The very last day of Starry Kitchen is January 31st 2015. They have decided to “draw a line in the sand.” They want their own brick and mortar restaurant that is exclusively theirs, no big investors, no renting out spaces, basically, a real place of their own. And it is either going to happen, or they are taking their balls and going home.
Starry Kitchen started out as an underground experiment in Thi and Nguyen Tran’s apartment in 2009, where they rose to the top of the Yelp ranks. They eventually moved from one legit restaurant to another, and have been settled for the time being in the old Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown. But they are movin’ on up, so you may want to follow them on twitter.
They are best known for their Crispy Tofu Balls, which have not held a cherished place on the menu simply to provide opportunities for off-color humor. These day-glow green crunchballs are filled with tofu, crunchy on the outside and silky-smooth in the middle. A spicy sauce is drizzled on top, with more provided for dunking, making them perhaps the perfect snack. This is the last month you can enjoy those Crispy Tofu Balls and the addictive Claypot Carmel Striped Bass. Make sure to order the Singaporean Crab 24 hours in advance. Sure, it’s a splurge, but if not now, when? If their Kickstarter campaign does not raise the 500k needed to set up shop properly, that is the end of Starry Kitchen. There is no plan B. If the Kickstarter campaign does raise the money, it will still be a long time before they get the new place up and running.
The LA Beat asked Nguyen Tran whether they will stay in Chinatown or set up their new restaurant in another part of town. He responded, “There’s no way in HELL we would leave Chinatown now, we love it TOO MUCH! Next to us working w/ Roy Choi+Chego to help pave the way in Chinatown for others to come, it’s so much like the wild wild west here in that anyone new could spring up at any given moment and that’s pretty frickin’ exciting!”
Get down to Chinatown while there are still tables available! Make your reservations now!
