December 09, 2021

Fishtown Pickle Project hosting quirky, 7-course, holiday feast as alternative to traditional seven fishes

For $35, guests will get a sampling of dishes featuring the brine-cured cucumbers paired with local wines

By Noah Zucker
PhillyVoice Staff

Mike Prince/Fishtown Pickle Project

The Fishtown Pickle Project is hosting the Feast of the Seven Pickles, a holiday dinner taking place Dec. 21 with dishes prominently featuring the business' pickles and other locally made food and wine. Above are Fishtown Pickle Project owners Mike Sicinski, right, and Niki Toscani, center, with with Fishtown Social owner Vanessa Wong, left.

Why celebrate Christmas by feasting on seven different kinds of fish when you could instead have a feast of seven pickles? That's what the minds behind the Fishtown Pickle Project thought when brainstorming their holiday event for 2021.

The Feast of Seven Pickles is happening at Fishtown Social, at 1525 Frankford Ave., on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

The $35 per person, 90-minute affair will include seven dishes prominently featuring brined vegetables from the Fishtown Pickle Project accompanied by an array of local wines from Mural City Cellars.

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

“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," Toscani said.

The two started the Fishtown Pickle Project in 2018, after their wedding. The couple made homemade pickles for their guests as party favors, which were wildly popular.

Today, the Fishtown Pickle Project sells glass jars of preserved cucumbers on their website and in dozens of stores in the region. The businesses pickles also have been picked up by retailers as far away as New York City and Maryland.

There are two time slots for the feast: first from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and another from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase online. A third slot will be added if there's demand for it.

Some of the event's proceeds will benefit Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.

Aside from pickles, local food will be the theme of the seven-course meal. There will be gouda cheese from the Third Wheel Cheese Company, bagel chips from Kismet Bagel, flourless chocolate cake from Sweet T's Baskeshop in Haddonfield and much more.