Cocina Filipina Fare in Milwaukee; check out what’s on the menu

They're not looking too bad. Thank you, brother. Hey, a new restaurant just added a little heat and a whole lot of flavor to Milwaukee's culinary scene. Brian Cramp is joining us from Cocina Filipina Fair, getting a look at the drinks, the food, the space. Dude, this has our attention. What's going on here? Oh, without a doubt, too. And Donovan, when you walk into the space, super comforting me. And then you smell the food. And Lupe, I know that you're very proud to have this space. But getting here took a little bit of time, I have to say. Last year, about a year ago, you guys had a fire, which devastated the kitchen that you worked out of. Was the goal starting a restaurant or was the goal finding a kitchen to replace that kitchen? Yeah, the goal was finding a kitchen. We were working, we were the only people in there, and basically once the fire hit, we We scrambled, you know, shout out to Tots who, Hannah from Tots, let us, you know, room with her for a little bit and we were sharing kitchens, but ultimately we needed something a little bit bigger and, you know, here we are and it came with the restaurant. I'll tell you, it looks great. You guys did great work. August 1st, you guys opened up a cocina, a Filipino fair, is Filipino food, but here's the confusing thing. You're Mexican. So when did you decide that Filipino Fair was going to be your jam? Yeah, so in general, we've always been, you know, into the Asian culture, Asian cuisine. We started in 2020 with Modern Maki sushi over at Zocalo Food Truck Park and you know that was it is still sushi, ramen, boba and so we've always had just an inkling for the Asian culture, Asian food. That's kind of our our original love and so in 2023 Three, uh... we decided to keep going on with the Filipino food and now here we are and we've been learning even more in these last 90 days we've gotten connected with a lot of good Filipino organizations. Fawis, a lot of the lovely ladies from that group have shared recipes with us. Oh, that's great. Have influenced us a lot. Yeah, and it is Filipino influence. So you can obviously say that, but also the food on the plate is like art. And that's the beautiful thing too, it backs it up with the taste, the way that it looks, and also the people that make it. So big congratulations to you, but obviously there's much more than food here, it's a community as well, and you know that from Zocalo Food Park, I mean you have two food trucks. That you can go to do different events that we're going to see a little bit later on. You can hold events here. It's a little bit of a hub for all things. You know, family get-togethers, great food, but also to share your talents as well. Yeah, absolutely. That's the number one thing. And that's a big reason why we wanted to come into the Washington Park neighborhood, is community. Everyone here has been so welcoming, rooted in rising, really helped us out in the beginning when we were opening. Alderman Stamper, the owners of the building really love the community. They own a couple properties in the area, and you can just tell by the beautiful building and they've kept the original ceiling, all these things that just really embodies and embraces the community. Yeah, I mean, it's a great space too, great food as well. And as I said, you guys have been open since August 1st, so when can we come in starting today to enjoy the food? Yeah, we're open. We're open every day, 11 to 8 p.m. Yeah. Every day. All right. Well, there you go, Lupe. I tell you, we're going to see more of the food. We didn't get to the dishes. I mean, they look amazing here. It is Filipino Fare, Cocina Filipino Fare, here at Newt's, the Washington Park area in Milwaukee. And we're going to see more from them coming up in the 7 o'clock hour. More Fox 6 Wake Up for you guys coming up after the break as well. Congratulations again. Excited from the first step inside, excuse me, to the first bite. Cocina Filipino Fare, giving customers plenty to discover. And this morning, Brian Kramp is taking a tour of the restaurant, seeing what's good, what's great, and what's amazing. Good morning, Brian. Yeah. I tell you what, I just need utensils so I can start digging in. This is one of the joys of being at a restaurant and getting to know not only the food, but getting to know the people behind the food. Lupe, you're one of those individuals that's so passionate about the food. You're putting it on a plate and I just love the way that it looks. Instagram ready? I would say so, without a doubt. You know, this is Filipino fare. Really, for you guys, you're not like overstepping your bounds, you're kind of creating what you know, but I just love the way this looks. What are we looking at, though? This