MEET: Ala Ala
The chefs behind the Filipino-Am pop-up talk grandmas, Jeff’s Record Shop, and pizza
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
The chefs behind Ala Ala talk to The Dishing about grandmas, music, pizza and what’s next.
Nick Furnia. Sous chef, Hamlet & Ghost IG: @coffeecretin | Tip Jar: venmo: @nick-furnia
Arvin Clemente. Line chef, Familiar Creature. IG @Arvin.468 | Tip Jar: venmo: @Arvin-48
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Welcome to The Dishing Quick Serve where we talk with tastemakers in the hospitality industry + trailblazers at the intersection of food, culture + art.
Nick is the young entrepreneur behind sustainable coffee roastery, Knockabout Coffee, which he started aged 17 while in high school, and the former owner of Nomad Coffee and Crepes in Ballston Spa. Shifting gears, he staged at Cleo in Kingston and Hamlet & Ghost in Saratoga Springs where he’s now sous chef in Chef Alex Lempka’s experimental kitchen.
Arvin literally just joined the kitchen at Familiar Creature, the new Phila Street sibling of Hamlet & Ghost after leaving the Albany location of Hattie's where he was chef de cuisine. It's a full circle moment having previously worked for chef Michele Hunter at Unified Beerworks Taproom, but the SCCC graduate’s resume spans Yono’s in Albany and Salt & Char in Saratoga. We’re chatting about Ala Ala, the duo’s Filipino-inspired pop up that held a 5-course dinner at Farmacy in Glens Falls, an à la carte Filipino menu at Hamlet & Ghost and a Pinoy bbq at Wolf Hollow Brewing in Schenectady last year. Since we last spoke, both are newly engaged. Congratulations, guys! Let’s get into it:
SDP: First, how are you rolling into the week?
Nick: I work Monday to Friday and I pull up to the restaurant at noon every day – except Tuesday which is extra busy/early for me. I show up around 8:45ish, 9:00am, do special orders, compile kitchen tips, and prep for the day right up until service begins at 5pm.
Arvin: On off-days, other than grocery or household chores, my fiance and I like to go to a diner for breakfast each Monday. Tuesdays are a rest day to prepare for the work week ahead.
SDP: When did you start cooking?
Arvin: I grew up in the Philippines, so I was always surrounded by the food my grandmother and family would cook. I wasn't super adventurous as a kid, but I didn't necessarily really cook. I was working towards being an engineer because my dad was an engineer but halfway through senior year my dad told me he actually wasn't happy being an engineer, he was just doing a job. He told me to pursue something I would be passionate about and I came up with cooking so pretty much right after high school I pursued cooking. As a senior in high school I was reading Kitchen Confidential which kind of told me how it really was and excited me but also gave me a false narrative because pretty much everywhere I worked wasn’t like that…
Nick: I've been cooking since I was like four or five. My grandma lived down the street from my parents’ house and every Sunday we’d do themed dinners and she’d pick a different grandchild to cook with… We'd spin a globe and pick, so I ended up being introduced to a lot of cuisine I otherwise wouldn't until later in life. I think the first one was Egyptian cuisine – like the food of ancient Egypt. I remember I did Norway one time. I did TV dinners… so it was just a bunch of fun concepts and that introduced me to cooking at an early age.
I didn't put much thought into what it was or doing it as a career. I always wanted to be an artist – I was very interested in illustration at an early age and I thought I was going to pursue graphic design or something visual. I feel like you can channel the same artistic energy into whatever it is you're doing and food is really important. When our lease expired at Nomad Coffee & Crepes, I wanted to make it better somehow and I thought food would be the way to do it. I applied to every place where I thought I’d really like to work and Hamlet and Ghost was one that offered me a three-day stage. They hired me at the end of the first day and two months in I just knew I wanted to keep doing this. I've got a long way to go.
SDP: You both worked at Next Door Kitchen & Bar in Ballston Spa. Was that where you met and how did the idea for Ala Ala start?
