Desert Island Dish with chef Bob Somsith
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Illustration: Axios Visuals. Photo: Courtesy of Lao'd Bar
Chef Bob Somsith runs Lao'd Bar, an East Austin restaurant that dishes out Lao-inflected food like pork bao buns, with smoked pulled pork and pickled onions, and coconut escolar ceviche.
Why it matters: Somsith, who grew up in a Laotian area of Dallas, tells Axios that part of his mission is to represent the food and culture of Laos.
What they're saying: "The hardest thing is to try to break in with a new type of cuisine," Somsith tells Axios. "But I'm pretty stubborn and I'm going to keep my mission to spread Lao history and culture."
Background: Somsith moved to Austin in 2002 to finish up a degree in accounting at St. Edward's University.
- After dabbling in smoking meats and making jerky, he went into the catering business in 2014.
- By 2018 he opened a food truck, Sek-Sē•Füd•Kō, blending Southeast Asian flavors with those of the American South — and is now expanding on that marriage in Lao'd Bar.
Zoom in: The restaurant, which opened in late April, is a festive spot decorated with string lights, floral oilcloth and photos of Somsith's family, which adorn a wall of yellow shelves salvaged from Nau's Enfield Drug.
- The cocktail menu, created by beverage consultant Staci Shon (currently lead bartender at Bulevar), features Southeast Asian-inspired cocktails such as the "Muang Royale," a play on a mango sticky rice negroni made with Thai rice, and the "Mekong Sunset Freeze" with mango, coconut, pineapple and rice milk.
Between the lines: The move to a brick-and-mortar, he tells Axios, was a "natural progression."
- "When you're in the food truck business, you're depending on other venues or driving around, and that takes a toll on you, constantly booking or scheduling, or finding the right partners, including breweries or event organizers. I was ready to stay in one spot and do my own thing."
As part of our recurring feature about Austin chefs' favorite meals, we talked with Somsith about the food he would take with him on a desert island.
If you could have one dish, what would it be?
"If I'm with my friends, I'd probably do a Lao barbecue, known as seen dat, or sear the meat, which is like a Korean barbecue but there's this dome griddle and on the outside of it is a trough for broth, chicken or whatever. And at the end of meal, you get glass noodles to go with that. It's just hanging out, grilling a sear on top of the meat, and then what's left is all those juices."
What are you drinking?
"Johnny Walker highball — it fees like 90% of the alcohol consumed in Laos is Johnny Walker — or Beerlao, the national beer of Laos."
And for dessert?
"A month ago, I had this pandan chiffon cake from Hhom Dee," an Austinite who bakes Thai sweets. "She whipped up a pandan coconut cream and the cakes were the size of a muffin, and I could eat a dozen of them."
If you go: Lao'd Bar is at 9909 Farm To Market 969, Building 4, next door to Sign Bar.