Creative cravings

John Dean’s love affair with food was kindled decades ago and has taken him to high-end restaurants in San Francisco and New York City—including getting a degree, with honors, from the Culinary Institute of America—to Chico establishments like Tin Roof Bakery and Monks Wine Lounge. All hold a special place in his heart. It was The Wine Room in Paradise, however, that propelled him to take the next step.

“That’s the first place where I got to really express myself with food,” he said while sipping a beer at The Commons Social Empourium, where his Drunken Dumpling food truck was set up for the night. “That’s when I realized I could do what was inside my head, and it gave me the courage to start my own business.”

Drunken Dumpling, which he runs with business partner/partner in life Elizabeth Young, offers Dean an opportunity to let his creativity go wild, with very few constraints. There’s an “Asian bent” to everything they make, he said, but considering all cultures have their own versions of dumplings, he sees infinite possibilities to incorporate new ingredients and flavors. Also, he said, Drunken Dumpling isn’t your average mobile kitchen.

“We want to change the way food is done on a food truck,” he said. “We’ll mark your table, we’ll bring you your food. If it’s raining outside, we’ll come tableside and take orders.”

He views the business as more of a traveling restaurant than a mobile kitchen, with venues like Nor Cal Brewing Co. or Secret Trail Brewing Co. his dining rooms (they’ll be at The Commons on Valentine’s Day; check facebook.com/Drunkendumplingchico for a full schedule). Customers often express surprise when their soup and dumplings get delivered to their table, beautifully garnished in a real dish, not a takeout container—but that, to Dean and Young, is what they’re all about.

That and great food, with a side of good humor.

A case in point: For his sexiest dish, Dean offered up his popular Thai Sticky Meatballs in Sum Yun Gai broth. “People see that on the menu and just have to try it,” he said with a laugh.

The ingredient list is almost unwieldy: Llano Seco pork, housemade Thai green chili paste, jalapeño, onion, lemongrass, ginger and fish sauce. They’re braised in a kefir lime lemongrass barbecue pork braising liquid and coated in a sticky Thai chili sauce. Top that off with some mandarin, pickled jalapeño, cilantro, peanuts and deep-fried rice paper, and ladle in the mysterious (and delicious) Sum Yun Gai broth, and you have a complex, flavorful dish more suitable for slow savoring than one might expect from a food truck.

“It’s a sexy dish,” Dean said, “and a little spicy.”

Drunken Dumpling’s menu changes regularly. That’s part of the fun, Dean says, as it gives him an opportunity to try new things. Rather than viewing the mobile kitchen as a disadvantage, he said, “I’m far more creative because of it.”

Drunken Dumpling opened just last year, but Dean and Young made quick work of finding their niche. Having worked for so many years in local restaurants, Dean says opening his own business was the logical next step.

“I’m at the point now where I can give back to the community that’s given me so much,” he said.