Intriguing New Laotian Restaurant from Three Rising Chefs Opens in Capitol Hill Today
Three chefs with a strong Seattle restaurant pedigree are behind the new venture: Sydney Clark (former chef de cuisine at Poppy), Khampaeng Panyathong (who once worked at Herbfarm and originally hails from Laos), and Jenessa Sneva (from Lucinda Grain Bar, Salare, and Poppy). One thing to note is that all three have worked under James Beard-Award winning chef Jerry Traunfeld, who retired earlier this year, closing Poppy and turning the Sichuan restaurant Lionhead to new owners. It wouldn’t be a surprise if his dedication to locally-sourced ingredients show up prominently at Taurus Ox.
Eater Seattle
“If you can’t decide between khao soi and a cheeseburger, allow us to introduce you to Taurus Ox.”
"Items such as thom khem and chicken laap utilize produce from local farms and a whole-animal approach to butchery, and the Lao pork sausage, fragrant with lemongrass and lime leaf, is not to be missed. Meanwhile, the smash burger made with pork jowl bacon and jaew tomato sauce may be the best patty in the city."
-Gabe Guarente, Eater Seattle
‘We are the staff’ — Taurus Ox will bring Lao food, chef-centric business model to Capitol Hill
Taurus Ox will have a lean, mean business model. Three chefs in the kitchen is a lot. But at Taurus Ox, the trio will combine for even more of the experience. Sneva tells CHS the plan, much like plenty of other small businesses, is for the owners at Taurus Ox to also be the workers.
Capitol Hill Blog
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The space is tiny and piled with implements for the open kitchen. The food is striking and Laotian. Co-owner Khampaeng Panyathong does right by his mom’s sausage recipe, all texture and lemongrass, not to mention khao soi, phad lao, and a punchy papaya salad. None of which prepares you for this: Taurus Ox makes, indisputably, one of the best burgers in town, a pair of proper smash patties, two versions of the condiment jeaw, house-cured pork jowl in place of bacon. It’s cross-culturally clever and drive-across-town good.
Seattle Met
“The owners of these new Southeast Asian restaurants say their growth is driven by a generation of chefs whose families moved to the U.S. between the late 1960s and the 1980s and who are now old enough to start businesses. That has dovetailed with the coming of age of a more adventurous generation of diners willing to try foods with unfamiliar flavors that their parents wouldn’t have touched. ”
In a world that may have passed peak burger some time ago, it’s not often that a compelling new example of the form emerges. But the Taurus Ox Lao burger manages to be just that. In a double smashed burger, the patties are made from a blend of top sirloin and pork belly. A pungent note comes from aged provolone, while jaew tomato and jaew bong — Lao condiments made with chile, lemongrass, garlic and galangal, bring heat and an herbal tang. Beyond the burger (which is also available at the smaller sibling restaurant, Ox Burger), the Lao sausage, made with lime leaf, chile and garlic, and the Lao beef jerky, tri-tip marinated in tamari with ginger and lemongrass, strike a similarly bewitching balance. BRIAN GALLAGHER, NEW YORK TIMES