-Courtesy of Punch Media
photo by STARR Restaurants
Kiki Aranita, acclaimed chef and founder of Poi Dog Sauces is thrilled to team up with Fette Sau, the Fishtown BBQ-and-beyond restaurant created by Stephen Starr and New York restaurateur Joe Carroll, to announce a collaborative menu item available at the restaurant for the entire month of July! Hawaiian Pulled Pork ($12), crafted by Fette Sau Executive Chef Gus Bellingham and featuring Poi Dog Huli sauce and Chili Peppah Water, will be available every day for dine-in and take out during opening hours. Subsequently, Aranita and Poi Dog will pop-up at Fette Sau’s patio space for a celebratory Huli Hour featuring island-inspired bites and drinks, yard games, and more on Sunday, July 21 from 2 – 4 pm. The event is free to attend with food and drinks PAYG.
STARR Restaurants’ Fette Sau (1208 Frankford Ave, Fishtown), specializes in high-quality, locally sourced meats that are dry-rubbed and smoked for a remarkable take on American BBQ. The “sold by the pound’ menu which includes brisket, pork ribs, chicken and sausage also features a special item each month to highlight BBQ flavors – this is where Poi Dog sauces comes in! To create the Hawaiian Pulled Pork special, Executive Chef Gus Bellingham smothers pork butt in lava salt, cafe black pepper grounds, and his house-made rub before marinating it in Poi Dog’s Huli Sauce – bearing flavors of pineapple, miso, and Chinese five-spice, with pineapple enzymes breaking down meat proteins, resulting in a more flavorful, juicy bite. The pork is then wrapped in banana leaf and smoked on-premises until it is tender, ready to be pulled, and doused with Poi Dog’s Chili Peppah Water. Served with a side of Huli sauce for dipping, the Hawaiian Pulled Pork is available at Fette Sau the entire month of July.
“I’ve been a fan of Fette Sau for years so it’s exciting to have my sauces featured in the special this month,” commented Aranita. “The brightness from the pineapple in Huli sauce, plus the spicy tang from Chili Peppah Water brings the flavors of my childhood on O’ahu straight to Fishtown.”
Since closing her brick-and-mortar Poi Dog restaurant in 2020 and pivoting to making sauce, Aranita has toured the Greater Philadelphia area, New York City, and beyond collaborating with chefs, bars, and restaurants to create fun and delicious culinary innovations that showcase Poi Dog’s versatility across many styles of cuisine. These limited-time collaborations translate the brand’s ethos of delivering the flavors of Hawai’i to the mainland – making the Poi Dog and Fette Sau partnership a match made in meat-lovers’ heaven.
Long before he arrived at Fette Sau, Chef Gus Bellingham was in the barbeque game: After becoming versed in French, Japanese, and Italian cuisine, Bellingham was inspired by his wife’s North Carolinian roots and made the leap into the world of barbeque, and taking the helm at Fette Sau as Executive Chef.
“We had a lot of fun experimenting with the sauces and tying in Hawaiian flavors to a classic barbeque dish,” commented Bellingham. “I foresee the Hawaiian Pulled Pork being a popular item that opens the door to more collaborations in the future!”
On Sunday, July 21 from 2 – 5 pm, Aranita and Poi Dog Sauces will pop-up at Fette Sau’s sunny patio space for a celebratory Huli Hour, featuring the Hawaiian Pulled Pork and other Hawai’i-inspired barbeque, plus an Island-wide (citywide) special, featured cocktails, hula hoop contest, and more. The event is free to attend with food and drink specials PAYG, with Poi Dog Sauces and merch available for purchase on-site.
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