Travis Post and Lisa Zack at Plenty of CloudsFlavors of South Central China by way of New York City have settled in at 15th and Pine.
Plenty of Clouds debuted over the post-4th of July holiday weekend as two Ethan Stowell alumni have started a new restaurant generation in the space formerly home to his longtime Capitol Hill favorite Anchovies and Olives.
For first time restaurant owner and veteran chef Travis Post, Plenty of Clouds is all about the flavors of China’s abundant — and cloudy — south. “There’s the spice,” the chef-owner says. “But there’s a lot more to it than that. A lot of the freshness, fresh veggies, herbs, lighter flavors.”
Husband and wife team Post and Lisa Zack moved to Seattle three years ago from New York so Post could take the helm in the kitchen at Stowell’s Bramling Cross. When the prolific restaurateur was ready to move on from 15th and Pine, the couple decided it was time to make their move.
The Plenty of Clouds name, Zack says, refers to Sichuan Province, the “bread basket” of China known for its abundance, and neighboring Yunnan, a province known for its diversity and, like Seattle, its cloudy weather. The couple has traveled extensively in the area, collecting culinary knowledge and a love for the food.
Post says owning his own place has been part of the plan. “It’s always been a dream. This is a great opportunity.”
Post’s menu ranges from small plates including “strange-flavor eggplant & cauliflower” and lamb meatballs with fermented tomatillo and pepper salt, to entrees like salt and pepper shrimp and squid, “not your ma-po’s tofu, pork, jasmine rice,” and ma-la chicken legs. Cocktails, wines, and beers have been selected to complement the spices and flavors.
CHS first reported on the project featuring the Culinary Institute of America grad in June as the couple began the work to put the 15th and Pine restaurant space back into motion. The bones were good, Zack says, and opening a new restaurant in Seattle in a space ready to go was a relative breeze. Anchovies and Olives made the space work for eight years. With a sunny Seattle debut, Plenty of Clouds can now settle in for the longterm.
Plenty of Clouds is located at 1550 15th Ave and open Sunday through Thursday 5 to 10 PM, Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 PM, closed Tuesdays. You can learn more at plentyofclouds.com.
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I’m glad to see this couple open this spot and wish them well. I hope they consider a lunch time down the road, this would be great in this aarea.
White people serving Chinese food less than 2 miles away from the real stuff is the definition of cultural appropriation. Ffs.
Sichuanese Cuisine, 1048 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104
So the food is less authentic (let us not question the level of existence or truth by using the word real) because it is made by white people and introduces Yunnan cuisine… That’s not advocacy
By “real” I meant people of *really Chinese* heritage, not white traveling chefs collecting exotic delights to build a business off of. Not sure where you’re going with that bit about advocacy…
I’m just trying to understand. By your logic, the via by which we transmit cultural diversity is singular or solely by elements of its origin even though the basis of most cultures is achieved through bilateral exchange, at the minimum. The mere fact that you recommended the Sichuanese Cuisine establishment on your view is the definition of advocating.
There are Mexican cooks at many American and Asian restaurants. Do you have a problem with that too?
The problem is the white folks profiting off a cuisine and culture that is not their own. Plain and simple.
Get over yourself, goji.
Are you worried they’ll crowd the field out and no Chinese will be able to open a Chinese restaurant? Yeah, that’ll happen. If you visit Hong Kong and find Hong Kong chefs have opened an American restaurant, with Chinese cooking American food, would that be ghastly? Somehow I’ll bet that wouldn’t bother you.
Same thing could be said about Kedai Makan.
White people calling themselves American is cultural appropriation in my book.
Does this mean we should not eat at restaurants that don’t reflect the chef’s ethnicity? How about Koreans running sushi restaurants? Can I go to those?
There are also quite a few Italian restaurants in Seattle that are run by Greeks. Where is the outrage?
goji, your comment is really ridiculous.
Just curious: what are your thoughts on Katsu Burger?
I’d hate to see how much you’re triggered when you find out about all the burger joints run by Chinese people, the fact that most of the (non-Korean) Asian restaurants in the U-District are owned and operated by Koreans or all the beer breweries owned and operated by non-Middle Eastern people (beer is a Mesopotamian invention).
somebody had to say it!! if you can’t understand why white people profiting off PoC food and culture is different than a mexican person working in a kitchen or an asian person opening a burger shop (in the replies to this comment) you’re being willfully ignorant.
It really does say “not your ma-po’s tofu” doesn’t it. Yes, I am afraid it does.
I’m sure these are the Good White People though.
And I’m sure nobody cares whether you approve of it, either.
Good thing there are plenty of nice folks here to tell those uppity minorities when they should or shouldn’t be offended.
White people taking ownership of food that is not of their own culture has trickle-down effects, in addition to just being a shitty thing to do:
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/understanding-food-gentrifications-impact-hunger/
This is an interesting article but do you really think that chefs should “stick to their own race?”
Think of every popular chef in Seattle. How many of them only cook food from wherever their ancestors come from?
This is an interesting article but do you really think that chefs should “stick to their own race?”
Think of every popular chef in Seattle. How many of them only cook food from wherever their ancestors come from?
was trying to reply to Goji with this. Not sure what happened.