outside sign for gai noi
All photos by Caitlin Abrams
When last we pondered Gai Noi, the coming Ann Ahmed restaurant that will breathe life into the old 4Bells space in Loring Park, she was just setting out. Traveling throughout SE Asia while eating and learning was an important way for the chef to reconnect to the regions of her family and hone the menu for the new place. Well she's back and she has thoughts: "The jeow here is going to be hotter than at the other restaurants," she offhandedly teased.
While the space is still undergoing a light renovation, removing some of the darker and heavier touches in favor of lighter more natural elements, Ahmed is confident in announcing the opening date. May 23rd will be the beginning of the Gai Noi "little chick" era on the park.
Before we dig in to a little preview of the menu, we should note that they are already planning their Twin Cities Pride party, because they know how important it is the neighborhood. Gai Noi has partnered with MiX, the longest running LGBT party in the Twin Cities, to host a spectacular party on Sunday, June 25. After the parade, the restaurant will open for a 21+ party with two DJs, an abbreviated menu offering a few snacks, and a lot of great drinks. No cover. They plan on opening all three floors, including that rooftop, and pushing seating to the side so that proper dance moves can be achieved.
Speaking of liquid dance fuel, let's talk about the drinks.
a yellow drink on a table
Ahmed has brought on Nick Kosevich and Earl Giles to help with the menu at this restaurant. There are some 20 taps in this space, and they'll be using the majority for batched cocktails. "With a place this size, you need to make drinks fast," Kosevich told me. "We've really figured out the batched cocktail equation so that we can create high-quality and consistent mixes, and then the bar team can add their flourish with garnish and glitter spray."
four drinks
Kosevich did NOT go on the menu trip with Ahmed, maybe next time, but he did stalk her while she was gone. "Every day we'd open her instagram and see where she was. Every time she was at a market, we'd screenshot it and zoom in on the pic, seeing all these fruits and foods, and be like 'what is THAT'? I'd send her notes every day asking what she was eating, what the ingredients were that she was playing with, and we started creating from that. We're hitting all the pillars and getting all the different classic styles in there but really, really turning the volume up on the fruits." Kosevich played with lots of spice and tropical elements to bring about a list that is long and varied, which is important because the tap cocktails will make up most of the bar program. "We'll have a few things on hand to make a drink if you can't find something you like on the menu, but we're hoping to take your gin and tonic in a fresh direction with house tonic." Among the cocktails you'll find a Lao Hai Mai Tai with Baiju, a Star Fruit Margarita, a Papaya Pina Colada Whip, Lemongrass Gimlet, Curry Bloody Mary, and a Chai Martini among others.
On to the food.
pots of jeow sauces
One of the things I remember Ahmed loving is her jeow. "Jeow is like a Laotian version of salsa," she told us, "and then instead of tortilla chips we use sticky rice that you would dip into these." From roasted tomato, to eggplant, to fishsauce and chili paste, these vary in heat but are meant to add a kick. Like she said, the tomato jeow at Gai Noi is going to be hotter than the tomato jeow at Khâluna.
lots of plates of food
That watermelon salad is topped with shrimp flakes and crispy shallots so you need to toss is all together to get that salty umami hit. "We're hoping that people will approach the menu almost like a tapas style. Really, it's all meant for sharing. You're going to just order a whole bunch of stuff, put it on the table, and keep passing it around. And we tend to keep proteins off to the side. So this salad is vegan, but you could still come with your friend who's a meat eater and you have the crispy pork off to the side, to add in by your choice."
papaya salad
You could do that with a side of crispy pork and the papaya salad. The pork is like a bacon dream of salt and fat that works to tame the heat of the papaya salad. "As you can see, it's different," Ahmed pointed out. "Have you had papaya salad in a ribbon form? We shaved it this way because in the northern region of Laos is the UNESCO heritage site, Luang Prabang, and they serve the papaya salad like this. So instead of chopped and shredded it is shaved into ribbons. It's a cool texture, when I asked them why it was so good they whispered in my ear that it was the small climbing tomato that made the dish. So I'm still trying to find the right kind, but this a different than others you'll find around town."
beef and sauce
Look for grilled ribeye with its own jeow for the dipping. Other menu items include noodle soups, like the Khao Poon Gai with a coconut curry broth, Laab salads, garlic pepper chicken with a crispy fried egg, banana leaf wrapped steamed fish, and a super snackable crispy bean sprout salad with wonton strips and crushed peanuts, among many other things.
The service model will be very casual. "We'll come to your table with a device. We'll take an order at the table, punch it in, and your food will come out as it's ready. It's not going to be coursed, there's no changing of plates or silver ware. It's just going to come out when it's hot and ready." Ahmed wanted to be clear that this is a drop-in situation, there will be no reservations. "We want people to drop by and maybe join a table that's already eating, that's why we think of it as tapas. Because you can add plates and go with the flow. I'm really hoping to utilize the park. I'm hoping that people can order take out and they'll want to just go plop down in the park and eat this food. It will be ready fast. We are aiming for everything to be done in 10 minutes or less."
Expect lots of communal tables in the space, especially the main dining room and the upper rooftop dining. The mid-level is one of the private dining areas with a giant table that can seat more than 12 people. This place has been re-built to bring you and your friends out for a night of plate passing. Ahmed is hoping to be open 7 days a week, starting with lunch service at 11am and staying open through dinner.
May 23rd! No rezzies, get your pals coordinated!