is a Hot Chickie and this is a Hot Piggy. So I would say the Hot Piggy is a little bit more traditional in terms of the marinade that we use. It's the pork adobo, so it's an adobo style marinade. We have a garlic rice. Pretty much all of our rice bowls come with garlic rice. And it's a little bit more fusion because we add a sriracha aioli, red pickled onion, and green onion to it. Yeah, I'll tell you what the names, if you've ever had any of the food from the food truck, at Zogolo Food Park, from you guys, those two names stand out. Pretty popular dishes, wouldn't you say? Would you say the most popular dishes? I would say on the truck, these have been our heavy hitters, for sure, for a long time. Now, you don't have to accent it with the flowers, but you do. Are those edible as well? Those are technically edible, but I always like to say, you know, fruit punch is drinkable, but it's just a bunch of dye. Okay, fair enough. We will go into the minutes of the second dish. Which is? This is a hot chicky, so it's a grilled chicken that we do. Right now we're actually cooking it as we speak. Garlic rice and then same kind of toppings, red pickled onion, green onion, and sriracha chili, which we all make in-house. Yeah, when you walk into a home, like a Filipino home, you smell the spices, you smell the oils, you smell the food. This is a faint scent here. Not overwhelming by any means, but what comes off the plate is so intriguing too. Parts of this is not only the way that it looks, but it's the rice. That's in there. I mean, that right there is full and packed with flavor. Can you share any of the spices that you're using? Yeah, honestly, our garlic rice is extremely simple. Just that? It's a bunch of garlic, pepper, salts, and a little bit of oil, and that's it. Yeah. There's nothing, there's no magic to it. I swear, you know, people think they're tough, but it's super tasty. And memorable as well. And then beverages, too. I know you have some cocktails, but which one is that, a lemonade? This is a calamansi lemonade. So a calamansi is a native fruit to the Philippines, And we try to keep it as, you know, Pretty much the same. We add a little bit of sugar, but basically it's just pure calamansi, you know, a little bit of water and sugar. But it's the calamansi that really gives it a unique flavor. I love it. I love the uniqueness of it. I also love the fact that you guys are here in Washington Park neighborhood of Milwaukee. Congratulations, guys. We have more dishes to show you here. More from Cocina Filipina Fair in Milwaukee and more Fox 6 Wake Up coming back after the break as well. Looks great. Congrats again on a new restaurant. Sir, you know, there is more than meets the eye at Cocina Filipina Fair and Brian Cramp is going behind the scenes to see this food that makes this new restaurant come alive. Brian, good morning to you. This seems like a place I want to visit. Yeah, without a doubt, too. You're going to want to bring a lot of people because the space in the back has plenty of room for a community gathering. Before we get going, Lupe, to the style of food and how we're going to eat the food in a community gathering. What is this delicious smelling? Is that a soup? This is a sinigang soup. It's a sweet and sour tamarind broth soup. This is a pork belly kind, but you can make it, I mean, many kinds of ways. It's very hearty, very, you know, lots of veggies, pork belly. So it's got like a little bit of fat in it. But it's so like the broth just really like clears you out. It's sweet and sour and, you know. On a colder fall morning, going into the flu season if you will, I bet you that does wonders for the body. Yes. You have so many great dishes here, this is space that is meant for gathering in the back. Talk about the style of eating, because we have some pictures, which is really interesting, but talk about the style of eating that is done back here compared to the restaurant. Yeah, so we book the back out for Kamayan events or a Boodle fight, but basically it's where there's banana leaves laid out on the table. And then we just pile it on. So just rice, pan set, meat, all these dishes on top of this banana, these banana leaves, and it looks very beautiful. We decorate them. It's quite fun to do, honestly, and to see one being made. And then everyone, you know, in traditional ways, there would be no plates, no cutlery. You're just, you know, going at it with your hands. Yeah, just pick at it. But definitely back here we have like, you know, plates, utensils and whatnot. But it's just a beautiful So, yeah. You know, we just did one this past weekend for our 50th birthday, and it was just nice to see all the family gathering and watching us build it, and you know, everyone was so excited. I bet you a lot of pictures were