Philly Pickle Company Hosting 'Feast of the Seven Pickles'

PHILADELPHIA — Italian Americans often celebrate Christmas Eve with the Feast of the Seven Fishes, serving up seafood dishes to abstain from meat until the feast of Christmas Day itself.

Well, a Philadelphia pickle company is taking the annual celebration and putting its own, briny spin on it.

Fishtown Pickle Project is hosting "Feast of the Seven Pickles" in partnership with Mural City Cellars CSW at Fishtown Social, 1525 Frankford Ave. in Philadelphia, later this month.

The seven-course dinner event will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 21 with 90-minute timed reservations, including a 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. time slot, and a later option from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. A third 90-minute time slot will be added if demand is high.

This inaugural event will include seven courses featuring various pickled foods.

Guests will be treated to half sour pickle with gouda cheese sourced by Third Wheel Cheese Co.; fruit jam and tangy cheese schmear from Perrystead Dairy on Kismet Bagels bagel chips; black garlic vinegar pickled turnip hummus with vegetables; deviled egg (sourced by Triple C Angus Farms) with pickle juice served with Chef Eli Kulp’s homegrown pepper mix; soba noodle salad with pickled fennel and carrot; Czerw’s kielbasa with fermented Brussels kraut and Dijon; and a flourless chocolate cake bite from Sweet T’s Bakeshop in Haddonfield, NJ, served with preserved blueberry and orange rind.

Additionally, there will be a complimentary wine flights featuring red, white, and rosé wines from Mural City Cellars, as well as glasses of a very limited Vermut, which has not yet been released.

Bottles of wine and jars of pickles will be available on location for purchase, as well.

Admission costs $35 and tickets are available online here.

A portion of sales will benefit Magee Rehabilitation, whose mission is to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities by providing high quality physical and cognitive rehabilitation services. Donations support patient programs and services, including art and horticulture therapy, peer mentor and family support services, wheelchair sports, and much more.

Fishtown Pickle Project owners Chef Mike Sicinski and dietician Niki Toscani expect the feat to become an annual event.

"We are so excited to host this totally new event, which we feel is perfect for the holidays," Toscani said. "We’ve never met a pickle we didn’t like, and we’re excited to not only do something different with our products, but also serve our guests some bites they’ve most likely never even considered before. Vanessa was so welcoming when we came to her with this idea, and we expect to see Fishtown Social full of new faces ready to experience a truly unique culinary experience. I’m also happy to raise money for this charity that helps support patients at Magee."

Sicinski and Toscani created Fishtown Pickle Project in 2018 after gifting handcrafted pickles to their wedding guests.

Learn more about Fishtown Pickle Project here.