Back in the day, people were born in a village, town, or city and never left. As the world changed, moving became common, whether by choice or pressure. Even if your move was desired, you could be nostalgic for things left behind, like the food your mother made. Cuisine followed the movers, but often it couldn't be or wasn't replicated. In the U.S., authentic dishes are often watered down for the American palate-too spicy, too fishy, too something. Those Americanized dishes became the "authentic" flavor from other countries and too often true flavors have been lost.
Quyen Phan at Anchovies & Salt
Enter Quyen Phan whose family brought him to America from Vietnam when he was 10; he was one of 9 children. In 2008, the elders and siblings migrated to join them. It was during the recession and Quyen's brothers-in-law couldn't find jobs. Quyen, at 26, decided he would start a landscape construction company so everyone had a job. In 2012, one of his sisters was working at a restaurant in a job that didn't work out. He said, "Let me build you a restaurant." He bought the Renton Deli, a small, hole-in-the-wall with money he had been saving for four years. It ran its course in five years while he continued to work construction. A year in, he began looking for a newer concept, something easier to run and more profitable. He realized the fast casual model was good, and no Vietnamese restaurant was doing it. He wrote a business plan and talked to many landlords, none of whom wanted to commit to an untested concept. Finally in 2016, he found a space in South Lake Union in a building owned by a man who loves small businesses and believes in handshakes, not contracts. It took two years to negotiate a deal. Vinason Pho Kitchen opened in February of 2016. "It was the best handshake I ever made!"
The concept was successful. He opened his second location in November of 2017 in an industrial park, testing his theory that the concept would work in both urban and industrial settings. His third location opened in 2018 in Sammamish, his fourth in 2021 in Kirkland in the middle of the pandemic. "It's on the Google campus in a prime location, 150 feet away from Shake Shack. My South Lake Union location is also 150 feet away from a Shake Shack. I took it as a sign!" In 2022, he opened his fifth Vinason in SoDo in the King 5 building near the stadiums. "We have 40-50 seats in the outside courtyard, and the venue can be used for events for up to 100." His pho bone broth is cooked for 24 hours, and he sources proteins with no hormones or antibiotics, wild-caught seafood, and sustainable ingredients from local and eco-friendly companies. "I'm offering authentic Vietnamese food using local ingredients in a modern setting. We build with bamboo because it's sustainable and have created compostable bowls with recyclable lids that keep vegetables crisp, great for office workers to take out for lunch. People see the modern atmosphere and think the food is non-traditional, but recipes are authentic." Kirkland, SoDo, Sammamish, and Kent locations sport a self-serve beer and wine wall, with rotating menu from local breweries.
Quyen wanted to offer a place for the Vietnamese community, so he created Anchovies & Salt. "There's a humongous opportunity in the food scene because no one is truly authentic, and there's really nowhere for us to hang. I wanted to spread our culture to those who've been away and for everyone who has never been. There really hasn't been a place doing truly authentic Vietnamese food. It's not a slight, there are very successful places, but they appeal to a different demographic. I want to transport people to Vietnam. Different regions have different food or versions of dishes; I want to showcase them all. For years in Seattle, Vietnamese food viewed as authentic is not. My challenge to myself is to be different than that, to transport people to Vietnam, to make space for families with large tables, to win over the mothers in the families. They are the toughest critics. Many of them only know the style of food from the area they're from. I hope to get them in and let them enjoy food from other regions as well. Food is served the way we'd eat it; but elevated, using fresh, local ingredients. Instead of clay pot with catfish, we offer claypot with black cod or other seasonal fish. Most places use pre-cut white coconuts from Asia, but to stay white, they have to be kept in preservatives. I use green coconuts which means we have to cut and shave them ourselves. When you touch and taste them, you're transported to a beach, sitting under a tree.
"The name Anchovies & Salt was chosen because that is all you need to make fish sauce. It's the base of so much of Vietnamese cooking. It's very salty, so what we add later is what makes it taste good. Different dishes require a different version of the sauce. We make more than 20 different versions of fish sauce. I curate our recipes and the team R&Ds them until we find the perfect nostalgic taste. We use fresh pho noodles; no one really knows what these taste like because everyone uses dehydrated noodles. Even I do at Vinason. We offer Northern Pho with rare steak or wagyu tri-tip, garlic, scallion, cilantro, and onion. We don't offer jalapeño; you won't find that in Vietnam. Our Cha Ca La Vong is from Hanoi and comes with turmeric, galangal, dill, scallion, shrimp paste, peanuts, and fried shallot. No fish sauce; it has to be shrimp paste." Their brunch/lunch menu is offered daily, earlier on weekends, with skillet dishes, sticky rice, pho, and much more. Chef Lucy Tran is from Hue on the North Central Coast. "You get mostly southern Vietnamese food in Seattle; northern food is very different," explains Quyen.
Guests are in good hands beverage-wise as well. Nelson Daquip, who was the Wine and Spirits Director for Canlis, is their wine consultant. He's joined by James MacWilliams (they met while both working at Canlis), bartender and cocktail recipe creator extraordinaire. He is consulting and creating cocktails.
Quyen and his friends/team have done all the construction. He likens it to a Tetris puzzle. It's a huge space, 9000 square feet, and he wanted to have different areas reflect three regions of Vietnam. 100% of the work is theirs and it was done in nine months. The south end represents Saigon and is the largest dining area. The center of the room includes an artist's rendition of the Golden Bridge (Hand of God) in the Bana Hills. An anchovy is the bridge, bridging cultural gaps. The bar represents Da Nang in Central Vietnam. And the Hue Imperial Lounge upstairs represents the ancient capital of Vietnam. Toward the north, we have the Hoi An lantern room. The Lantern City is one of the most visited cities in Vietnam. Further north is the Hanoi private room; even further is Sa Pa in the mountain region, and even further north is Ha Long Bay, the 8 th Wonder of the World, a natural wonder. These private rooms can be combined for larger parties and can include the bar and patio. The patio is 2000 square feet and seats 80, with 120 feet of waterfront. Boat (3 hour) andplane (2 spots) moorage is available. Eight accordion doors open from the restaurant to the patio.
"We want this to be a place for families with family-sized tables and family dishes that haven't existed here: golden anchovies, Shaking Wagyu, Lemongrass Pork Belly, Mango Salmon, Chanh Chua Ca (fish sour soup). Families of 35 can come in; 10-60 is our preferred size, and we can customize for 100-200 people." They also work with the Hyatt next door to cater for up to 1000 people, for weddings and large celebrations.
There are ancient artifacts, a giant Buddha, replicas of the copper drums used in battle; all used to introduce Vietnamese culture to all who enter. On a personal note, Quyen has included tributes to his family. His middle son is a water dragon, represented by a dragon painted on a pillar overlooking the water. His youngest son is an ox whose initials are GM (like general manager), so his eyes watch the bar and kitchen. His wife is a goat and is on another pillar-she and GM anchor Quyen's infrastructure. His daughter is a golden cat, and her tribute is in the Hue Imperial Lounge. "I want her to be strong and yet like a princess. She picked out the cat picture because it looks formidable! A tiger near the bookshelf is dedicated to my dad because he was a leader and self-educated. I haven't decided how to pay tribute to my mom yet. A lot of our dishes are her recipes."
The best feeling so far? Those hard-to-please mothers wanting their pictures taken with Quyen. It's all working.
Click here to read Quyen's background.
Connie Adams/January 2024
Anchovies & Salt
1087 Lake Washington Blvd N, #50
Seattle, WA 98056
425-970-3154
www.anchoviesandsalt.com