taken, obviously. I mean, it's one thing to see them and see the pictures, but it's also part of the experience and experience as being here because you get to gravitate towards Exactly what you like, but you want to try everything, right, in that situation. Now, the history of it is unique, too, because it really goes back to kind of the Filipinos serving their country in their armed forces, too. So that's how they gathered to eat during a day. Possibly fighting, you know, which, which is interesting for you. You've been fighting the good fight for quite some time. When did you switch to the culinary world? Because you weren't always in the restaurant industry. Was it 2020? Yes. 2020. We opened up Modern Maki. Um, I was at my corporate job and, uh, my partner was a head sushi chef out in Waikiki at the time, and it was during COVID. So, you know, the restaurant industry was super, you know, you don't even know what was going to happen with the new laws, with, I mean, it was, it was absolutely, um, a weird time, but you know, one day we, we saw this trailer out and we were like, should we just do this? And I said, uh, yeah. But you wouldn't recommend that to anybody just starting a restaurant now, would you? No, definitely not. Definitely not. And, you know, at the time, I always say, oh, I'm so excited to be my own boss and work less. But it's really the opposite. Yeah. You're your own boss and you work like double the time because you put in 80 hours a week. And I think that's one thing that a lot of people need to understand, too. When you're going to a new restaurant, whether it's here at Cocina, Filipino Fair or somewhere else, it's like, be patient. You know, this is not an easy industry to be in. And when you're delivering food that's of this quality, that looks this good, tastes this good, you know they're putting in the time and their passions and their talents into this. Congratulations again, Lupe. I mean, everything we've seen so far has been great. You know, we're going to go outside. I think we're going to check out those food trucks, reminding people that, yeah, they're part of a community as well. But, you know, having a new brick-and-mortar restaurant means that they're going to be doing more in the community as well. Wonderful. And it's so important, too, to have a diverse food scene for all of us. And so, props to them. It's like traveling without leaving your own community. I love that. You know? You're exactly right, though. All right, we'll be right back. Welcome back, everybody. Cocina Filipina Fair started with a food truck three years ago now, and they recently opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant, and it looks fabulous. Brian Cramp is checking it out this morning, and he's also seeing the new flavors that they're bringing to Vleet Street. Okay, what are those? Looks great. Yeah. But right here, this is a staple of food trucks. We're actually outside by one of their food trucks right now, Nicola. These are the Turon and then Lupe. Filled with what, though, in here? Because I know that these are hand-rolled daily. Yes. Not just for the food truck, but for the restaurant as well. Yes. They have plantains on the inside, chocolate chips, and then it's in a spring roll sheet, and then caramel on top. Oh, yeah, drizzle that caramel on top of that. I tell you what, you're not tricking me into eating this. I'll just dive in willingly, 100%. But, of course, you're serving all of this. We didn't get to see these. We saw them in the restaurant as well. Another staple out here of the food truck, but also in the new brick-and-mortar restaurants. Yes. These are the lumpia. We carry a couple different kinds, vegetarian and then some meat kind, but lumpia is basically like a Filipino egg roll. I will say, normally they're short and a little bit thicker, but we make ours long and thin. So Filipino egg roll that's long and thin, so inside there are options of what you can get to as well, and anybody that's had it. I will say this there's a crisp to these that is so nice and refreshing then that that warmth of whatever it's filled with whatever your choice would be and then we saw this earlier on but just let's revisit it real quick hot piggy no the hot piggy rice pork and then red pickled onion green onion and sriracha yeah now we're out here by your food truck one of two food trucks You guys travel around a lot. You do private events, you do catering, you do some sort of like food truck festivals once in a while. How do we book you and I guess how far out are you booking? Yes, we book out as far as a year out. You can book the food trucks, you can get a kamayan on site wherever you're going to have. We do regular buffet style caterings. We've done weddings, we've done, you know, Pretty much anything, we're