What you Don't Know About ShopHouse

Go Ask Alice…I Think She Knows

An Interview with ShopHouse Restauranteur Alice Porter

Go Ask Alice Porter...I Think She Knows

I’ll be reviewing ShopHouse tomorrow, but in the meantime, it’s time to find out how this terrific lunch spot got started and WHY IT MATTERS.

I don’t know about you, but when I walk into a McDonald’s or Popeye’s or the like, I feel sticky/greasy just traipsing my sneakers over the oily floors. Knowing that the best the restaurant environment can hope for is one or two swishes with that long-haired rope mop that those poor sops have to swill across the “brick” floors, and well, my enjoyment for the gustatory thrill of a fast-food overload goes right out the window.

A Bright Idea in Dupont Circle: ShopHouse

So it was that I found myself interviewing Restauranteur Alice Porter four months into her launch of the new Chipotle-chain-styled and -owned concept restaurant called ShopHouse. Its Asian-flavored flagship store surprises on most every level. Ideally situated just outside the Dupont Circle metro stop in downtown Washington and moments from all the delights that the big city have to offer, ShopHouse is a D.C. first: a big chain effort to launch a new QSR brand.

What a great idea!

D.C. has been hankering for better QSR options for years. With the addition of Taylor Gourmet, we finally got a great sub shop, but man, what does it take for quality fast food to visit our humble city filled with a bazillion 20-, 30-, and 40-somethings that only stay here for 4-8 years at a stretch?

If you get here on just the right night in the middle of winter, there may just be a MASSIVE SNOWBALL FIGHT that can help you build up an appetite, because let me assure you, ShopHouse will fill you up and then some.

Belly-up to the (Accompaniments) Bar

Alice’s story is one for our times. Just before the Great Recession, she was at her financial wits’-end as her higher education in hotel and restaurant management was depleting her pocket book. She dropped out and found herself kicking around downtown Denver looking for work and a meal. Being a burrito lover, she strolled into Chipotle, got herself a lunch and a job. From cashier, she moved up to become a store manager, then found herself recruited into the Restauranteur program at Chipotle.

Nice Decor, People

When the opportunity to move to D.C. to take over the staffing and execution for their new concept restaurant, she leapt at the chance. Months later, we found ourselves chatting about what really works at ShopHouse.

“ShopHouse is a mix of Thai, Malaysian, and Vietnamese food cultures,” says Porter. “Textures and flavors are the reasons that the dining experience is so memorable: sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy, chewy…” The idea is to create a polished version of the “shophouses” where families create fast food in urban centers throughout Southeast Asia. The way that Porter runs this place, fortunately, creates a uniquely American upbeat fast food experience with smiling, laughing workers, very happy customers ooo’ing and aaaah’ing over each bite.

Having been virtually living at the ShopHouse store since she moved here in the spring 2011, Porter should know. In order for me to conduct a proper restaurant review (see tomorrow’s blog post), she assembled a series of tastings of each of the individual portions of the meals they make here.

Flaming Your Lunch to Order

• Four “meats”—one is tofu,
• Four vegetables,
• Three starches,
• Three sauces,
• Three “slaws,” and
• Three finishings/toppings.

That’s it. But within these limited parameters, Porter’s staff concoct a truly flavorful experience with creative possibilities.

My attention about ShopHouse was piqued when I was told the Washington Post restaurant reviewer bothered to give the joint AN UNDERSTATED RAVE REVIEW:

"The best fast-food idea in years channels Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. That's my chain reaction as I dig into a bowl of steamed jasmine rice strewn with grill-fragrant bites of chicken, green papaya slaw and a pulsing green curry at the fledgling ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen."—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post 

“Fundamentally, however, with no marketing, we just opened the door, and people started coming in,” says Porter. “D.C. was the perfect market for us. In New York, everyone is launching their new concepts, but a national chain launching a QSR here? It’s a first. And it really caught fire immediately. In D.C. we were able to be more appreciated by the locals and I just love it.”

Final Bahn Mi—A Shophouse Specialty

Part of the attraction, like I say, is the positive energy here when you get to the counter. “I want my staff to understand the opportunity I had,” points out Porter. “There are real, genuine opportunities here with Chipotle, so they’re happy to be here. They’re excellent at cooking the food, keeping the place clean, keeping the line moving. You make a restaurant about the atmosphere for the customer—the way they feel when they’re here—they more they want to return.”

I have to agree. Porter confirmed that this is more or less a place for young folks who like spicy food, and do not require deep fried food or a children’s option. That’s probably part of it, actually, it’s not so appealing to small children (there is no separate kids’ menu), so the place remains tidy. The grease that must be pouring from the kitchen into the dining space seems to never make the surfaces sticky and disgusting. the lightbulbs gleam as if they were cleaned before you walked in. Porter knows intuitively why the place appeals; the attraction is the chic minimalist environment, the cheap price, and the friendly feel; and she knows her food:

“In our bahn mi sandwiches, you are tasting the tamarind vinagrette, the citrus and ginger marinating, and the green papaya salad.” 

“In the sweet corn, it’s the charring of scallions with citrus.” 

“The meatballs are baked, not fried in house. They come par-cooked, and sit in a silver oven.” 

“And the hangar cut steak is medium rare, cooked to 145 degrees. Never overcooked.”

I’m completely hooked on the bahn mi and any option that includes the pork/chicken meatballs. Porter swears by noodle bowls with a mix of chicken and tofu with the spicy broccoli stem and topped off with the toasted garlic. But don’t take my word for it. Drop in on this place and see how fast food can be done right when store leadership cares about your experience.

Oh, and it’s a lot of food, so you can always take part of your meal home, if you don’t find yourself gobbling the whole thing down in one stomach-bursting sitting.

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