I met Wirut just outside the Irish Channel a year ago when he was opening up a noodle and sushi bar next door.
“sah-wah-dee.”
“Have you been to Thailand, the ‘Land of Smiles’?”
“Yes, Phuket, twice, both times by boat — when I was 5, living on a sailboat and at 17 on a frigate with the Navy.”
Wirut came over to show me some pictures of the beautiful island. “I’m from Bangkok but enjoy visiting Phuket. So much to see and do there just like D.C. and the cuisine is out of this world.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more. And I think it’s a wonderful idea to open up an Asian noodle bar here this side of Chinatown. There’s lots of noodle shops here, but almost all are Chinese – so an Asian fusion noodle shop will do well next to an Irish pub. They’ll come here to work off their drunk.”
And I would go to Absolute Noodle and Sushi to work on their website while slurping on udon noodles with bulgogi and sipping on Asian pear sake.
Like with many restaurants, I worked for a paycheck and a tab, so this was an excellent way to invite my friends for a meal and a chance for them to meet the manager and chef.
In early February, I invited food bloggers Jackie Woodbury, Bindesh Shrestha, and Simone Griffin, whom I had worked with on a writing project eons ago. I had not seen her since she spent a year working in China, and Simone loved Asian noodles.
Simone & Jackie reviewing menu with Wirut at Absolute Noodle
Working with Wirut also opened the door to working with their sister restaurant, Absolute Thai, down the road and owned by the couple Nay and Poupee.
Poupee showed me their outdated website. “We need to photograph all the dishes on our menu. Americans find Thai names long and confusing.”
March 11, 2014
I was expecting a large turnout. I invited a lot of friends as well as marketed the event on Meetup. For $5, you got a good sample of a wide variety of dishes from the menu.
The drunken noodles were perfectly spicy, smothered in basil chili oil. The pad see ew’s sauce was sweet and savory. The red curry with roasted duck was creamy with big chunks of pineapple. The curry puffs were crispy and flaky and stuffed with flavorful chunks of goodness.
Owners Nay and Poupee were happy to showcase their savory, spicy flavors to an eclectic group of desk jockeys who were delighted to get out of their cubicles and into the mix.
And I was pleased to greet every one of them.
Kanita serving Orlando Thai crispy wings
Kanita Williams enjoyed the Thai basil fried rice, and the crispy chicken wings with sweet chili sauce poured on top. “Helped a client get a DUI case dismissed today. It wasn’t easy, so everybody here, please catch a train or taxi home.”
“I’m walking, but if I ever get busted for a DUI, I want to be represented by you,” Orlando Darden said as he picked up a piece of chicken wing.”
Quentin Edwards took a bite of his shrimp spring roll dipped in peanut sauce. “Hey, Orlando, careful; those wings may be loaded with MSG.”
“That’s ok, cuz tomorrow, Kanita and I are going for a long run. She’s getting close to fulfilling her 10 lbs weight loss challenge. So I’ll allow her to splurge on special occasions.”
Jackie, Sophie & Yoomie
Jackie took a bite of her crispy vegetarian spring roll. “I’ll say this is a special occasion — a lot larger than the noodle place down the street. We must host an event together sometime.”
This event proved that Thai cuisine is loved by people from all around the world.
Natalia from Ukraine
There was Natalia, a woman from Ukraine, a graduate student at GWU who worked as a bartender at the Tabard Inn, a classic boutique hotel near Dupont Circle.
Sophie Mebarki & Timothy Kim
And Anne-Sophie Mebarki, a French girl who would be completing her bachelor’s from Catholic University this May. “I would like to work for a startup, and I love food. Are you hiring?”
“Absolutely, we have internships available. You should meet Suzannah, who speaks French fluently.
Yoomie Huynh admiring the shrimp noodles
Yoomie Huynh immigrated to Sioux City, Iowa, from South Vietnam with her family in 1985 due to the economic and social aftermaths of the Vietnam War. “Have you heard of Four Sisters in Virginia? Their family serves amazing Vietnamese dishes beyond pho.”
