SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An Asian diner and deli is celebrating one year of serving up Vietnamese and Korean food in downtown Sacramento.
Southside Super is a collaboration between friends and owners Phuong Tran and Seoyeon Oh. They opened the diner to share the flavors they grew up eating at home with the community.
They serve an array of items, including hot dishes, rice plates, sandwiches, spring rolls and salads at their cozy 12-seat diner on V Street in Sacramento's Southside Park neighborhood.
Tran and Oh come from different backgrounds, but rather than making fusion food, they allow each cuisine to stay true to its roots. The restaurant serves as a vessel for the friends to share both Korean and Vietnamese food under one roof.
"We just really loved Vietnamese food and really loved Korean food and we didn't see why those different things couldn't be sold in the same place," Tran said. "And I think, for people that enjoy Asian flavors, they can come here and get different cuisines and still have each one be tasty."
The two owners and staff arrive to the kitchen a few hours before the diner's 9 a.m. opening to prepare for hungry customers. They fill and roll fresh spring rolls and plate up boxed lunches with rice.
"I think food is something that gives both of us a lot of joy," said Tran. "She's Korean, I'm Vietnamese, and we both really love our respective cuisines and make it at home. It's different when you eat it out at a restaurant, like it satisfies a craving for that type of food, but it never tastes quite as good as homemade."
The menu rotates each month. Tran and Oh each add new dishes inspired by flavors from their childhoods and travels. For instance, Tran added beef pho to their latest sample menu. The noodle soup is inspired by flavors she tasted during a visit to North Vietnam. A fragrant broth surrounds sliced ribeye wok-fried in beef marrow and garlic, served with onions, herbs and bean sprouts. It's topped with a fried dough stick, known as a Chinese cruller, which is also popular in Vietnam.
Oh crafted a Korean braised short ribs dish for their recent menu.
"It's called Galbi Jjim," Oh said. "Beef short rib, potato, carrots, bunch of vegetables with the sauce."
The short ribs also come with rice cakes and kimchi served over rice. Oh is originally from South Korea and takes inspiration from the comfort foods she grew up eating there.
"As an immigrant, I came here about 10 years ago and the more I live here, the more I crave home flavors, so I just wanted to do my own," she said.
Southside Super is constantly adding new creations to their menu, so check out their website to find out what's cooking.
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WATCH MORE SAVORING SACRAMENTO: In this episode, we visit the kitchens of 'Grange Restaurant and Bar', 'Beast + Bounty', 'Federalist Pizza', and 'Curry Pizza House Folsom'.
