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In a city that serves a wide variety of global cuisine, there is a restaurant in Washington DC that serves Filipino food to give Pinoy migrants and foreigners a taste of our home.

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In Washington DC, 'Purple Patch' gives Filipinos a taste of home

Jervis Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17140907072101714090701083.png" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>In a city that serves a wide variety of global cuisine, there is a restaurant in Washington DC that serves Filipino food to give Pinoy migrants and foreigners a taste of our home. Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News</div>WASHINGTON DC - The first thing you see on the outside of this quaint restaurant in a laidback village in Mount Pleasant in Northwestern DC is the Philippine flag.Purple Patch is one of the few restaurants offering authentic Filipino food to the city&#x27;s Filipino migrants and students. In a neighborhood offering the widest array of global cuisine, Purple Patch serves the tastiest kare-kare, Bicol express, and sinigang.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2024/4/23/food-shorts-hawaiian-roast-and-other-summer-treats-1426">Food shorts: Hawaiian roast and other summer treats</a></div>At the helm of the kitchen is Filipina-Irish chef Patrice Cleary, who told us stories about her passion for Filipino food. &quot;When I cook, I look at food as a sheet you have to fill with musical notes,&quot; Cleary said.&quot;It&#x27;s not just about putting a plate into the table and saying, this is Filipino. You have to everyday believe in what you do,&quot; she added.During our visit, the entire space was packed with people from various countries enjoying Filipino dishes.Most of the restaurant&#x27;s cutomers are Filipino workers, students, and migrants who go to Purple Patch to have a taste of home.For Hannah Dormido, a Filipina working in DC, Purple Patch gives her comfort whenever she feels homesick.Even elements in interior design made people feel they&#x27;re home.At the center of the ceiling is a traditional lantern, a symbol Pinoys associate with Christmas, while on the shelves are stacks of Pinoy snacks.&quot;During Christmas season, it&#x27;s hard to get parols here. But then I came here and there was a parol here, so thank you,&quot; Dormido said.Cleary said it wasn&#x27;t exactly easy crafting a Filipino menu in a city 12 timezones away from the Philippines.&quot;I&#x27;m Filipino-Irish and I want to represent who I am, and this is my food. Some people say this is not Filipino enough. Sometimes, other people say it&#x27;s too adventurous. What I do is that I diversify my menu so that there is something for everybody,&quot; Cleary said.Cleary said she didn&#x27;t really go to culinary school for formal training, she just got the skill from her mom and then made every dish with love.Among the items in her menu are pancit, adobo, bagoong, and most importantly, white rice. It&#x27;s quite uncommon to find restaurants in DC serving white rice.Despite chilly weather, they still serve famous Filipino desserts halo-halo and turon.&quot;I did not reinvent it, I just try to improve it,&quot; she said, adding that every plate shows her passion for her craft and identity as a Filipino.Beyond the food, Purple Patch also cultivates a community as it attracts Filipinos in this side of the world.Purple Patch recently celebrated their ninth anniversary, and they&#x27;re hoping to continue serving Filipino food in the years to come.&quot;The whole restaurant is Filipino because I embrace it. The culture, the food, I love it,&quot; she said.

Purple Patch is one of the few restaurants offering authentic Filipino food to the city's Filipino migrants and students.

Purple Patch is one of the few restaurants offering authentic Filipino food to the city's Filipino migrants and students.

In Washington DC, Purple Patch gives Filipinos a taste of home

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In Washington DC, Purple Patch gives Filipinos a taste of home

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 26, 2024 09:37 AM PHT

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Updated Apr 27, 2024 08:49 PM PHT

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