Then there was Quentin Edwards, who lived just a block from me in Anacostia. His Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) office was a block from the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. “I work only seven blocks from Chinatown, so I can come to more of your events.”
Quentin Edwards @ Absolute Thai
“Well since you love to run, you are welcome to join our EU Embassy Run this May? It’s kind of like a half marathon combined with an adventure race.”
“Absolutely, I’m planning to do a Tough Mudder this fall, so this will be a good forerunner.”
It used to be part of the Tara Thai chain. But with a new owner, new renovations and Buddhist sculptures flanking the entrance, the name morphed to Tara Temple. If D.C. was the banquet hall, Arlington was the backyard. It was a town where I had the least amount of clients and the fewest number of events. So when manager Shine Chuenyam invited me to host an event at the Temple, I was more than happy to oblige.
When I approached, I was met by two mythical stone lions standing guard at an ironclad double door. As I walked in, I could see that the foyer was shaped like the entrance of a Thai temple with shiny red columns and a sweeping temple roof.
I was greeted by stone statues of Buddhist deities praying. And also familiar faces — Wayne Manigo my favorite local stand-up comic, and Orlando Darden, my favorite trainer were already seated at the bar.
The Temple was spacious with a large oval-shaped bar, plenty of comfy couches and semi-circular booths for those who yearn for a private conversation. The decor was sleek and modern and it definitely set the tone for the entire evening.
As I made my way around the bar, I noticed two lovely women with bronze skin tones and golden brown hair.
Deb Santos & Roxana Johnson
“Are you two sisters?”
“Close, we’re best of friends.”
“From around here?”
A petite girl with a toothy smile donned in a yellow floral print dress pointed to her friend. “Roxy is — born and raised. I’m Deb from Chicago.”
“Great sports city. So you must love Mike Ditka and Michael Jordan?”
“Absolutely, and Roxy is a huge Redskins fan, so she loves RG3 and Joe Theismann. I’m a huge Blackhawks fan.”
“And home of the deep dish pizza — what your favorite type of food when you’re really hungry and you care who you’re eating out with?”
Deb nursed her martini with extra vermouth. “Hands down, Sheecago is the best. Love the wood-fired pizzas from Matchbox to go with the milkshakes from Ted’s Bulletin.”
Roxy took a gulp of her Singha.”The birria tacos from El Rey and the soy garlic wings and kimchi from Bonchon.”
“Sounds perfect. And I just love the 1920’s art deco setup at Ted’s and the shipping container design at El Rey.”
It was at that time that Wayne came by to steal the show.
“And for laughs, you should check out the Bier Baron Tavern and Comedy Loft.”
“Girls, this is Wayne our resident comic. He’s also my top promoter who will attest to the fact that on RUNINOut you can search for your favorite type of food, events, ambience, or even team sports, and the site will provide personalized recommendations in the local area.”
Roxy’s eyes lit up. “Really, can you search who is serving the wheat beer, Hell or High Watermelon?”
“The Cantina Marina at the Wharf,” I replied in an instant.
“Can you search for places that are pet friendly?” Deb requested.
I quickly tapped into my phone. “Wonderland Ballroom — do you own a rescue?”
“Don’t have one yet, but I really want a Dalmation — heard they are beautiful and brainy.”
“Sweet. I have a pit bull named Georgia and a sun conure called Apollo — my parrot who likes to drink Guinness at the Irish Channel.”
Next, I strolled over to greet Christine who was sipping on a Singha Mojito while waiting for her lobster sushi roll.
Shortly after, Khoi Tran showed up. An Air Force officer stationed in the Pentagon, he is also a food connoisseur and loves to blog about his experiences.
“I love a Thai restaurant that serves good sushi,” he said. “Sushi that’s creative with a fine presentation.”