Nick: No, no, our paths never crossed at Next Door. Funny enough, we met at a record store, but we went to Ballston High School and would randomly talk but weren't really friends. We did a film photography class; I still do film photography to this day but we actually ended up talking at Jeff's record shop.
Arvin: …and it wasn't about food. We were just talking about music or records and I followed him on Instagram because I was dining at Nomad Coffee and Crepes somewhat frequently over the summer before I got busy as a cook and he was posting food once he was at Hamlet. We started talking about food and he brought it up that maybe we should do something together.
Nick: Bro, that was your idea. It was totally his idea. I posted on my story, I did like a vichyssoise with like flakes of cod in it. And it's this inside joke between me and my girlfriend. Like I made this dish in the past and I just call it fishie swazz. I posted it and he DM 'ed me. He's like: “Warm or cold?” Yeah, cause, he's trying to catch me.
Arvin: I'm like, “Is this a warm preparation or cold?” Vichyssoise has to be cold, but he told me it's warm.
Nick: Yeah, I mean, it's cold but had warm flakes of cod. Yeah, I wanted to do something with him and I was happy that he was like “maybe we should do something together.”
Arvin: Yeah, so if it was you who started it or me… I still wanted something to happen. I was just building up to it. Anyway, after we agreed we had a few meetings and did like an intense 6 to 8 month R&D. We met week after week, 2 or 3 hours or more, and would just R&D. No matter how busy we were, we would find a way once a week.
Nick: I like design and creating experiences that are going to be memorable for people. That's why we do this. Like it starts with having a strong brand, a strong visual identity and that’s how you hook people and show them who you are when they're seated at your pop -up, you know.
SDP: Ala Ala means memories in Tagalog. What are your strongest food memories + how do they connect to Ala Ala?
Nick: When I first had Pancit, which is like noodles and pork, like I remember hating that dish as a kid. Both my grandparents are from Manila. Circling back to these foods now just has a whole different value. Food that I hated once I like now – I cherish that. I think my palate has definitely changed, but I like the fact that I have such a strong memory attached to something as simple as noodles and pork, right? That’s my grandmother on my mom's side.
Arvin: My grandmother, you know, used to cook Filipino spaghetti and it's crazy because every single person cooks Filipino spaghetti differently, but the only time I've seen somebody do this is my grandmother: She puts Filipino canned corned beef in - which makes zero sense and is actually a really crazy idea, but still to this day she made the best Filipino corned beef. I mean she was just the best cook in general. Like my mom likes to hold back in salt because she says it’s unhealthy for you, but my grandmother always seasoned things perfectly how I liked.
SDP: What do you draw inspiration from?
Arvin: Well, I think in terms of like sentiment and just like giving me the boost to pursue this I’d say my grandma on my father's side…
Nick: I know it's weird but what influenced me most is the French chefs I researched during the ‘90s and 2000s where there's barely any information about them, before social media. I liked digging and finding sort of secret information about the food they cook, the recipes they do, why they became popular in the first place… But I have to say my biggest influence right now is my chef [Alex Lempka at Hamlet & Ghost] – he's the reason why I've stayed on the line for so long.
Arvin: Yeah, before social media no one cared about chefs. In my head I was like, “Why are these chefs so successful? What do they do differently?” I wanted to figure out why. I never thought I'd be cooking Filipino food. I told my chef four years ago that I had never cooked Filipino Food because I always wanted to do French.
SDP: Can you talk about the Ala Ala menus and describe a favorite dish?
Nick: We wanted to do something that's dynamic, something that feels sophisticated but also punk rock, you know. Our aesthetic is not refined. It's meant to feel a little grungy and I don't know - I think that's a solid expression of who we are and what we're into.
Arvin: Yeah, if you see our menus, it's all strong kicks and strong punches. I feel that’s our thing. Once we started not holding back, not trying to give too much leeway to customers – like maybe they didn’t want too much flavor - but our customers started demanding more flavor.
