Chef Andy Ricker participates in “Night Court” during the Hot Luck Festival on May 25, 2018, in Austin, Texas.
Rick Kern/WireImage/Getty/Illustration by SFGATEA James Beard Award-winning and former Michelin-starred chef is bringing his Northern Thai cuisine to the Bay Area — with a catch.
On Monday, Andy Ricker launched a “virtual restaurant” called Tam Sang in collaboration with the Bay Area-based “micro food hall” company Local Kitchens, according to Eater SF. The takeout and delivery restaurant will at first feature only four items — khao soi kai, a coconut broth noodle soup ($17.95), yam yai salad ($13.95), red curry with sweet potato and jasmine rice ($15.95) and crispy Tam Sang wings ($14.95).
Ricker created the Pok Pok empire in 2005, and it eventually had locations in Portland, Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. The chef has two James Beard Awards to his name, as well as a Michelin star for the NYC Pok Pok outpost. The last of the Pok Pok restaurants closed in 2020 due to the pandemic. Ricker now lives in Thailand.
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Ricker’s Pok Pok restaurants were known for the Pok Pok chicken wings, which were doused in fish sauce and seasoned with bits of garlic. The chicken wings at Tam Sang will not be the exact same as Pok Pok, but a spokesperson for Local Kitchens said they will be “a similar style.” Also, Sri-Rancha dunking sauce and house-made smoky sweet chili sauce will each cost a dollar extra before tax, tip and delivery additions.
Since Local Kitchens houses different brands under one roof, customers will also be able to add food from other restaurants to their order, such as The Melt, Square Pie Guys, Milk Bar and more.
Tam Sang is available to order in Mill Valley, Palo Alto, Lafayette and Cupertino. Local Kitchens does not have a San Francisco location.