always willing to work with whoever wants to, you know, order. We also just do pickup catering. Same day, you could do the same order pickup. So a little bit of everything, and we do a bunch of events. So if you have an event, you know, give us a call. You can Google us, the number. We have a website. You can submit a form, but whatever is easiest. Yeah, well, I'll tell you, it's not easy to drive this thing. There's a learning curve involved when you have a food truck because obviously there's supply, there's equipment, but then there's also the care of the truck and the driving of the truck and making sure the food's ready. What was that learning curve for you like, knowing that you didn't come from the industry and you had to all consume that very quickly? Yes, well, for Modern Maki, I remember we started out in a 10-foot trailer. It was, you know, very small, and now we have a ginormous truck on site at Zocalo, so it goes from, like, zero to 100 on how much space, and... We have a green truck Lulu. That's our first Cocina truck and my first love really but you know It's much smaller than this truck. Yeah, and it's just you know, I remember the beginning It would take me like almost an hour and a half to two hours just to set up because you know You don't know what you don't know. I'll tell you what yeah, you don't know what you don't know and if you don't No Filipino food. These guys do it pretty good as well. Fox Local for more information, guys. Lulu, we're going to go back inside. And there's that other one. What did you call this one before? The green one? Lulu. There's Lulu. This is Cocina Filipina Fair, new in the Washington Park neighborhood of Milwaukee. More Fox 6 Wake Up coming back after break, guys. Thanks so much. After a commercial kitchen fire in late 2025, Cocina Filipina Fair turned a setback into a brand new start. Brian Cram joins us live from the Washington Park neighborhood, seeing how their restaurant has become a bit of a new home base, if you will, for so many workers and customers in this community. Hey, Brian. Yeah, without a doubt. Donovan, so again, we just came from outside where you have two of your food trucks parked in a giant garage. I mean, it's kind of fitting that you were able to move into a space here that not only can house those trucks, but a kitchen that can do all the cooking for the catering, for the food trucks, for the restaurants. It's almost as if... The fire ended up being a really good thing for your business and the future of Coatzina Filipina Fair. Let's get to that fire, though. Devastation, obviously, for you guys. What was it like knowing when you walked into the scene and saw everything ruined? All right. It was very surreal. You know, it's one of those things that it's just, you just never think it's going to happen Mm-hmm. And... All these things that you work hard for, all these things that, you know, it seems kind of trivial, but, you know, you think about, wow, this is the first stove I bought. This is, you know, it's a piece of equipment that's expensive, you know, all these things. And even to the last spoon, I'm sure any restaurateur entrepreneur will say the smallest thing is still, you know, money and it's still lost. But it was devastation. I mean, just the pictures alone, I can't believe. Absolutely. And that's the aftermath, obviously. We didn't even get to see it, you know, when it was going on. You walk into that. Are you done at that point? Are you like, just look, I'm done or I'm immediately in your head? Are you saying, hey, how can we bounce back? Because I wouldn't see that. At the time, we were just like, well, how can we reopen as quickly as we can? Yeah, that was really the goal, especially because we were just midseason at Panther Arena. You know, yeah, definitely. It was. I was quite, you know, sad for a long time, but really the community showed up. We got a lot of support, you know, messages. We did a small GoFundMe. Yeah. So just so many things that really the community reached out and, you know, said, hey, how are you doing? And that's really, you know, what kept us going. Well, it must mean the world to you to know also that that backing was there. And then... it was like the light at the end of the tunnel comes this restaurant this space that opens up in the Washington Park neighborhood yeah almost like it was meant to be like your your new home is here now um for you guys it's it's so much more than just putting food on the plate It's continuing, you know, I guess the traditions that you started, but it's also forming those new alliances and friendships that stand the test of time. What will you say to those people that helped you get over the hump to where you are today? What do you want to say? You know, just thank you so much. And