And also at first we were like, we have a Filipino pop-up but we were realizing it's not Filipino enough, so we said Filipino-American because that's how we’re actually able to express ourselves. You know, we're not just Filipino. We didn't spend all our lives in the Philippines and move here. I have a strong French influence, Nick has a strong Noma influence which I don't have. We're both completely different – insanely, completely, different. That's why I feel like we both matched the same way.
Nick: And for a favorite dish, I think halo-halo. I guess that's something we've done twice now, but sort of flipped. So, halohala just means to mix-mix, so it's a medley of mixed sweets and not only pretty but tasty. I just wanted to pair it down and concentrate the flavors to their essence. Halo-halo is what people's memory of it is so for the last pop -up that we did tapioca pearls, we did pandan jelly and lychees which are just like sentimental memories because I used to go to the Asian markets with my mom and she'd buy these canned pitted lychees. I’d put them on my fingers and pretend I was an alien. So it was just like a playful thing…
Arvin: As a Filipino pop-up we have to try to at least put adobo in every single menu because everybody does it completely differently. Some people want a slurry, a gravy, some people like it soupy. I think my family love it somewhat soupy because we pour it over rice. So we try to concentrate how to deliver adobo more intensely but not so rustic and messy. We marinate a lot of our meats that way and grill them to intensify the flavor but not make you full with one dish.
SDP: What’s your favorite dish and where do you like to go for it?
Nick: Pancit at Chee-Bog
Arvin: Ramen is my favorite, specifically Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen. My go-to is Tanpopo Albany.
SDP: What’s your go-to cocktail (or N/A drink) and who/where makes it best round here?
Nick: I forgot how much I loved Boulevardiers, until last week, when Tim O’Connel from Hamlet & Ghost sent a likely-misfired one back to the kitchen. It was bangin’, and it’d be my go-to over a negroni any day of the week.
Arvin: I like citrusy and sweet cocktails like a gimlet. I like to go to Nighthawks for gimlets and they always have interesting cocktail specials as well.
SDP: Let’s talk about style. What’s your favorite clothing brand or preferred work brand?
Nick: Head-to-toe, I wear almost exclusively Tilit at work–save for a pair of non-slip Birkenstocks I only wear for dinner service. I like thrifted stuff but for new then Uniqlo clothes are a solid bet. I like boxy fitting stuff and I don't wear a lot of graphics, I keep it simple.
Arvin: My preferred work brand is Bragard. Their aprons and coats are all I wear at work. At home, I guess Carhartt and Teddy Fresh – I like stuff to be oversized and comfy.
SDP: How about music. What are you listening to currently either at work or at home?
Nick: Right now I’m listening to DIIV (favorite song: Brown Paper Bag); Dean Blunt (favorite song: Chucking It); Van Houten (favorite song: Panoramic View) and Chat Pile (favorite song: Milk of Human Kindness). I really like this band called Bar Italia - it's like a three-piece group - and Hotline TNT…
Arvin: At work I like to switch between jazz from Art Blakey or Lee Morgan during prep and Deftones during service. At home I listen to a mix like Chet Baker, Cigarettes After Sex, Aventura, Led Zeppelin, and Tribe Called Quest
SDP: Can you tell me 3 places you like for breakfast, lunch + dinner in the 518?
Nick: My guilty pleasure for breakfast is Compton’s in Saratoga. It’s a ridiculously-inexpensive, utilitarian meal, but it always hits the spot on a Sunday morning after a busy week at the restaurant. For a casual lunch or dinner, Taqueria Guadalajara in Ballston Spa is the easiest recommendation I could possibly offer. Nighthawks in Troy is one of my favorite spots in the 518, and I love that their menu is so focused and isn’t absurdly huge. They also take great care of service-industry people and have industry nights on Sundays.
Arvin: Breakfast at Triangle Diner in Saratoga, lunch at Azuma Sushi Bistro in Malta, dinner at Saigon Spring, my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Clifton Park.
SDP: It’s your day/night off, reservations are no issue. Where are you going?
Nick: Chicago: Drinks at Aviary, followed by dinner at Elske, and then dessert and more drinks at the Pearl Club.
