I may have just seen the future. Southeast Asian cuisine has been blowing around as the next flavor trend. In Washington D.C., it put its stakes down at 1516 Connecticut Ave. ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen opened its doors in September, and I was there last week to check it out.
Very interesting—in several ways:
- It was conceived of and developed by Chipotle Mexican Grill as its second concept. Could there be more ShopHouses where that came from? For now, it’s only an experiment—but so was the telephone.
- ShopHouse reflects Chipotle’s sustainable ideals. Recycled materials are used throughout the construction. Its lighting is high-efficiency. The meat is all-natural with low-end cuts thoughtfully sourced to incorporate otherwise underutilized body parts. The pork and chicken meatballs, for example, are made of pork shoulders and legs, which are less expensive. But boy, are those meatballs good!
- There is nothing fancy about the restaurant. It’s a long, narrow space, and you pass the seating area before you come to the serving line, where you select from what you see behind the glass prep-area. You slide your tray across the line as you tell the server what you want and pay at the end.
- It got its ShopHouse name from the Southeast Asia restaurant norm, with the shop on street level and owner’s living quarters upstairs. (Only here, no one lives upstairs.)
- The slice-and-dice area is in the basement. I saw the walk-in refrigerator filled with the likes of daikon and green papaya (for the green papaya slaw), tofu and trays of sliced, roasted and halved Chinese eggplant.
And about the food. The menu is pretty basic and inexpensive. There are only two entrees—though with variations:
- A bowl of rice or noodles topped with meat (grilled chicken satay, grilled steak or pork and chicken meatballs) or organic tofu. Then add final toppings of a vegetable (choose Chinese broccoli, eggplant, long beans or spicy charred corn), a garnish (choose green papaya slaw, pickles or herb salad), a sauce (choose spicy red curry, green curry or tamarind vinaigrette) and finally, either crispy garlic, toasted rice or crushed peanuts.
- A Bānh Mī sandwich with your choice of the same meats or tofu as above and topped with green papaya slaw, herbs and crushed peanuts.
The most expensive thing on the menu is the Grilled Steak Bowl for $7.50. The least expensive entrée is the Grilled Chicken Satay Bānh Mī sandwich for $6.14.
For sure, it’s authentic Southeast Asian cuisine. And that’s what will be interesting about this experiment. Will Americans embrace Asian vegetables and curry? I’m not sure Kansas City, where I live, is ready for it. I’m sure Chipotle is anxious to see how this plays in Washington D.C. Let’s keep our eyes and ears open.
Let me know what you think.
Jody
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