The Concord dining scene is heating up as Spicy Joi, a rare Laotian restaurant, has opened a brick and mortar restaurant in the Park and Shop center on Willow Pass Road.
Sandwiched between 85°C Bakery Cafe and Tasty Pot, Spicy Joi is a celebration of home-style Laotian street food, including spicy pork sausages, banh mi sandwiches, hand-pulled noodles and soups. The sunny, fast-casual restaurant opens at 11 a.m. for lunch and 4 p.m. for dinner Wednesday through Monday at 1687 Willow Pass Road.
Chef-owner Joi Simmaly first gained a following for his handmade sausages through catering gigs, then graduated to pop-ups before eventually landing a spot inside Concord’s Rockin Crawfish during the pandemic. Now, Spicy Joi is located just down the block, where it offers indoor and outdoor seating and a plethora of Laotian dishes that are otherwise hard to find in the area.
Look for shareable soups with hand-rolled rice flour noodles, like Khao Poon Vientiane, which features chicken curry and pork blood and gizzards ($14); banh mi sandwiches with head cheese served on locally-baked baguettes ($8); and Kua Kee Mao, or wide, flat drunken noodles loaded with veggies and your choice of pork, chicken or tofu. (Trust us, everything is delicious).
A colorful wall-sized mural, painted by Simmaly’s brother, features a regional map of Laos and surrounding Southeast Asia. Don’t miss weekend specials and Calicraft beers on tap. Details: www.spicyjoibanhmi.com.
Source: www.mercurynews.com