Pok Pok

{{Infobox restaurant

| name = Pok Pok

| logo = Pok Pok logo.png

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| image = Pok Pok Restaurant & Whiskey Soda Lounge.jpg

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| image_caption = Pok Pok and the Whiskey Soda Lounge in Portland, Oregon, in 2009

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| established = {{start date and age|2005}}

| closed = {{end date and age|2020}}

| current-owner = Andy Ricker

| chef =

| head-chef = Andy Ricker

| food-type = Thai

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| street-address = 3226 Southeast Division Street{{Cite news|last1=Olson|first1=Donald|url=https://www.frommers.com/destinations/portland-or/restaurants/pok-pok|title=Pok Pok in Portland OR|work=Frommer's|access-date=2022-05-01|archive-date=May 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523182218/https://www.frommers.com/destinations/portland-or/restaurants/pok-pok|url-status=live}}

| city = Portland

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| state = Oregon

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| country = United States

| coordinates = {{coord|45.50468|-122.63219|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

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| website = {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160308101353/http://pokpokrestaurants.com/ Pok Pok Restaurants]}}

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Pok Pok was a group of Thai restaurants based in Portland, Oregon, founded and led by chef Andy Ricker. Pok Pok won both local recognition and major industry awards, with The Oregonian describing the restaurant as "one of those quintessentially Portland institutions, a sort of rags-to-riches story of the street cart that became a restaurant that became a legend."

The main restaurant was located on Southeast Division Street in Portland;{{cite news|last1=Brooks|first1=Karen|authorlink=Karen Brooks (food critic)|title=Restaurant of the Year 2007: Pok Pok|work=The Oregonian|orig-date=2007-06-15|date=2009-06-07|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2009/06/restaurant_of_the_year_2007_po.html|access-date=2022-05-01|archive-date=May 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502001117/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2009/06/restaurant_of_the_year_2007_po.html|url-status=live}} with its success Ricker opened satellite locations elsewhere in Portland, and at various times in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. Its remaining locations closed in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

The first Pok Pok opened in 2005, specializing in street food and northern Thai cuisine that Ricker had eaten on his travels, especially through Chiang Mai. The restaurant grew in recognition, being named The Oregonian's 2007 Restaurant of the Year, and featured in a 2009 episode of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.{{cn|date=March 2022}} In 2011, Ricker was named the James Beard Foundation's 2011 "Best Chef: Northwest" for his work.{{cite web |url=http://www.starchefs.com/cook/chefs/bio/andy-ricker |title=Chef Andy Ricker of Pok Pok - Biography |publisher=Starchefs.com |accessdate=5 October 2014 |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524224616/https://www.starchefs.com/cook/chefs/bio/andy-ricker |url-status=live }} At its closure in 2020, The Oregonian called Pok Pok "Portland’s defining restaurant for more than a decade."

= Outposts =

A Brooklyn location followed in 2012; the Michelin Guide awarded it a star in its 2015 and 2016 editions but rescinded it in the 2017 Guide.{{cite news|last1=Adamczyk|first1=Alicia|title=New York's Michelin-Starred Restaurants Announced For 2015|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciaadamczyk/2014/09/30/michelin-star-restaurants-new-york-city-2015/|access-date=November 21, 2016|work=Forbes|date=September 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122072620/http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciaadamczyk/2014/09/30/michelin-star-restaurants-new-york-city-2015/|archive-date=November 22, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Sutton|first1=Ryan|title=Surprise: Here Are the 2017 NYC Michelin Star Rankings (A Few Days Early)|date=2016-11-15|work=Eater New York|url=https://ny.eater.com/2016/11/15/13639376/nyc-2017-michelin-stars|access-date=2022-05-01|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526071434/https://ny.eater.com/2016/11/15/13639376/nyc-2017-michelin-stars|url-status=live}} Ricker closed the restaurant on September 2, 2018, citing rising costs.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/tables/2012/06/25/120625gota_GOAT_tables_goldfield|title=Pok Pok NY|first=Hannah|last=Goldfield|date=June 25, 2012|access-date=January 15, 2013|magazine=The New Yorker|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426093832/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/tables/2012/06/25/120625gota_GOAT_tables_goldfield|archive-date=April 26, 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Wells|first1=Pete|title=Pok Pok Ny in Brooklyn|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/dining/reviews/pok-pok-ny-brooklyn-restaurant-review.html|access-date=November 21, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=June 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122072248/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/dining/reviews/pok-pok-ny-brooklyn-restaurant-review.html|archive-date=November 22, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/dining/pok-pok-ny-closing.html |title=Pok Pok Ny to Close After 6 Years |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=August 13, 2018 |website=The New York Times |access-date=January 1, 2021 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109035922/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/dining/pok-pok-ny-closing.html |url-status=live }}

