There’s an unexpected innocence from Rioin Oshiro. He smiles easily, gushes over his wife and children, and loves a simple bite of something delicious or a well-placed metaphor.
As our town’s only James Beard Award winner, he’s also quite humble about the whole thing. I recently joined him for dinner at Sum Bar, Khailing Neoh’s dim sum bistro that resides in a former auto-repair shop on Washington Street and was the subject of Oshiro’s 2024 documentary, “Great Wall,” that won him that aforementioned award.
“I love the way Khailing is shaping her story, and the food, the experience Sum Bar is serving is quite wonderful and enjoyable,” Oshiro said.
Oshiro — “Rio” to his friends — is working on his next big project involving another chef in another state, and his status as a James Beard Award winner will open some doors that may previously have been tightly guarded. Over siu mai (shrimp and pork dumplings) and a rice bowl topped with pork belly, we shared stories based in food.
I told him I spent the better part of 10 years trying to grab the James Beard particular brass ring, and while on vacation in Maine in 2007 we went out of our way to have lobster rolls at Waterman’s on Penobscot Bay. Waterman’s won a James Beard American Classics Award in 2001 and when we arrived at the unassuming shack, that award was hanging over the ordering window, next to simple light fixture. When I told the owner my wife and I owned a fine-dining restaurant in South Carolina, she enthusiastically replied: “Oh, you’re a chef, you know we have one of those Beard Award things. It’s right there next to that light fixture.”
Oshiro laughed, delighted with the sense of charm. If only achieving that level of excellence were that easy, we’d all be doing it. At that, we were served shrimp and lettuce wraps with the shrimp served chilled and enveloped in a coconut sauce, and flash-fried green beans tossed in rice vinegar, garlic and oyster sauce.
I recalled bringing my car into this place so many years ago, when it was W.N. Watson. The employees smiled readily and offered great service at a fair price, as does Sum Bar. Except an unexpected visit to W.N. Watson might cost $800, whereas dinner for two at Sum Bar might set you back less than $100. And when you have finished eating, your car is probably still in one piece.
Our laughter was interrupted with a plate of miso crab claws, roasted and served with chili oil and a spicy mayonnaise. Growing up in south Louisiana, crab claws were a common appetizer, something that could be served quickly if the neighbor’s stay crowded up against supper time. We bit into those wonderful crab claws and smiled. How appropriate that “dim sum” translates to “dot the heart.”
Sum Bar at 307 E. Washington St. serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday and lunch on Saturday.
“City Juice” is a colloquial term for a glass of tap water served at a diner. John Malik is a restaurant coach and hospitality consultant. He can be reached at chefjohnmalik@gmail.com.
