When was the last time you tasted something completely new?  I LOVE food. I eat a lot. I search for things my mother wouldn’t recognize as food. But I have to say that it’s been a long time since I ate something and my brain couldn’t find anything to connect it to. At the Nipa Hut, the only sit-down Filipino restaurant in northeast Ohio, each mouthful was totally new. Fried milkfish? Yup. Bittermelon salad? Uh-huh. Some fruit I’ve never heard of and can’t remember the name of? Yes, please. Throw in a healthy serving of charming advice from the proprietor and you’ve got yourself a NORVA Ethnic Dinner. Guided by recently returned RPCV from the Philippines, Susan Brooks, we tried a little of everything. Votes divided over best dish between Dinuguan and Bangus, but we all agreed with the owner on the value of experience over wealth, “If you want to lie down on your money, fly first class!”

If you'd like to figure out what bittermelon is to you, drop by The Nipa Hut at W. 130th and Pearl on Saturday afternoons, when the buffet serves from 11am - 3pm.