Benchawan Jabthong Painter, known as Chef G, started cooking at age six in her grandmother's restaurant in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, then worked in Bangkok kitchens before moving to Houston in 2015. After stints at SaltAir and Justin Yu's Theodore Rex, she grew tired of Thai food softened for American palates and started pop-ups. In 2020 she and her husband, Graham, opened Street to Kitchen, and in 2023 she won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas. That fall the restaurant moved into a larger space on Harrisburg Boulevard, where Thai hip hop plays and the kitchen draws on her grandmother's recipes and dishes from across Thailand's regions. Order the papaya salad, which bites even at medium, charred pad see ew, and the green curry.
What to expect
- It takes reservations on OpenTable.
- Co-owner Graham Painter oversees the wine program.
- The METRORail Green Line stops nearby at Coffee Plant/Second Ward.
What to order
- Papaya salad (medium is plenty)
- Pad see ew
- Green curry
- 2020Since
- Benchawan "Chef G" Jabthong PainterChef
- Benchawan and Graham PainterOwners
- Harrisburg Blvd since late 2023Current space