Pok Pok Phat Thai and Pok Pok LA opened in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles in December 2014 and November 2015 respectively.{{cite news|last1=Scattergood|first1=Amy|title=Andy Ricker's Pok Pok Phat Thai now open in Chinatown|url=https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-andy-rickers-pok-pok-now-open-in-chinatown-20141230-story.html|access-date=November 21, 2016|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122071445/http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-andy-rickers-pok-pok-now-open-in-chinatown-20141230-story.html|archive-date=November 22, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Balla|first1=Lesley|title=5 Things to Know About Andy Ricker's Pok Pok in Chinatown|url=https://www.zagat.com/b/los-angeles/5-things-to-know-about-andy-rickers-pok-pok-in-chinatown|access-date=November 21, 2016|work=Zagat|date=November 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122072121/https://www.zagat.com/b/los-angeles/5-things-to-know-about-andy-rickers-pok-pok-in-chinatown|archive-date=November 22, 2016|url-status=live}} Pok Pok Phat Thai closed in August 2016, and Pok Pok LA followed in March of the following year.{{cite news|last1=Elliott|first1=Farley|title=Pok Pok Phat Thai turns off the lights in Chinatown this Sunday|url=http://la.eater.com/2016/8/2/12354072/pok-pok-phat-thai-closing-chinatown-sunday|access-date=November 21, 2016|work=Eater LA|date=August 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122071336/http://la.eater.com/2016/8/2/12354072/pok-pok-phat-thai-closing-chinatown-sunday|archive-date=November 22, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Bargar Suter|first1=Lesley|title=Pok Pok L.A. Is No More, but There Is Glory in Its Passing|work=Los Angeles Magazine|date=2015-05-15|url=https://www.lamag.com/digestblog/pok-pok-closing/|access-date=2022-05-01|archive-date=January 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124102437/https://www.lamag.com/digestblog/pok-pok-closing/|url-status=live}}

In 2018, a Pok Pok Wing opened in the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas's Block 16 Urban Food Hall dining area.{{cite news|last1=Knapp Rinella|first1=Heidi|last2=Mancini|first2=Al|title=Pok Pok, Lardo, Hattie B's to open on Las Vegas Strip|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=2018-08-14|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/pok-pok-lardo-hattie-bs-to-open-on-las-vegas-strip/|access-date=2022-05-01|archive-date=May 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501222320/https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/pok-pok-lardo-hattie-bs-to-open-on-las-vegas-strip/|url-status=live}} This closed in December 2020 following the expiration of its licensing agreement, the last of the Pok Pok restaurants.{{cite news|last1=Stapleton|first1=Susan|title=Chef Andy Ricker's Pok Pok Wing Closes at the Cosmopolitan This Weekend|work=Eater Las Vegas|date=2020-12-02|url=https://vegas.eater.com/2020/12/2/21915791/chef-andy-rickers-pok-pok-wing-closes-cosmopolitan|access-date=2022-05-01|archive-date=May 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505205321/https://vegas.eater.com/2020/12/2/21915791/chef-andy-rickers-pok-pok-wing-closes-cosmopolitan|url-status=live}}

=COVID-19 pandemic=

File:Southeast Portland, Oregon (February 7, 2021) - 036.jpg

In March 2020, Pok Pok announced its indefinite closure of all locations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had an impact on the restaurant industry due to social distancing mandates and guidelines. Initially, Pok Pok followed the example of many restaurants across the US in providing takeout and delivery services while dine-in remains prohibited. Following the coronavirus-caused death of New York chef, Floyd Cardoz, Pok Pok's Andy Ricker published a statement explaining Cardoz's death as the reason for the change in strategy. Ricker cited the tragedy as a “wake-up call to the restaurant industry” and himself.{{Cite web|url=https://pdx.eater.com/2020/3/25/21194167/pok-pok-closed|title=The Pok Pok Empire Closes Indefinitely in Wake of Coronavirus Crisis|last=Frane|first=Alex|date=2020-03-25|website=Eater Portland|language=en|access-date=2020-03-30|archive-date=March 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325210015/https://pdx.eater.com/2020/3/25/21194167/pok-pok-closed|url-status=live}} In mid June, Ricker confirmed the permanent closure of Pok Pok NW, Whiskey Soda Lounge, and the northeast and southwest Pok Pok Wing locations, leaving just the main restaurant and possibly the southeast Pok Pok Wing location.{{Cite web|last=Frane|first=Alex|date=2020-06-15|title=Most of the Pok Pok Empire Is Closing|url=https://pdx.eater.com/2020/6/15/21292252/pok-pok-closing|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Eater Portland|language=en|archive-date=June 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616002108/https://pdx.eater.com/2020/6/15/21292252/pok-pok-closing|url-status=live}} Ricker announced closure of the original and remaining locations in October 2020.{{Cite web|last=Michael|first=Russell|date=2020-10-30|title=Pok Pok, Portland's defining restaurant for more than a decade, is no more|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2020/10/pok-pok-restaurant-that-defined-portland-food-for-a-decade-is-no-more.html|access-date=2021-07-20|website=The Oregonian|language=en|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031054137/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2020/10/pok-pok-restaurant-that-defined-portland-food-for-a-decade-is-no-more.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Frane|first=Alex|date=2020-10-30|title=The Pok Pok Empire Has Officially Fallen|url=https://pdx.eater.com/2020/10/30/21542119/pok-pok-closed|access-date=2021-07-20|website=Eater Portland|language=en|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101003718/https://pdx.eater.com/2020/10/30/21542119/pok-pok-closed|url-status=live}} A remaining Pok Pok Wing in Las Vegas continued service through December.