Find dishes from the Chopped champ during evenings at Baguette Magic
(Left to right) Kultura’s new home; Nikko Cagalanan.
Kultura
Local chef and Chopped champ Nikko Cagalanan credits his win at the Food Network competition last fall to years of cooking in unfamiliar kitchens for his pop-up Mansueta’s Filipino Food. But lucky for Charleston, his days as a kitchen nomad are over: Cagalanan has set up shop as Kultura at Baguette Magic’s Spring Street location on Friday and Saturday nights, delivering elevated Filipino dishes to patrons eager for a taste of his bold cooking, bakery/coffee shop ambience be damned.
(Left) Pancit, pork ribs, and a Scotch egg; (Right) Arroz caldo.
The ever-changing menu is short, but mighty. And while a couple could conceivably split all five or six plates, if the sticky and savory furikake-dusted pork ribs are available, know that all bets are off for sharing. The only item that’s consistently on offer is pancit, a traditional Filipino dish that on a recent night Cagalanan spun into a deeply flavorful tangle of perfectly chewy house-made noodles, slivered cabbage, cremini mushrooms, and royal red shrimp with a sour calamansi punch. And the dense, barely sweet flan topped with mango matchsticks and lime zest was no afterthought, wowing dessert and non-dessert folk alike.
Can’t score a weekend reservation? Take heart, Cagalanan is making Kultura permanent this month as he takes over Baguette magic’s lease, with expanded hours Thursday through Monday.
73 Spring St.
(Friday & Saturday, 5-9 p.m; starting in mid-July, Thursday-Monday, 5-9 p.m.)
(843) 897-5354, kulturacharleston.com
