Michelin-Awarded NYC Chef to Launch Comeback in San Diego

A once-prolific chef/restaurateur who opened, and then shuttered, a laundry list of eateries in New York before returning to his native Vietnam two year ago, where he was featured on Iron Chef Vietnam and coached the country's team in the 2014 Asia Pacific Bocuse d’Or competition, is gearing up for a comeback that will be launched in San Diego.

Michael 'Bao' Huynh, who was once voted Best New Chef by New York Magazine and won a Michelin Bib Award two years in a row for his OBAO restaurant, has been chosen by another empire builder, Alex Thao (Lucky Liu's, Saja Korean Kitchen), to head up Thao's next concept in the Gaslamp.

Opening in early 2015 and taking the corner space vacated by Royal Thai at 467 5th Avenue is Sovereign Vietnamese Kitchen + Bar, which according to a press release will feature Huynh's signature food, which ranges from "traditional Vietnamese dishes as well as brand new infusions that can only be found by crossing southern California cuisine with Vietnamese."