Delta seemed like the perfect name for a restaurant, until the COVID-19 variant swept the country last summer. That pushed award-winning chef Kevin Tien and his protégé Caleb Jang to make the first of many pivots in their new Korean-inspired restaurant, now called Magpie and the Tiger. The venture occupies the space in Petworth once home to Himitsu, where Tien was the executive chef and Jang was a part of his team. Now Jang is the executive chef, and his exploration of his Korean heritage guides the concept.
The chefs are leaning into the dark humor of the pandemic pivot. At the top of the menu, it reads prominently: “This is fine. Everything is going to be okay.” But look closely below those encouraging phrases to find another one in a smaller, faded font: “Oh dear God please help us.”
“It’s like the spinning teacup ride at the amusement park,” says Tien, who concurrently oversees Moon Rabbit, his neo-Vietnamese restaurant at the Wharf. “At some point you get sick of it and want to throw up. That’s where the industry is at this point. We want to throw up and get off this ride.”
The original plan was to open Magpie and the Tiger in January as a sit-down-only dinner experience but when omicron hit, the chefs pivoted to a small lunch and dinner takeout menu of Korean-Chinese dishes.
“It’s so people can try our food while we get things going,” says Jang.
Right now, the takeout menu is only four items long. To start, there are yachae jjinbbang — puffy steamed buns plump with mushrooms, sweet potato noodles, zucchini, and tofu — and dotori-muk muchim, acorn jelly salad tossed in sesame-soy vinaigrette. For mains, there’s kkanpunggi — soy-marinated, extra crispy twice fried chicken — and jjajangmyeon, black bean noodles punched up with pork belly (both can be made vegetarian). “It’s the standard of Chinese- Korean food,” says Jang of the latter. “But when I want to eat it, I have to go to Annandale or the Maryland suburbs. I wanted to do a version that would be just as good for people who don’t want to drive.”
It’s likely the chicken will stay on the menu when the restaurant opens for sit-down dinner service, probably in mid-February but the rest of the offerings, like the restaurant, are in flux. A month or so ago, Jang completed what he thought was the final menu but had second thoughts and is revamping it now. Yet another pivot.
Whatever dishes he settles on, expect the choices to be split into small plates, medium dishes, and shareable entrees. Jang’s currently testing ideas, including soy-glazed galbi short ribs, spicy rice cakes, sweet and sour pork belly, and roasted and fried Korean sweet potatoes in a creamy coconut sauce.
For dessert, Jang loves the simplicity of the classics. “Not that they’re simple in preparation,” he says, “but there’s a comfort level in ‘Hey, I recognize what this is.’ At the end of the meal, you just want to relax and not eat something you have to think about.”
One current contender is ginger-laced Russian honey cake, its thin layers alternated with burnt ginger and honey frosting.
The beverage program is evolving but spirits won’t be a part of it. Instead, the restaurant will lean heavily into wine and non-alcoholic cocktails showcasing Asian-adjacent and Korean flavors. “We both don’t drink that much at all,” says Tien. “If I opened a beer and smelled it, I’d probably get drunk. That’s how little I drink.”
After signing the lease last March, Jang and Tien gave the space a facelift. They sanded the bar overlooking the open kitchen and added glimmering tiling on its front, redid the floors, remodeled the bathroom, and bought new tables and chairs. They derived the new name from Jang’s Korean heritage, where magpies and tigers were common motifs in art and literature. In some depictions, the bird represents commoners, while the tigers are caricatures of nobility.
Once the restaurant opens for sit down service, lunch and takeout will stop. However, always prepared for another pivot, they will reevaluate the possibility of reintroducing to-go orders down the line.
Before opening Magpie And The Tiger, Jang cooked with Tien at Himitsu, Emilie’s, and Moon Rabbit, and served as a pastry chef at Shaw’s whole grain focused bakery, Seylou. As the owner, Tien serves as Jang’s mentor, stepping in when an extra pair of hands are needed in the kitchen and helping guide the project.
On top of launching Magpie and the Tiger, Tien is expanding Hot Lola’s, his Sichuan-spiced Nashville hot chicken sandwich shop in Arlington. The second location should open in Rosslyn in a month or two. Currently, it’s popping up until the end of the month in Erik Bruner-Yang’s now-closed ABC Pony space in Navy Yard. “I’m trying to see if D.C. has enough interest for one,” says Tien. “I’d love to be in the city.”
Magpie and the Tiger is located at 828 Upshur St. NW. Open for takeout Wednesday-Sunday 12 p.m.-7:45 p.m.
