Kung Fu BBQ

“In 2020 my father and I cooked 20 meals and served them to friends in the food industry” Nate told me. “They liked our food and posted about it on social media. Their encouragement lead us to cook at a few pop-ups and then to buy a food truck in 2021. The food truck was successful and lead to us being invited to open a spot at Wright Pat and now this location at the Silos.”

What’s your food background?
“My mom grew up in Hawaii and is Japanese and German. Dad’s parents were Filipino and German. Both cooked family recipes that I love. I also learned a lot cooking at a boy’s school in New York. The kids came from 18 different countries and when I’d enlist them to help in the kitchen they’d show me how to cook some of their favorite foods from home.”

My favorite item from your menu is something different – your pulled pork grilled cheese sandwich. How did that come about?

“I knew people would expect a barbecue restaurant to have a pulled pork sandwich, but I wanted to make ours special. We start with great pork, smoked over cherry wood and apple wood to give it a sweet, slightly fruity taste. Then I added cheese and a peach melba sauce. That tasted good, especially when I learned the best way to toast the bread (from Baker Benji in Dayton’s Old North End) but I felt it still needed something. Apple sauce is often served with pork, so I tried apple slices in the sandwich. I also switched to Havarti cheese, because it goes well with fruit. The result is perfect, at least to my taste.”

The sandwich is also perfect to my taste. The only problem is that I may not sample anything else on the KungFu BBQ menu. I may just stick with that sandwich.