A Homecoming for Khue’s Kitchen

Khue’s Kitchen, a new upscale Vietnamese restaurant, has recently opened in the industrial Minneapolis–St. Paul borderlands, founded by Eric Pham, 25, son of the chef of the renowned Vietnamese restaurant Quang. The restaurant's opening was marked by a series of personal and professional challenges, including Eric dropping out of college twice, a year-long estrangement from his mother, Khue, and the original restaurant location burning down just before its grand opening. Despite these obstacles, Khue’s Kitchen is now operational and serving a refined Vietnamese menu. The restaurant's menu features a concise selection of eight to nine dishes. Notable items include classic Southern American-style chicken wings, praised for their crispiness and flavor, served with a house-made green-garlic ranch sauce. Another standout is the vegan Sticky Jicama Ribs, an innovative dish made by layering marinated tofu and fried jicama to mimic the texture and taste of baby back ribs, glazed with a sweet-and-sticky barbecue sauce. The drinks menu offers a curated selection of natural wines, including a Slovenian pét-nat and an Oregonian orange wine, alongside a Japanese sake. Eric Pham's journey to opening Khue's Kitchen was deeply influenced by his family's culinary legacy and his personal aspirations. Growing up, Eric and his 14 cousins were made to work in non-kitchen roles at Quang, such as hosting and bussing, to discourage them from pursuing careers in the restaurant industry. His family, especially his mother, wanted him to pursue a stable profession like medicine or law. However, Eric developed a passion for cooking, inspired by chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Dave Chang, and started experimenting with French recipes in college. He eventually dropped out of college to pursue culinary arts, initially trying out at Spoon and Stable under chef Gavin Kaysen. His time at Spoon and Stable was a period of intense learning and personal growth, where he developed a high level of discipline and appreciation for quality ingredients. He worked his way up from prep cook to line cook, learning about professionalism and the pressures of a high-end kitchen. A pivotal moment was a Synergy Series event with chef Thomas Keller, which made Eric realize his true calling was in Asian cuisine, specifically Vietnamese, rather than French. Motivated by his father's encouragement to open his own restaurant, Eric faced his mother's strong opposition to his culinary career. She initially refused to teach him Vietnamese cooking techniques, leading him to learn from his uncle in Texas. Their strained relationship, marked by a year of not speaking directly, eventually began to mend when a reporter arranged a Mother’s Day interview. Eric named his restaurant Khue’s Kitchen as a tribute to his mother, signifying a turning point in their relationship. The restaurant initially operated as a ghost kitchen and a pop-up before securing a physical location. The final hurdle was the devastating fire that destroyed his nearly ready-to-open restaurant. With his father's immediate support and community fundraisers from places like Picnic in Linden Hills and Spoon and Stable, Eric rebuilt and successfully launched Khue’s Kitchen in March. The restaurant's signature dish, a thick grilled pork chop, is a luxurious reimagining of Quang's traditional thin pork chops, served with Vietnamese herbs, nuoc cham, jasmine rice, and a fried egg. Other offerings include a spicy chicken sando and a rich roast pork fried rice, the latter a 48-hour labor-intensive dish. Khue’s Kitchen is positioned as a blend of traditional Vietnamese flavors with modern culinary techniques, reflecting Eric's unique background and the evolution of family recipes. #KhuesKitchen #VietnameseCuisine #RestaurantReview #MinneapolisStPaul #CulinaryJourney #FamilyLegacy #NaturalWine #EricPham #QuangRestaurant #KhuesKitchen #VietnameseCuisine #RestaurantReview #MinneapolisStPaul #CulinaryJourney #FamilyLegacy #NaturalWine #EricPham #QuangRestaurant

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