Shine Chuenyam brought out the next delicacy — the Sunomono Salad consisting of octopus, cuttlefish, cucumber, and seaweed over a bed of shredded white radish with sweet rice vinegar and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
For two hours, Shine kept putting out phenomenal appetizers like we were Thai royalty, and we were ordering $2.50 draft Kirin and Singhas like they were Poland Springs.
Orlando quickly showed off his chopstick precision skills by extracting a red cuttlefish out of the medley.
“Mmm, juicy and rich – it’s a cross between a squid and an octopus.”
“Nah, I’m good,” said Wayne. “I prefer to get my ink from Staples.”
Christine giggled then decided to bust out a one-liner herself. “So what did Sushi A say to Sushi B?”
“C’mon Wasabi,” Wayne replied cracking up together with Christine.
“That’s right, I forgot to tell you that’s not avocado that you’re eating,” Shine smiled as he poured another round of tequila.
All the guys partook, sprinkling salt all over the counter and sucking lemon wedges as if they were adult pacifiers.
“Wow that Don Julio really packs a punch,” said Orlando. “Now I’m ready to go in the ring.”
Wayne grabbed a tuna nigiri with precision and held it next to his mouth. “As for me, my lane is in the kitchen. Being a chef is hard work. But a sushi chef, all you gotta do is resist the temptation to not cook the food – how hard is that?”
Shine served an enticing plate of dragon roll. “Alright smart aleck, no more caviar for you.”
Wayne devoured the entire roll. “All joking aside, this sushi is out of this world. And the rice, you nailed it. It’s even better than my favorite spot on H Street, Sticky Rice.”
Since Khoi arrived a bit late, Christine was happy to feed him. Khoi was reluctant at first since as a military officer, he was used to fending for himself, but Christine wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“I’m a cook and feeding my friends is an act of love.”
“C’mon now, this isn’t omakase. Khoi can get his own damn unagi,” The Mezcal was making Wayne funnier by the minute.
I waited till Khoi finished chewing his nigiri. “So what do you do on your free time? Are you visiting a lot of different restaurants?”
“I wish I had time to do more. A lot of life doesn’t happen because I’m attending graduate school in International Relations — a lot of writing, poring over textbook chapters, and reflecting on feedback from professors and peers.”
Christine pulled the lobster tail out of the shell. “Yes, education is important, but so is making new friends.”
I turned to her and said, “You need to come to our events more often. No one will ever complain that they didn’t get enough to eat.”
“And you two bozos,” as I looked over at Wayne and Orlando. “You guys can take it easy on the booze and sushi. Sometimes, they just don’t go together.”
Orlando took another bite of his sashimi. “Talk about hypocrisy — I haven’t seen you stop drinking except when you were chatting up with the chics. When are we going running again?”
“Yes, I really need to seriously cut back in my drinking. Both my physical and mental health has taken a back seat.”
Sarah Berghoff was out with friends and wanted to visit a brand new spot in Shaw for cocktails and Asian-inspired cuisine. Upon entry, a 1920’s style mural with an icon of Charlie Chaplin came into view. The space was elegant with a speakeasy vibe. On the wall above the bar, The Tramp played on a reel.
A tall, burly man with a big smile came over and greeted them.
“Hi, I’m Armin. Welcome to Chaplin’s. We’re a ramen, cocktail, and dumpling bar.”
“What does Charlie Chaplin have to do with Ramen?” Sarah asked.
“Well, the legendary silent film star was adored in Japan. That’s because he could make people laugh without uttering a word.”
“What a charming connection. What do you recommend?”
“If you like your spirits strong, I recommend the Tramp. It’s Bourbon with a burnt orange peel. For ramen, I recommend the ASS.”
“Excuse me?”
“ASS – Asian Spicy Sour. chicken chashu, coconut milk, chicken broth, and pork butt. It’s our take on the ever-popular Tom Yum soup with noodles imported from Japan.”
Several minutes after Sarah and her friends sat down, the bartender with a cool Chaplin-style outfit served them their classy cocktails.
Armin came by again to see what they thought of the innovative cocktail menu.
“Fabulous. I can see you have broad experience in this industry.”
“Yes, I’ve worked in this business for over 20 years. At the Capitol City Brewery and most recently at the Saint Arnold’s Mussel Bar.”
“Amazing sounds like you’re a powerful force in the restaurant industry.”
“Well, the co-owners are bartender brothers, Ari and Micah Wilder – owners of Red Light on 14th Street – we’re a star-studded class.”
“You know there’s someone you should meet that’s an up-and-comer in this industry. He’s a quintessential foodie and has a finger on the pulse in this industry.”
Armin with Sarah
The next day I got a call from Armin.
“So Sarah speaks highly of you. I thought I was the Big Man on Campus.”
“You’re a rockstar, Armin. All I do is promote restaurants and host some events. You’re the brains behind your brand and do all the heavy lifting.”
“Well, we sure could use some help with marketing and developing our web presence. When we opened a few months ago, we were named The Chaplin. Now his estate is threatening a lawsuit so we changed it to Chaplin’s”
“I can help with the name change and ensure that your website and social media reflects the new and improved branding.”
The following week, I met with Armin and his co-owners, brothers Ari and Micah Wilder as they gave me a spirited tour of their cozy space.
The vibe and ambience were warm and welcoming and the Laughing Gas cocktail I ordered was potent and bursting with flavors.
“We figured out a way to compress carbon dioxide with helium,” said Micah. “You’re gonna sound really funny and everyone’s gonna be laughing at you.”
I also met Chef Myo Htun, a native of Burma who cooked under a Master Ramen Chef in Tokyo for 30 years.
“Chef Myo is a tireless worker,” Armin said. “He’s worked every day since we’ve opened. We should make him a co-owner one day.”
Chef Myo Htun
Chef Myo served me the Tonkotsu Ramen with the broth made from boiling pork neck bones – the collagen in the connective tissue transforms into gelatin, which gives the broth its silky texture. Inside the bowl were melt-in-your-mouth chasu pork belly and soft boiled eggs with custardy egg yolk.
“Your ramen kicks ass, Armin. I would love to host our next get-together here and invite all ramen enthusiasts to celebrate Shaw’s hottest, new setting.”
“Sounds like a fabulous idea. If we could also do a fundraiser for Bread for the City, that would be great also.”
The next month on October 22, 2014, dozens of ramen and cocktail fans converged at the downstairs bar for a private event.
Christine arrived early as usual and secured a spot at the bar.
“Hey Chris, good to see you. How was the military ball with Khoi?”
“The Vietnamese-American Military Banquet was an overwhelming experience with lots of shiny uniforms, great food, and formal traditions — we had a blast.”
“I can picture that. I’ve been to a few military balls myself. They can be quite fun. “
“Met so many amazing Vietnamese Americans and they gave each of us a commemorative coin.”
“Carry it around with you — it’s a good luck charm.”
“And I wish the best to Khoi as he heads to Kosovo for a six-month peacekeeping mission.”
To kick things off, many guests were introduced to the payday adult-only dumplings — infused with Japanese whiskey. You could choose from a steamed shrimp dumpling on a whiskey sour named The Cold War, a hot pork dumpling on a lemon emulsion, or a hot beef dumpling with Japanese whiskey.
“This is what happens when a couple of bartenders open up a restaurant,” Micah declared.
I’ve tried all three, and Micah told me to tap on the brakes. So I was happy to entertain guests to see which one they preferred.
BJ enjoying the dumplings
BJ McDuffie sampled The Cold War. “Mmm, the shrimp shooters are savory and boozy–a perfect combination. I’m ready for the next one.”
I ordered a Payday from Margaux behind the bar. “How was Drink the District BJ?”
“Meh, could be better — it was a scorching, hot day. But this is even hotter.”
“So, what have you been up to lately?”
“Bowling, bocce, and brunch — that ’bout sums it up.”
“Have you been to Alba Osteria in NOMA? They serve an awesome brunch and have a bocce parklet outside.”
