L.A. ICON
The Radical Art of the Perfect Bite L.A. Icon Minh Phan Redefines Fine Dining and Tells Us What’s Next BY LISA ALEXANDER PHOTOS BY CAROLINA KORMAN
M
inh Phan thinks of her life in chapters. First, she and her staff surrendered to service with her restaurant, Porridge and Puffs, pivoting, tap dancing, and performing feats of magic to feed us through the pandemic. “It was our job,” she says. “And it was what the community demanded of us…you could sit it out, but I wasn’t going to.” Phenakite, her Michelin-starred restaurant experience at the Second Home co-working space in Hollywood, was Chapter Two. It treated us to food that was intentional, missionaware and cerebral, as well as tasty and delicious, without which, the others won’t fly. It was also named LA Times 2021 Restaurant of the Year. Now that the Phenakite residency at Second Home is closed, we’ve all been wondering what’s next for Minh Phan. When I learned I could meet and talk to her—elusive as one our mountain lions but, just the same, very there—I couldn’t have
20
ediblela.com
@EdibleLAMag