Palate Connect

For our executive chef Rob, he wanted to recreate what he ate in his childhood, and for me, I just wanted to bring contemporary Asian food into the spotlight, where people can eat this everyday and feel good about it. –Russell Russell, Rob and Kitty are the driving forces behind the newly opened Asian restaurant, Som Bo, which serves up classic Asian dishes with a progressive chef-driven twist. Rob has worked at many well-established restaurants in New York and Russell also co-owns The Pokéspot, a popular poké chain in New York. Starting Som Bo was my way of adding to the melting pot of New York; adding my culture and heritage to the mix while also providing value to my fellow New Yorkers.

It broke my heart that people were making Belgian chocolate mousse even though it was far from it. These invaluable moments in the kitchen molded Johan into the kind of chef that he is today, making the mousse that he loves as his way to honor his grandfather’s memory. As the chef for the Belgian ambassador, he would prepare his signature chocolate mousse during official dinners where it became a huge hit to the ambassador and his guests. Even his partner and his wife, Jaqueline, has her own story about Johan and his popular mousse: We had a little picnic in Central Park for my birthday.

Like his cereal bar, Cory was also born and raised in Chinatown, something that he takes a lot of pride in. Many customers love sitting around the bar because they get to see their cereal inspired creations come to life, step by step. Like many others his age in Chinatown, Cory’s parents were immigrants who had dreams of a better life for their kids. Even to this day, Cory credits his drive and work ethic to his family, who provided him with support and love, and his neighborhood, which provided him with his hustler mentality and sense of community.

– Mike Mike Fribourg and David Asser are childhood best friends turned business partners. Some people really care, some people don’t care, and we wanted a place where the stuff still tasted really, really good for everybody who’s not like watching every little gram of sugar, but where the people who do care about that can relax too. And then when he goes back to school, there’s an internal pull that I know that he knows that it’s understood that he might have to write a ten-page paper the next day, so I need to be here double the time. Mike Mike and David plan on making this summer an amazing one (sunshine, non-dairy soft serve, you can’t go wrong).