We certainly know how to eat well in Sacramento. In recent years, the city has been growing in the national culinary spotlight.
And now, we can add another homegrown chef to the growing list of prestigious Sacramento restaurateurs.
Buu “Billy” Ngo — a co-owner and chef at the widely adored Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine — has been named as a semifinalist for Best California Chef from the James Beard Awards. The recognition has been likened to being nominated for an Oscar in the culinary world.
“I wasn't looking forward to this or thinking it was gonna happen. Last Wednesday when it got announced I was truly, truly shocked,” Ngo told CapRadio Insight host Vicki Gonzalez. “I was in bed, I was sleeping, and then my phone just [started] blowing up with texts. I looked and I saw ‘Congratulations!’ It started at 7:30 a.m.”
Ngo has been working as a chef in Sacramento for the majority of his professional career. And he’s been a Sacramento resident for most of his life, moving here from Hong Kong when he was 8 months old.
“My mom was pregnant with me and she was able to escape [from Vietnam during the Vietnam War] and luckily got on a boat,” he said. “We ended up in a refugee camp in Hong Kong and that's where I was born. We were there for a few months and then we … ended up in San Francisco first and then came to Sacramento.”
He started his restaurant career while still in high school, working as a busboy at Fuji, a Japanese restaurant off Broadway (which has recently reopened under new leadership).
But he said his love for the industry was born during his time working at Mikuni in Roseville. Right off the bat, he noticed a bright energy during his job interview: Taro Arai, the owner of the restaurant chain, served him sushi as he asked him interview questions.
“I just looked around and everybody looked like they're having fun,” he said. “It was like sitting at a bar, you know, the bartender’s having fun, they talk to you, chat, they pour you a drink. These guys are having fun. They're chatting with you, making food, splashing sauce on the plates, guys have bleached hair and bandanas. I thought, ‘this is pretty cool.’”
Though he didn’t stay at Mikuni for long, the culinary bug had gotten to him. Ngo dropped out of college to work in the industry, which eventually led him to go to culinary school, where the idea to open Kru was born.
He said his family was supportive of the idea to open a restaurant, but suggested he try in a bigger city, like Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York City.
“I thought about it, but I don't know,” he said. “I have a lot of Sacramento pride for some reason.”
“All my friends who grew up here hated Sacramento,” he continued. “Everyone graduated high school, went to move out to go to college or to do their own things. Even back then, the only thing [cool] that was around at that time about Sacramento was the Kings … Even during the playoffs everybody would just call this place a cowtown and this and that. I just had a feeling, like I knew something was gonna happen. This city was gonna be cool. I wanted to be part of it.”
Kru opened in 2005, when Ngo was just 23 years old. When it first opened, the eatery was located in a building along J Street in Midtown.
“It was just so different, I didn't want to do the same thing as everybody else was doing and I think that's what made us popular,” Ngo said of the restaurant’s early success. “[It] was being different and just having really passionate people on our team.”
Billy Ngo, the chef and owner of Kru, a contemporary Japanese restaurant in Sacramento, Calif., serves up a sushi roll made with organic rice Thursday, June 10, 2010.AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
Since 2005, the restaurant has expanded and relocated to the location you’re probably most familiar with, along Folsom Boulevard near Alhambra Boulevard. It’s often lauded as the best sushi in Sacramento, known for its Omakase service (when a chef chooses dishes based on your personal tastes) and traditional Japanese dishes like gyoza and wagyu.
But Kru has been snubbed every time Michelin Guide reviewers have come to town. Both The Kitchen and Localis have been given the highly-coveted Michelin Star award, one of the highest distinctions the organization gives out. Michelin also dolls out recognition for specific dishes, called Plate Awards, and lower-cost eateries, called Bib Gourmand Awards.
“We'd been pushing to get the Michelin Guide to come to Sacramento for a long time,” Ngo said. “So when that happened that was really really awesome. The [recipients of the] stars, you know, those two restaurants definitely deserve it … Having all the other things — the plates, the bibs, [they] were all awesome — but I think I was a little bummed out when we didn't get a mention.”
Ngo is a partner at several other Sacramento-based restaurants, including Fish Face Poke Bar, Kodaiko Ramen Bar, and Fukuro by Kru at the Sky River Casino in Elk Grove.
He’s also helping open a new Chinese-Vietnamese fusion restaurant called Chu Mai, a tribute to his mother. The eatery is set to open on S Street this summer.
Ngo’s competition for the James Beard award includes a number of high-tier California chefs, most of whom are located in the Bay Area or Los Angeles. He’s the only Sacramentan in the semifinals.
Nominees of the Best California Chef will be announced on April 3, and winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 10.
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