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Portland's Pok Pok Chef Eyes Los Angeles For His Next Restaurant [Updated]
After expanding from Portland to New York City, Pok Pok's chef Andy Ricker is setting his sights on possibly opening up shop in Los Angeles next.
Ricker told Eater that he's considering a new Pok Pok location either in our City of Angels or in Hawaii. (Pick us, pick us!) He said Los Angeles was "high on his list" and if he did open here, it would be in Chinatown. His other option would be in Honolulu's Chinatown.
Known for his casual Thai street food (think fish sauce-glazed chicken wings and lemongrass-flavored roasted game hen that haunt you long after you've eaten them) Ricker has been slowly been building his restaurant empire. Oh, and he's also a James Beard award-winner in 2011 for best chef in the Northwest—NBD.
If you take a look at any of his menus at his Portland or NYC establishments, you can see that he's also a lover of whiskey as he has an extensive drinks menu. There are also his Whiskey Soda Lounge locations that celebrate Thai-inspired cocktails among other beers and drinks.
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Ricker stopped by in L.A. last September for our first Thai Food Festival, where he cooked alongside some of our best Thai purveyors like Night + Market, Jitlada and Lukshon. We're crossing our fingers that L.A.'s next on his radar, and we'll happily stand in long lines—just like at his other establishments—to get a taste of those fish sauce wings.
Update 9/9/14, 4:00 p.m.: A "strong inside source" comfirmed to Eater LA today that Ricker is bringing Pok Pok to Chinatown's Mandarin Plaza.
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