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Temple is located at 2713 W. Broad St. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Lao sandwich with BBQ pork sausage, white onions, cabbage, pico, hot mustard and sweetened condensed milk, topped with fried, dehydrated and shredded pork (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Sabai co-owners Brandon Pearson and Joe Kiatsuranon will open Temple restaurant at 2713 W. Broad St. on June 12, bringing Laotian-style noodle dishes and Eastern Thai-inspired cuisine to the former Jerk Pit space.
Pearson and Kiatsuranon traveled to Laos together and were inspired by the warm comfort food prepared at hole-in-the-wall restaurants throughout the countryside. Temple’s cuisine focuses on rustic, homey flavors — Asian-style comfort food.
“It’s home-cooking like a Lao noodle shop — 50 percent or more [of the menu] is noodles,” says Kiatsuranon, who also co-owns Mom’s Siam, My Noodle & Bar, and YaYa’s Cookbook.
Other menu items include a papaya salad, which, Kiatsuranon proudly states, “will not be like anyone else’s,” dishes incorporating Lao white noodles, thin and delicate in texture, and various soups including a concoction of red bean paste with tofu, shrimp and meatballs.
Temple is intimate — the restaurant houses a small bar and about eight wooden tables low to the ground paired with simplistic wooden stools, reminiscent of Asian-style chophouses. The tables and interior are designed by Pearson, who operates a furniture shop in Scott’s Addition.
“There’s a theme with temple architecture, and it’s a dominant visual when you’re in Southeast Asia,” says Beverage Director Adan Velis, who will also serve as general manager of the forthcoming Aloi in Scott's Addition, co-owned by Pearson. “We liked the idea of something beautiful and sacred, and the food sort of encompasses that.”
A brass elephant serves as the door handle, deep-red walls pop with gold-rimmed mirrors and ornate wooden accents, hand-painted mandalas accent the ceiling, and a large chandelier in the center of the restaurant adds a lavish touch.
Velis brings forth light and tropical flavors to the cocktail menu, designed, he says, to pair perfectly with spicy foods and Laotian-style cuisine.
Temple will offer a hibiscus negroni on tap, along with a few local craft beers. Twists on sangrias include a lychee, orange and peach “red sangria" and a “white sangria” made using Thai rum, orange liqueur, mango and lemongrass. Velis also envisions seasonal caipirinhas and a fully stocked fridge of bottled Asian beers including Sapporo and Tiger.
Temple will be open every day from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with one set menu for lunch and dinner.
