could make of it.”
The couple returned to Philly, with Jaroff working on bringing the concept to life. A name was settled on, a shortened version of what his mother and aunts were playfully called, los Chinos Cubanos, by their childhood neighbors in Jaruco.
With no professional kitchen experience, Jaroff sought advice from his stepfather and, crucially, recruited chef-consultant Aya Iwatani, whose career over the past 12 years has covered neighborhood bars to fine dining, with stints at Alder and the NoMad in New York City, and Michelin Star-rated Castagna in Portland, Oregon. More recently, she was at Honeysuckle Provisions in West Philly as a consultant and pastry chef, before shifting her focus to consulting and recipe development.
“We both come from a mixed Asian background, and I really respect his family history, ideas, and business model,” Iwatani said. She explained her role as helping translate the flavors he grew up with and scaling those family recipes to a restaurant setting.
“There was a lot of trial and error around different components,” said Jaroff. A particular challenge was successfully scaling the same 10 ingredients for his grandmother’s marinade that had “moved with my family from China to Cuba, then to the US.”
New menu items were created, a vegan black bean chili oil tofu dip to accompany tapioca-based salt-and-pepper shrimp chips, or plantain chips seasoned with a mojo-spice blend — “that’s one that Aya created from scratch.” The plantain chips also come as a side with any of the sandwiches, which can be ordered in half or full portions ($8/$14).
The Solar Myth pop-up, held for the past two weekends and Mondays, returns for a final two-day run this Saturday and Sunday, from 2 to 7 p.m.
Beyond that, the search continues for a suitable brick-and-mortar. “It’s been tricky,” said Jaroff, finding an appropriately sized second-generation spot that fits his vision of a multi-cultural space.
“Growing up outside of Philly, not many people besides my brother looked like me,” he said. “I would have loved to have a space where I could see people with multiple cultures and backgrounds just share experiences and connect with one another.” Once a location is determined, the plan is to partner with organizations that focus on multicultural events, talks, and activities.
There’s the possibility of more pop-ups in the meantime, Jaroff said, as he continues to work on building relationships in an industry he’s new to.
“I’m super grateful to the Philadelphia food community,” he said. “Coming into it, I was worried it would be cut-throat, but I’ve been humbled by how nice and welcoming everyone has been.”
For more information, follow Chibanos on Instagram.
Solar Myth | 1131 S. Broad St | Chibanos: 2 to 7 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday; Solar Myth 8 to 2 a.m. daily.
