Inn at Easton for sale; new Thai to open
Along the lines of making lemonade out of lemons, Andrew Evans, chef/owner of the Inn at Easton, is selling the inn and its critically acclaimed dining room -- even though he doesn't want to -- because he's getting divorced. But that gives him the opportunity to open his dream restaurant at 216 Dover East (Suite 201) Dover St. in Easton.
Surprisingly, it won't be another fine dining restaurant but a Thai place. He's calling it Thai Ki (the equivalent of the Chinese chi, or life energy). Evans says it's on track to open in late January.
He plans to...
...close the inn's dining room on Jan. 1 for the winter season, although the inn itself will remain open, offering discounted or free (!) dining at Thai Ki.
If the inn doesn't sell by April, Evans plans to reopen the dining room then. His hope is that it will sell, but that the new owners will want him to oversee the restaurant as executive chef while running his own place nearby.
As for Thai Ki, Evans says he was inspired by Momofuku in New York. He named the restaurant Thai Ki because he wants "to bring new energy into Thai food." It will have a "green concept," he adds, with organic meats and his own soda line. Look for beer and wine with food pairings as well.
Thai Ki will be "chef driven and with fine-dining ingredients," but Evans plans to deliver authentic Thai, not put his own creative spin on it. The menu will offer 20 items, none of them priced over $15.
The restaurant will be very small, just 26 seats, with an open kitchen. The rest of his business will be "takeaway." Friday and Saturday nights he will be open until 1 a.m. for late-night dining.
He's hoping that his fine-dining background will bring a consistency that's sometimes lacking in local Thai restaurants.
"Don't get me wrong," he says. "I've had great Thai food, but I've also had mediocre Thai food."
Monica Lopossay/Sun photographer)
Comments
This sounds great. This could very likely remind me of a place in Portland, Oregon called POK POK. The url is as follows:
www.pokpokpdx.com
It started as an unattached garage that was converted into a license kitchen and pumping out authentic Thai Style Rotisserie Game Hen, Papaya Salad and Kao Soi. The success of the shack allowed the owner, Andy Ricker, to convert the basement of his property into a full-scale restaurant. Really cool story. You can find more details online by searching for Pok Pok.
Looking forward to updates.
Posted by: mcattrone | December 3, 2007 12:15 PM
I don't believe Evans is "native Australian", he just worked there for a while. He is native USA - home town NYC, if I am correct. But a talented man, no matter where he is from.
Thanks for the correction. It was his wife who was the native Australian.
Posted by: rkb | December 4, 2007 8:21 AM