One of the biggest misses at the Michelin Guide Awards this year was skipping over of sắp sửa, chefs Tuan “Ni” and Anna Nguyen love letter to Vietnamese cuisine in an elevated atmosphere.
“A lot of our friends have reached out and expressed their own concerns with us not being recognized at all and I tell them the same thing, it’s not about having a Michelin but having the community stand up and speak their displeasure,” said Ni Nguyen over the phone. “It’s almost like we don’t have to say anything, the community speaks for us and it means the world to me and Anna.”
Still, with accolades such as scoring one of 20 slots on Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants list, being a semifinalist this year for the James Beard Award Best New Restaurant, and most recently being named one of the New York Times best 50 restaurants in the country, it’s hard to imagine the Michelin reviewers didn’t enjoy a meal there.
“Maybe they didn’t review us, that could be,” said Nguyen. “We would love to know what their process is, just so we can get better.”
But over all, added the chef, he isn’t looking for awards. Or at least, he is no longer cooking for them.
“We don’t believe in doing things for accolades, but I used to think about that and I had big headaches and no longer had fun at work,” said the chef. “When I cooked for the prestige, the food was garbage.”
Sắp sửa opened in the City Park neighborhood in June 2023, the passion project of the Nguyens, a husband and wife team. Right off the bat it developed a following, with praises and anticipation of awards coming in quickly. The menu aimed to elevate traditional Vietnamese dishes in a modern way, bringing a fine dining element to the cuisine.
It was also a chance for Nguyen, a first-generation Vietnamese American, to bring out his culture for the city to taste. He put a lot of pressure on himself, and really pushed these intricate dishes. His wife Anna mainly handled the pastry and dessert program. As a white woman, she felt the stress of making sure to thoughtfully create Vietnamese food from a place of genuine love and understanding, not appropriation.
The sắp sửa they built quickly landed on lists and became a hot spot for adventurous diners who maybe didn’t know much about Vietnamese food. For the team, the fame led to more pressure and the feeling of having to keep up with reviews in order to feel worthy.
“I had to prove it’s not just hype, sắp sửa is not just another Denver restaurant on a pedestal,” said the chef. “I just went crazy with it and was doing these ideas and flavors that weren’t true to Vietnamese food or me, and everytime I ate something I got more and more discouraged.”
By trying to maintain something for the praise and not themselves, the Nguyens weren’t enjoying cooking as they used too. Feeling a sense of imposter syndrome, Ni decided one day to do something new. So, he made a family meal for the crew to eat preservice. The dish was simple and reminiscent of his childhood. Presented with a plate of fried tofu in a sauce with mint, scallions, and fish sauce over rice, the staff was floored, and something shifted in the chef’s mentality.
“Something switched, I decided to start seeing what the staff says, and if I get good feedback, the dish goes on the menu,” said Nguyen. “I decided I will cook the food we all like, and if they [the diners] catch on, they catch on. But I wanted to do what makes me happy.”
The customers indeed caught on, and based on the praise from the community and national recognition, Nguyen’s choice proved solid. Now the seasonal menu features Vietnamese dishes such as tàu hũ ky cuộn tôm (shrimp cake cooked in butter with mint and trout roe for $21), thịt heo nướng sả (grilled pork shoulder with lemongrass, tamarind, cucumber, and perilla for $32), and nhà xa lát (butter lettuce salad topped with coconut ranch, dill, chives, and seasonal vegetables for $15).
While many dishes on the menu are written in Vietnamese, Nguyen doesn’t want anyone to feel shy about ordering. You can point to the dish, describe it in English, or order it in Vietnamese. If certain ingredients are foreign, ask the staff. The chefs train everyone on the menu so they are knowledgeable and able to suggest items diners may like.
Personally, I wasn’t excited about the trứng và trứng ($16), a soft scrambled egg cooked in brown butter and fish sauce and served with trout roe and rice. However, I trusted my menu guide and ordered it. For someone who doesn’t love eggs, it’s now something I still think about months later.
For Nguyen, his favorite dish to make is the braised pork belly with hard boiled eggs in a fish sauce caramel. It’s something he grew up eating and his mom made it all the time, said the chef. Now, as the weather cools, he will bring the slow-braised dish to sắp sửa in the hope others find it just as warming and comforting. After all, he added, being part of the community remains important for him and Anna.
“The more you do outside those four walls for your community the more you can be a pillar,” he said. “They want to come in, they want to support and hang out.”
And, when you don’t get the awards you deserve, the community speaks out. At least, added Nguyen, sắp sửa has plenty to be grateful for beyond the Michelin Guide. But he does hope next year the restaurant gets recognized. It’s not an award for him personally, he said, but for the people who have pride working there and the customers that support them.
“It’s been quite a journey getting here and it’s the coolest thing to see our staff see the fruits of their labor,” praised Nguyen. As for the Michelin Guide, ”I will try for them, it’s like having 30 kids and you hate to see them disappointed. I want to make it on there for them, so they can feel proud and say they worked in a restaurant that had no stars, and now we do, and we earned it.”
Visit sắp sửa Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4:30 to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 10 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. 250 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, sapsua.com
