to the moon
Beard Award-winning Houston chef blasts off with new tasting menu concept
Chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter and her husband Graham Painter are opening Jantra.
James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawon Jabthong Painter (better known as Chef G) has won acclaim for her unapologetically Thai flavors at Street to Kitchen, her East End restaurant that holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. Beginning Friday, May 8, she’ll showcase her passion for other styles of cuisine at Jantra, a new tasting menu concept.
Located in Street to Kitchen’s former private dining room, Jantra will only offer one seating per night for up to eight people. Inspired by Chef G’s family name, the restaurant’s name translates as “To the Moon,” imagining what it might be like to return to Earth after a journey to outer space and experience ingredients and flavors for the first time, according to press materials.
“Jantra is about seeing everything as if for the first time,” Chef G said in a statement. “The world is a small place when you approach it from outer space.”
Diners can expect a meal of between eight and 12 courses for $175. Graham Painter, the chef’s husband, business partner, and beverage director, will contribute a pairing that will be priced at $85-120, depending on how many courses are served and what’s being poured.
“We will write the menus in Crayon, allowing things to change on a whim,” Painter tells Cu!tureMap.
Without being limited to only Thai flavors, Jantra’s menu will be guided by whatever the chef is most excited about at the moment. It also allows her to experiment with new ingredients and techniques, previewing where she’s going.
The chef previously collaborated with David Skinner, the imaginative chef behind Kemah restaurants Eculent and Ishtia, on Th Prsrv, a short-lived tasting menu concept that explored the evolution of Thai and Native American cooking across time. While that experience has come to an end, the couple learned lessons that have shaped the experience at Jantra. For example, they learned a lot about pacing and portions, achieving the tricky balance between diners leaving feeling full but being able to enjoy every course.
“Given the historical context of ThPrsrv, creativity was found within limitations,” Graham Painter explains. “Chef had to keep her recipes limited to ingredients found within certain time periods in a historical context. Jantra is the opposite. Free from techniques, limitations on ingredients, or anything else, G has a blank slate from which to create.”
Reservations for Jantra are available on OpenTable. They open at 10 am on the first of the month.