Arvin: After probably spending too much money shopping in Soho, NYC. Dinner at Sartiano’s - with one order of their focaccia per person at the table because it is just that good. After that cocktails at Overstory.
SDP: Where would be your ideal quick out of town trip?
Nick: I’d love to make my way out to Portland, Maine, with my fiance this summer. She’s got friends she visits out there, but I’ve actually never been and there are a handful of restaurants I’m eager to try like Twelve, a modern New England restaurant, helmed by Daniel and EMP alum, Colin Wyatt. I’d also love to buy some new knives from Strata while in town.
Arvin: Ideal quick out of town trip for me will always be Puerto Rico, specifically Cabo Rojo. I’d drive to the beach and stop at the kiosks/stalls at the side of the road.
SDP: What’s your approach to workplace well being? How can restaurants create a culture of wellness? How do you relax?
Nick: Of course there's gonna be employers that take advantage of people. I mean you don't have to shout for people to be scared of you. It could just be a look. But well-being, I think, just depends on the person. I personally want to work a good amount and I want to have a certain amount of off time but once I have too much time off I go crazy.
Arvin: I'm trying to work on leadership and mentoring because I love mentoring people and it leads to an overall improvement in the industry. Sooner or later I am trying to be a head chef and when I get there I want to be ready and I wanna know how to lead people and read people. To relax, I just like to stay at home and spend time with my fiancee. I mean, it's bad, but when you work so hard you have to find a way to balance it out. When I was at Salt and Char and working six days a week during the track season I found myself eating out very often and struggled somewhat to keep a healthy balance.
Nick: Yeah, I smoked a lot of weed. I like to make music or just creative projects. I edited our documentary that we made of our pop ups; I’ve been finishing a few songs, and I don't really watch a lot of TV. I do like gardening but whatever time is spent outside of the house is usually roasting coffee for Knockabout and making labels or bagging orders.
Arvin: Yeah, people expect “oh you worked 64 hours you're just gonna like sleep the whole time” but on my day off I want to enjoy some time outside.
Nick: We're gonna go foraging soon. Ramps and morels…
SDP: We’ve seen the pandemic shift in dining trends, fewer walk-ins, people staying home or ordering in, and the rise of pop ups and in-restaurant programming. What do you see for the future of restaurants/bars?
Nick: I think dining is always gonna trickle down – you know the fine dining starts seeping into casual and you're just gonna see cooler and cooler casual dining like Momofuku-ization of dishes. You’re gonna go to a really normal cafe and see something pretty cool and it won't even be surprising you'll kind of start expecting stuff to be cool.
On a somewhat regional level, I find restaurants are leaning harder into their concepts… and I’ve been noticing a lot of hi-fi lounges popping up with a natural wine focus. As those things become more saturated it's going to force people into even deeper or more obscure niches…so I think it’s going to keep things fairly fresh and dynamic over here. Plus restaurants are not opening as big anymore. It's like the smaller they are, the riskier they get with their concept which is cool.
Christian Puglisi is a NOMA co-founder. He opened Relae but opened Baest doing a pizza shop. I mean his entire MO is creating the world's best pizza. So, like okay, it's pizza, but I respect that drive to hyper-fixate on something and develop a strong consumer base.
Arvin: That's me with Wylie Dufresne because I was such a big fan of WD-50 and now I’m also excited for him to be doing Stretch because he is applying that talent to pizza.
SDP: What’s the future of Ala Ala?
Nick: We’re keeping our ears to the ground. We never really had an end-goal with this pop-up, we just wanted to make something that felt new while staying true to ourselves and the food we grew up sharing with our families. We’ve been able to gauge demand for Fil-Am cuisine with the handful of events we’ve done so far, and it’s definitely there. We intend to tackle more dates in the future. Right now, we’re just mulling over what we’d like to try next with this concept.
Arvin: I feel like Nick and I are finally at a point in our careers to finally focus back on Ala Ala and explore it further. To push and see how small or big this pop up can be. We’re always open to collaborations with anyone in the industry and we are continuously looking for that next pop up space.
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Answers have been edited for clarity and length. - SDP