East Village Scores Spicy Northeastern Thai Cuisine

A new Thai restaurant scheduled to open this fall will spotlight traditional food from Issan, the northeastern region of Thailand is known for its flavor-packed dishes, from laab, a minced meat salad pungent with chilies and fresh herbs, to fermented Issan-style sausage, and marinated grilled chicken served with sticky rice.

Sovereign Modern Thai Cuisine is replacing Made In Kitchen in the base of a high-rise building that borders the East Village’s Fault Line Park. The space, which has an outdoor patio facing the park, will serve lunch and dinner.

Siblings Uthan Dejcomrunkul and Jumi Pitiwartarlai, who work as a chef and manager at local eateries Thai Papaya, a standout for Issan fare, and Sab E Lee, are partnering in Sovereign with Anthony Pascale, chef/owner of Saiko Sushi in North Park and Coronado. Pascale, who says that he’s been looking to expand beyond sushi, tells Eater he’ll be helping behind the scenes, mentoring the brother and sister team as they gear up to open the full-service restaurant by mid-October.