The restaurant Spice & Cleaver was born when three brothers—chef Quito, Martin and DJ Jose of Brother’s Burgers fame—collaborated with chef Miguel Gianan. They not only admired Gianan’s creativity, but also took notice of his many ideas.
The Joses felt they were a perfect fit, finding joy in the same things, such as eating with family and having a fondness for meat. They also shared one dream—to open a steak, chop and sausage house.
Tutelage
Miguel’s love affair with sausage-making began under the tutelage of a master butcher and sausage-maker, the late Michael Beck, who introduced the famous Nürnberger sausage to the Philippines in 2007 when he opened Mickey’s Deli.
Grateful for having trained under one of the best in the field, Miguel continues to pay homage to his mentor by making the classics (Nürnberger, bockwurst, bratwurst, debriziner, kielbasa, cheese krainer, Italian), just as he was taught by Beck. He makes them the traditional way, upholding the highest standards and making use of natural ingredients without extenders.
As he evolved into becoming an artisanal sausage-maker himself, Gianan slowly felt the need to express himself through his own creations.
“As a sausage maker, you can stuff anything and make it into a sausage,” he said. “But knowing the skills and techniques of a butcher/sausage maker plus having the tongue and creativity of a chef makes creating new flavors easier.”
Happy get-together
Recently, chefs Fernando Aracama, J Gamboa, James Antolin, Mia Yan and I, upon the invitation of our dear friend Quito, had lunch at Spice & Cleaver.
What an interesting and happy get-together it was.
The sausages were brought to us on wooden boards with a medley of sides.
The first selection consisted of Sisig sausage (the favorite pulutan in sausage form) with tofu sisig; Adobo sausage (pork sausage with soy sauce, vinegar and a lot of garlic) with inihaw na ensaladang kamatis with egg; Chiang Mai (Thai pork, curry, chili, lime leaves) with carrot and cucumber achara; and fresh chorizo with pickled green chili and sitaw.
After that came another wooden slab of sausages: Lamb with olive (black olives, cheese, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest); Texmex (habanero, cheese, lemon zest, Mexican spices); Pizza (tomato, cheese, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary); Mexican (smoked pork sausage, sun-dried tomato, cilantro, jalapeño, Mexican spices); and 3 Li’l Pigs (chorizo, bacon and bratwurst) sausages.
The sausages were served with gravy alongside delicious, lumpy skin-on mashed potatoes, delectable sauerkraut sautéed in bacon and an assortment of mustards.
Reading through the description of the sausages was enough to rouse the appetite.
It was a memorable experience to savor as many as we did. To think that we only had half of the sausages the resto has on offer!
Personal taste
But little bites left us full and satisfied. Each of the sausages had its character and unique flavor—the adobo was reminiscent of adobo; the pizza, like pizza; and the sisig… well, almost but not quite, as it comes in sausage form, after all.
What becomes your favorite is all a matter of personal taste. I took a liking to the 3 Li’l Pigs and the Lamb and Olive. Both were flavor-packed, complex and juicy. Each bite hit the spot.
I had a penchant for the soft pretzel as well. It was delicious! So soft and chewy.
Complementing the sausages is an extensive selection of beers—Weihenstephan from the oldest brewer in the world, Inedit the Beer of El Bulli, and IPA (India Pale Ale) beers from Anderson Valley, to name a few.
We capped our meal with Chili Caramel Chocolate Cake with Truffle Strawberry Jam and Rum Marinated Dried Fruits—a cake of delightfully intriguing tastes and flavors.
Spice & Cleaver is where Chef Miguel transforms his ever playful ideas into one-of-a-kind dishes.
You may opt to dine at the restaurant or simply buy his sausages.
Spice & Cleaver is at the Lower Level, Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons; tel. 7030237
