Mother · Curry & soup
The curry cook
Trained under her mother in northern Thailand. Handles every curry paste and most of the soups. Remembers the names of regulars' children, which is unfair.
The family
Three roles, one notebook, a family on Whiskey Road.
We're often asked who's in the kitchen. The honest answer: the same three sets of hands, every shift. Below, the longer answer.
Father · Wok & noodle
The wok cook
Runs the wok line. Learned in Bangkok, then in a string of American kitchens, then beside his wife. Insists garlic is the most important ingredient on Earth.
Daughter · Front & pastry
The front of house
Culinary-school trained, then home. Designed the menu you're reading and makes the pandan custard her grandmother taught her over FaceTime.
A short history
From northern Thailand to Whiskey Road, in six steps.
- Then
A kitchen in northern Thailand
A mother teaches her daughter to pound curry paste on a stone, in a kitchen that runs on charcoal and patience.
- Later
A notebook crosses the Pacific
A hand-written notebook of family recipes makes the trip to the American South.
- Eventually
A small storefront on Whiskey Road
The space used to be a barber, then a phone shop. The family rips out the carpet, paints everything, and opens with eight tables.
- Soon after
A second generation joins
A daughter finishes culinary school and moves home to run the front of house and the pastry.
- Recently
A rebuild of the kitchen
A new wok line, two more burners, a walk-in for the curry pastes. Same notebook on the shelf.
- Today
A family kitchen on Whiskey Road
The same three sets of hands, every shift. The notebook still gets pulled out on Sundays.
"When we opened, we agreed to stay small enough to know everyone's order. We still mostly do."
- The kitchen, on a quiet afternoon