“Not yet, but I’m a fan of Roberto Donna.”
“How about Myo Htun – what do you think of his culinary skills?”
Christine Bach enjoying the Cure & ASS
“By the juiciness of these dumplings, Chef Myo ranks up there with José Andrés and Richard Sandoval.”
As expected, our resident comic made a showing.
“One of my favorite indie chefs is Erik Bruner-Yang,” said Wayne Manigo. “And with my cooking skills and an endless supply of ramen, I could give Toki Underground a run for their money.”
“What if you’re a butterfly, but you’re too busy being a caterpillar?”
“Mine is Chef Anh Luu, who cooks Cajun/creole with Vietnamese ingredients,” Christine said. “And I like my ramen spicy, so I’m here to kick some A.S.S.” While she waited, she ordered the Cure, and Micah blow-torched a piece of rosemary on her fruity cocktail.
“Yeah, I know it’s all presentation, but I swear it does taste better,” she said.
Wayne took a taste of Christine’s Cure. “Please pour me a damn drink !! Do not put any herbs and spices in my cocktail that is only for food and also don’t light the dam thing on fire either!”
Armin put a hand on Wayne’s shoulder. “What makes Chaplin’s stand out from all the rest is the personality of our bartenders. People come from near and far just to have Jake (Jacob Simpson), Said, or Margaux pour them a drink, ask them how their day is going and tell a kickass joke. You’re hired.”
Margaux Donati mixed a Vagabond cocktail. “We love you boss. You’re a true friend.”
It was also good to see Deb Santos again.
“Hey Big Shot, how’s your growth?”
“A long, hard struggle and still tripping.”
“That’s normal. It’s important to show some self-compassion for your blunders. Don’t regret the things you have done as much as the things you never did. It’s better to get up and do something rather than nothing, and right now, you’re the big-time host of this fabulous party, so you should be grateful.”
“I can always rely on you for wise advice Deb. Still haven’t cut back on my drinking though.”
“Alcohol is a depressant and keeps us at a lower vibration. Try limiting yourself to two drinks and take small sips and plenty of water in between.”
“Limiting myself to two drinks is like telling my pitbull, he can’t eat my ice cream.”
“What if you’re a butterfly, but you’re too busy being a caterpillar?”
When Sarah arrived, I was pleased to show her my new business card. She liked the running Orangutan logo popping out on a yellow background. But when she turned it over, she nearly flipped out.
Sarah showing her picture to friends
“Whoa, you put my picture on the back!!”
“Well, you said you wanted to see the picture of us at Toro Toro.”
“But not on your business card.”
“But, your face is more interesting than mine,” I explained. “No worries, you’re not the only one — I also put Kanita and Jackie on there, too.”
“Well, I’m honored to be promoting your website,” she replied in jest.
“And I’m honored to have you serve as our de facto brand ambassador. After all, you introduced me to Armin and Chaplin’s.”
Later that evening inside the Opium Den, Armin and I were slurping on some ASS.
“So what do you do for fun?” He asked.
“Besides running and drinking, I like to go paddleboarding on the Potomac. I normally launch from the Slip Inn on (Joint Base) Bolling.”
“Right on bro. I love boating myself. We like to take the Chaplin’s crew and launch from Edgewater (MD).”
“So the neighborhood is continuing to change. What are your plans moving forward?”
“Perhaps adding a sushi joint next door or building an American diner across the street.”
I took a sip of the Kid cocktail “Would it be another Hollywood-inspired name?”
“Yes, Shawshank Diner comes to mind–one of the best movies ever made..”
“And Shaw is one of the city’s hippest up-and-coming neighborhoods,” I said.
“Indeed, my beloved community is still very much on the move. This is why I love this city.”
“I’ll drink to that — another round of yummy shooters, please. Take it easy on the whiskey.”
I looked over my shoulders and could swear I saw the stern eyes of Deb keeping me in check.
The A.S.S. is so savory, you can drink it by the bowl
