About 30 miles southwest of Houston, along the West Galveston Bay, lies the city of Kemah, Texas and one of the most interesting restaurants I have ever been to called Th_Prsrv. For that reason, I am not only including this restaurant in this Houston series, but in my Greatest Hits series as well, featuring the best restaurants I have been to.
Kemah Waterfront
First about Kemah: The city changed its name from Evergreen to Kemah when its post office opened in 1907. The word "kemah" means "facing the winds" in Karankawa, an appropriate name due to the city's position on the bay.
Kemah Waterfront at Sunset
Kemah, a thriving waterfront community, has less than 2,000 residents, in contrast to neighboring Houston which has the fourth largest population of any U.S. city.
Kemah is probably best known for its 60-acre boardwalk which opened in 1998 and its adjacent Lighthouse District filled with shops and restaurants.
Among the restaurants in the Lighthouse District is a place called Th_Prsrv (pronounced The Preserve), and it is phenomenal.
Th_Prsrv merges Thai and Choctaw cuisines while also taking you on a historical journey showcasing the evolution of both.
Th_Prsrv is run by James Beard nominated chef Jabthong “G” Benchawan Painter and Eculent chef David Skinner, who each trace their Thai and Choctaw heritages respectively from indigenous roots to present day. In this post, I will do my best to recreate the delectable, chronological journey they took me on.
2400 B.C.
Memories of My Grandmother's Root Cellar
The menu begins with dishes dating back to 2400 B.C. and fluctuates between Thai and Choctaw cuisine. Entitled "Memories of My Grandmother's Root Cellar," the first item we tasted was Thai and consisted of pickled, foraged ferns and ramps, and fresh and confit garden vegetables.
Banaha
Next, we moved to a Chocktaw dish from the same period called banaha.
Banaha is a blue corn bread that is steamed in corn husk. It was served with sunflower butter, mixed with leatherwood honey and topped with edible flowers.
800 B.C.
Day and Night
From 2400 B.C., we jumped forward 1600 years to 800 B.C. and my favorite dish of the evening. The dish, cleverly entitled "Day and Night" featured a "day" portion made of corn and pumpkin in a porridge like consistency. It was creamy, sweet and bright. The "night" portion was made with black tepari beans and vegetable ash. It had a thicker consistency and savory flavors.
Day and night were divided by an exquisite smoked fish mixed with garden flowers. This dish brought multiple textures, colors and flavors together in a beautiful symphony.
Mother Earth
Mother Earth was another dish that originated in 800 B.C. It was made with bison tartare, ants, blue corn chips, greens with day lily sauce and duck fat vinaigrette. The ants added a peppery component and crunch to the tender bison meat.
1200
Gaeng
The remainder of the dishes on the menu originated in Anno Domini or A.D., which means "in the year of the Lord," referring to the years after Jesus Christ's birth. Celebrating Thai cuisine in 1200, we enjoyed a dish called gaeng. It was made of sea bass, green squash, finger root, tamarind and palm sugar.
1492
Flock Together
Another 292 years forward to 1492 and we arrived at "Flock Together," a Chocktaw dish made with 14-day dry aged duck, wojopi sauce, manoomin, and Bell's wild greens. The duck was moist and flavorful with an exceptionally crispy skin.
1545
Tanchi Labona
The next dish we ate was also Choctaw in origin. It was in 1540 that De Soto first brought pigs to America. Thus, this dish, called "tanichi labona" was a soup made with corn, an indigenous ingredient, as well as the newly introduced smoked pork jowl.
1600
Ron Pu
The next dish originated in Thailand in 1600. The ron pu was made with crab meat, coconut sauce and crispy coconut rice.
Saeng Wa
For the next course called saeng wa, we stayed in Thailand and in the same year as the previous dish. The saeng wa featured grilled shrimp, crispy catfish, shallots, galangal, ginger, Markut lime leaves and fish sauce.
This was the first Thai dish in which I recognized a spicy flavor profile similar to that used in modern Thai cooking. I learned that this was due to the fact that the Portuguese brought chilis to Thailand in 1600. Prior to that time, they were not used in Thai cooking .
1700
Gaeng Hed
One hundred years later in 1700, the Thai soup gaeng hed was created with a variety of seasonal mushrooms, pak wan, plah rah, chinda chilis and ...
... red ant eggs which had a citrus flavor.
Thinning of the Herd
Also from 1700, we enjoyed a Chocktaw dish called "Thinning of the Heard," made with bison steak, fermented wild ramp sauce, forest mushrooms and duck fat confit potatoes with jerky shards. The bison steak was very tender despite being very lean.
2023
Pad Ped
Our final entree was a Thai dish the chef created in 2023 called pad ped. It was made using wild board, garlic, Thai chilis, shallots, green peppercorns, Makrut lime leaves and fish sauce and it was delicious.
1970
Kanom Sai Sai
For dessert, and for the first time during the evening, we traveled back in time from 2023 to 1970 for a Thai dessert called kanom sai sai.
Kanom sai sai is a steamed dumpling made with sticky rice flour that has been stuffed with coconut meat and coconut creme and then sprinkled with sea salt.
Memories of Fallen Snow
Our second dessert was called "memories of fallen snow" and was Choctaw in origin.
Underneath a mound of crushed ice drizzled in spruce tip syrup, the dessert incorporated butternut squash preserves, and tonka bean ice cream.
With that, dinner was complete, as was my time in Kemah. Should you find yourself in this quaint town, I would definitely recommend a visit to Th_Prsrv. In fact, I would recommend a detour to visit. The restaurant's concept, ingredients, execution of dishes, attention to detail and hospitality are all superb.
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