Bio Based Plant Based

No PFAS Added

Microwavable

Sustainable

Reusable

Anyone with their ear to the grindstone has heard of the problems with recycling. Recycling is great but it just isn’t getting it done in ALL the ways n stuff. Maybe not focussing on optimizing what isn’t optimizable and working in a different fashion when applicable is a great flexible approach. We focus on using take out containers that offer convenience and yet help us address our responsibility as link on the sustainability chain. We use the brown take out containers lined with biofilm for use with wet food that is also compostable and has no PFAS. Most are microwavable as well except for the containers with the clear lids. The listing on these products says they are compostable in commercial facilities only so maybe don’t throw them in the leaf pile outside expecting them to be ready for the garden bed next spring. Many of these containers or utencils are certified bio based and plant based and renewable, have no PFAS intentionally added in their production, many are reusable and many are commercially compostable. We use these containers when available and strive to source as much as we feasibly can in the event of supply chain and availability issues.

Black Gold

Even before out opening we have saved over about 100lb of food scrap and wast from cut ends and peels and citrus peels and squash seeds and potato skins…. we saved over 100 lb of all that compost material from going to landfill. Of course there is no dining and no post consumer waste coming out of our kitchen and so human contact is limited to only gloved hands so this viable material has been dehydrated and converted into material primed for compost and returning to the soil. Growing was an integral part of us getting into this business. There are so many things one simply cannot buy and have to be grown by oneself. No one sells it because no one buys it because no one sells it because no one buys it…. on and on. We break the cycle and grow some very cool traditional things necessary for this provincial cuisine. While our introductory menu at this location does not incorporate these elements yet into the menu we feel excited looking to a future time when we might soon be able to once again offer such little culinary seasonal treasures. When we grow we do so with only organic growth material and methods and composts. The compost we create from these food scraps hopefully can be incorporated into these things. At the very least we will be using it in our own compost bins and saving 1000s of pounds of food scraps from going to landfill.

Organic

We buy organic when we can. We support and vote with our dollars but we do not go crazy with it. I don’t think there’s person alive who isn’t now aware of the junk in our foods. It works in an aggregate way we suppose and earnest efforts make a difference but it also has to be a market that makes sense. We buy organic and eat the cost ourselves when the price makes sense. Our prices are generally higher than many competitors and that is more a reflection of the quality of the ingredients themselves and absolutely not a frilly markup for overpriced ingredients. The cost and time cost for the dark meat chicken we use vs. a leaner white meat. The avocado oil is probably about 4 times more expensive as other oils and yes, we’re crazy for doing it but the difference in crispiness and neutral flavor and the health of avocado oil vs the alternatives makes this very much worth it. We have a variety of rolls available now and more coming soon and we think the investment down this path is worth it to match the quality in hand made product that we’re proud of. Real flavor and some of the more subtle Thai flavorings and spices and balance of flavors does really shine with a more neutral high quality oil and other premium sauces made with premium ingredients. We always strive for a balance and work to make this food accessible vs. somehow esoteric. We don’t compromise with what we how we believe a best representation of flavor should be. While we don’t ourselves avoid eating out at places that use MSG we don’t personally use it nor do we use sauces that contain added MSG. We also do not use sauces that add DSG or Disodium Guanylate. We do eat at places that offer items with these things and don’t strictly avoid it. We just prefer that our flavors are more subtle and clean and we play more in the balance of the perfect bite with multiple components which I think is the unsung essence of the most enjoyable Thai cooking. Creating the perfect bite or bites is our goal and that usually involves a plethora of toppings and adjustable elements. We usually scratch make these applying the same decision making processes involved with picking produce. We buy organic when we can. We buy local when we can. We buy as fresh as we can. We stick to whole foods vs. processed whenever that distinction is possible.