at the time of the GoFundMe even, there were people that, one, I have never met, yeah you know, that I could tell, like. This is a random donation, right, customers that we had that, you know, I may not have like... My self-serve, but they were reaching out and saying, hey, you know, we feel for you. That's awesome. Good luck, and yeah, I mean. I love it when a community comes together, too, and if it comes over a nice plate of food, I'm all for that. Yeah, absolutely. It's always great seeing you. Congratulations with the new location, your first brick and mortar. It's got to feel good to get this under your wings, and the food on the table, there you go. Yeah, Filipino-inspired dishes here, getting a little bit more traditional based on some of the feedback they've gotten, but. Yeah, if you're looking for a different taste, you want to try some serious flavor in your food, definitely swing by this new restaurant here off of 38th and Elite in the Washington Park neighborhood. Congrats again. I'm eyeing, I don't know what it's called, but it looks like, and I don't mean to be disrespectful, but it looks like soup or like broth. Okay, that? It's right there. Yes. Oh, I know. It looks amazing. On a day like today, cold, November. On a day like today, exactly. Gloomy. Dark. From Filipino favorites to a story of perseverance, there's plenty to admire about Cocina Filipina Fair, and Brian Kramp spent the morning on Bleach Street. He got a first-hand look at why this new restaurant is really a must-stop, Brian. Yeah, definitely. Without a doubt, you know, if you know anything about Lupe and their partner, they're passionate individuals and they bring some serious flavor. They've been doing it since the year 2020 with Modern Maki, of course, Cocina Filipina Fair, and this brick and mortar just adds to their lineup. Oh, well, we're talking about a restaurant, so we got to talk about the food here. How was it? I didn't get to sample the food, to be honest. I've had some of it before, but there was nothing that I actually tried today. So I was super actually... I'm surprised, to be honest. I thought I was going to be eating some food, but I didn't try anything. Everything looked amazing. The smells off the plates, too. Wow. That stood out. There was one dish that was like a Filipino soup that looked really nice and warm and hearty. But everything, like Instagram ready, to say the least. I do feel like the sense of a dish is half the experience. So at least you got to smell these dishes, even if you didn't get to taste them. You also showed us around, I mean, several different parts of the restaurant. What kind of makes these spaces so unique, Brian? Yeah, it just has an inviting kind of space, whether it's inside and you walk in and there's seats, there's a bar there, the back, it's a private area. They just recently had a party for a 50th anniversary or birthday, I should say. And I know that the guests enjoyed themselves and the service was great. But also the food was what really kind of stands out. As you can see, some of the things that they put on the table. Well, I. I'm just going to say this, like, I know how good Filipino food is. This stuff, they've been working on some of the recipes. They've had guests come in and kind of help them tweak things over the course of the years that they opened up Cocina Filipina. But now that they have the restaurant, they are ready to go. And I feel like, you know, there's more to a restaurant than just its menu. Tell me a little bit more about their story and really their future. Wow. What a story, too. So last December, the kitchen that they worked out of actually had a fire. Total devastation. And, you know, bouncing back from that when you're in the restaurant industry is a difficult thing to do because that was a lot of equipment that they purchased. First time stoves, as well as many other things. So this actually, the fire was. Probably one of the better things that could have happened to them because they found the space then in the Washington Park neighborhood, and then they were able to have this larger kitchen for their commercial side, where they do a lot of catering, and then of course with the two food trucks. So they added space, they added a garage for their food trucks, and an entirely new part of the business, which is now this brick and mortar. That's, I love whenever you can hear, you know, good coming from bad and this new opportunity that came from the fire and how they're continuing to feed the community here with their recipes and their menu. Everything just looked so good, Brian. It really did too. And next time I'll try it, I promise. Okay. It's a plan. It's a plan. Brian Kramp here joining us on Wake Up. Thanks so much. We'll see you soon. Yeah. Well, it is a hot commodity.