Asian Bistro introduces new flavors

In downtown Milledgeville, the new restaurant on the block is Asian Bistro. The heart of the restaurant is its head chef and co-owner, John Tran. He is originally from Stamford, Conn., where he grew up around the restaurant business.

“As a kid I went to Thai and Vietnamese restaurants all the time,” Tran said. “Then at 16, I started working in restaurants. I worked at five restaurants for about 14 hours a week for each job.”

John proved to be a very dedicated worker and consequently demonstrated commitment toward the culinary arts. He trained at the University of Connecticut-Stamford where he discovered his love of French cuisine, hence the word “bistro” in his restaurant’s name.

“My favorite food to eat would definitely be foie gras. Do you know what that is? Goose liver. It is a French delicacy. My favorite food to make is p?té because it tastes so fresh when you make it,” Tran said.

As for Tran’s love of Asian cuisine, it comes down to a simple formula: the more daring, the better. But he’s taking a cautious approach before trying anything too exotic at his new bistro. At least for the time being.

“I came to Milledgeville in June of last year to be with my family. The folks here are accustomed to Southern food, so the menu I have now is basic Asian cuisine,” Tran said. “We’ll have to work in the newer more adventurous things slowly.”

John works alongside his brother-in-law Austin Tran, who is the main chef at the restaurant.

“We get along very well when we are working together,” Austin Tran said. “To be honest we’re like family here, we work together very well because we are family and that affects the staff as well.”

Although business may not be as busy as they would like, the two are optimistic that the tides will change.

“Right now I’m very grateful we’re right here in a college town,” John Tran said. “The great thing about college kids is that they are very adventurous, and their minds are more open.”

From the students who have discovered Asian Bistro, the general consensus is very positive.

“I got the Pad Thai and an order of the eel sushi rolls last time that I went,” senior business major Bud Caton said. “I’ve been to the restaurant two or three times. They just have great service and the people who work there are nice. Especially John, he is really nice.”

The restaurant has also left an impression on Bethan Adams, a freshman nursing major.

“I think more people should go to the Asian Bistro because the food is very well made and it has turned out to be one of my favorite places to eat downtown,” Adams said.

Posted by Joanna Sullivan on Jan 29 2010. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry