Philly Sake Club offers unexpected pairings and a shared learning experience at Queen Village’s Little Fish
Five types of sake, a themed charcuterie, and a “casual and intimate” learning experience can be expected at Philly Sake Club gatherings, with two tastings scheduled for this Sunday at Little Fish in Queen Village, at 5:30 and 7:45 p.m.
The concept comes from Jacob Trinh, currently chef de cuisine at Alex Yoon’s Little Fish. The drive behind launching Philly Sake Club, he explained, was an interest in experimenting with sake outside the confines of Japanese cuisine.
“You eat sushi and drink sake, and that’s like the classic pairing,” the 27-year-old told Billy Penn. “I wanted to kind of push the boundary in seeing what other things sake can be paired with.”
At the meetups, held on one or two Sundays a month, paired foods are presented in a themed charcuterie style — past examples have included a selection of tinned fish, a bánh mì board with shrimp-and-pork lotus root salad and prawn cracker sides, and a spread of sammies. “Hoagies, Reubens, grilled cheeses,” said Trinh. “Things that you would not typically try with sake.”
Once the spread is set, Trinh pours the first of five types of sake. Attendees — numbering 18 at the most, to facilitate group conversation — taste the sake on its own and with the paired food, then compare notes with each other before Trinh shares the brewer’s own.
“Sake, just like wine, is very [subjective],” Trinh said. “So, it’s always fun to see people who get those brewer’s notes correct, and others who are like, totally left field.”
Key to the concept is the range of sake offered. A typical Sake Club lineup will feature a Junmai or pure rice sake, as well as Ginjo and Daiginjo varieties, both traditionally made with lower percentages of milled rice. The selection is rounded out with Honjozo and Nigori sakes; the former distinguished by the addition of brewer’s alcohol and ideally served warm, the latter translating to “cloudy” due to a coarser filtering process resulting in a thicker, often sweeter sake.
For each tasting, Trinh sources sake brands he hasn’t previously tried. The idea for the club came out of an eagerness to “learn more about sake,” he said. “This was a way to fund that process while sharing my knowledge with other people.”
Born in Philly to a Vietnamese family, Trinh’s interest in sake was sparked during a full-ride scholarship, courtesy of the Careers through Culinary Arts Program, to Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. There, he met chef James Mark, who had a working relationship with Mutual Trading Company, one of the leading sake importers in the U.S.
For Trinh, the appeal was immediate. “As someone who doesn’t drink that often or that much,” he said, “I found sake to be very easy on my body, [without] as many hangovers.”
After moving back to Philly and joining the opening team at Vernick Fish, Trinh took on the role of executive chef at Caphe Roasters, where he first launched Philly Sake Club, later carrying it over to Little Fish.
It remains a mostly one-man operation. Trinh preps the food using ingredients sourced from his usual purveyors, and handles setting up and breaking down the seatings, occasionally requesting assistance from a front of house team member.
Since launching Philly Sake Club an estimated 14 tastings ago — along with a few private events — Trinh said he’s been pleased to see a broadening range in attendees.
“This is for people who are new to sake, but I greatly appreciate having people who know more than me,” he said. “I’ve had people who are much more experienced in sake come to these events and share their own info and experience. So, it’s all an information exchange — we’re all learning together.”
Costs for tickets range from $50 to $100 per person, depending on the tasting’s food menu. Seatings typically run 90-120 mins. Private tastings are available for parties of 8 or more.
This Sunday’s tasting will be held at Little Fish, 746 S. 6th Street, at 5:45 and 7 p.m. Tickets are priced at $80 per person, and can be purchased here. Menu details have not yet been announced.For more info, follow @phillysakeclub.
