Love Me Some Thom Pham

Pick up a copy of the latest Mpls St Paul Magazine and you'll find a great article on my darling Thom Pham, written by my homey Steve Marsh.  Steve, as always, did a great job writing a very in-depth profile, detailing subjects like Thom's difficult childhood, his success in real estate ventures, and an astute description of his very masculine [homo]sexuality.

Thom and I were having drinks last night and he was very pleased with the flattery and the truthfulness of the article.  His only gripes were his name being misspelled throughout (it's T-h-o-m, not T-o-m) and some perhaps misleading quotes about La Belle Vie and Cosmos (those are his absolute favorite spots in town and he frequents them often).  Temple is a complement to an already gorgeous and talent-laden restaurant scene.  His comments regarding adding a little spice to the mix were in no way suggesting that the big boys need improvement.  Thom is worried that someone might think he was putting them down, although I told him that I didn't read it that way.

I'm quite pleased that Steve included the one and only thing I was insistent upon: explaining that "Pham" rhymes with "Thom".  The pronunciation isn't easy to get the first time (a lot of people say it like "fam"), but even after I correct them they often still say it wrong.  Thom Pham.  It rhymes.

One more Pham story and then I'm off to the next blog entry: some idiots tried to dine-and-dash last week.  These guys first drew attention to themselves by ordering Louis XIII at Temple, which of course prompted Thom to visit their table and say hello.  He chatted with them for a while, then turned around and they were gone.  He drove down to Azia a short while later, and guess who was sitting at a table ordering up more expensive cognac?  Seriously, HOW STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE?  So Thom pulled up a chair and sat down with them, explaining that they would be paying their $750 bill or he would be calling the police.  They ran out of the restaurant, but Thom ran them down, yelling at the manager to call the cops on his way out the door.  You can't necessarily tell by looking at Thom, but he is very physically fit and comes equipped with years of judo training.  And I've seen him angry exactly once before and it wasn't pretty.  Anyway, the cops get there just about the time Thom is dragging these dudes back to their open tab and they were arrested.

I don't know what the penalty is for a $750 dine-and-dash, but whatever it is, these guys deserve it.  To steal from a sweet guy like Thom is one thing, but to be so dense as to try it at two of his restaurants in one night, just down the street from one another... well, they need to be punished just for being so stupid.

Comments

[Aaron]

Not sure if this is covered in the article or not - I haven't seen it yet - but his formerly forthcoming projects on East Lake that were projected to open last year seem to not be a go anymore. I noticed both buildings recently have "For Lease" banners in them. Are those on indefinite hold or are "Mix" and "Manhattan Martini Bar" no longer going to exist?

[Mariam]

Theft of Property/Services over $500 (but less than $2,500): felony level, punishable by a maximum of 5 years in prison, $10,000 fine, or both.

Be forewarned, dine and dashers :)

[Concerned]

First, I have been to Azia many times with great happiness. The happy hour is wonderful (where else can you find happy hour until closing?) and the Catepiller Lounge tends to be a nice place to relax to some fun house tunes. Sure, the servers are almost always full of attitude with no apparent reason, but whatever. Keep my drink full and your mouth shut and I am happy. I can't have it all.

Temple, on the other hand, is the biggest joke brought to Minneapolis since Five. I went there for happy hour (which ends at 6, which is a total rip-off), and had a horrible drink (if you can't make a gimlet or a simple vodka tonic, you need return to being a bar-back, not bar-tender), had a horrible appetizer that was literally not edible, then charged double for it, and the overall atmosphere was hideous. A simple beer shouldn't be $8 when we were almost the only people in the bar. Anyplace that has Target furniture in the bathroom shouldn't charge more than $6 for a damn beer. Keep in mind that everyone else I speak to about this place says the same thing - STAY AWAY.

So, what gives? I understand you work there, but are you jaded to the true disaster of Temple? Azia is great - I am not saying anything about the wonderful roller that IS Mr. Thom. But Temple needs a rethink, kids!

One last thing: If your menu uses typography that looks like it came from a woman from Chaska using Windows 95...well, then you also cannot charge over $5 for a beer.

[geoff]

I wondered, when I read Marsh's, "In fact, the stories he tells about his childhood--most of which are impossible to corroborate--are often harrowing," if he meant to imply that Thom was embellishing tales of his childhood.

[Marlys]

Marsh spelled the guy's name wrong throughout the entire article? And no copy editor caught it? Jesus, that is unbelievably bush league. Embarrassing.

[geoff]

You mean to tell me that "M-A-R-L-Y-S" is how you intended to spell your name? ;)

[Marlys]

Not a Lynda Barry fan, eh, Geoff? ;)

[Alexis]

Aaron: Thom does address that in the article. Because the opportunity to open Temple came along and he had to make a decision, he's delaying the opening of Mix indefinitely so as not to get overwhelmed. It would be irresponsible to open two restaurants in a year; he's already working day and night with the three he owns now.

Concerned: I'll relay your comments to Thom. If it happens again, just send it all back. It sounds like you're familiar with Thom's hospitality, so you know he would graciously fix everything for you. And try the happy hour again, it's 3-6 AND 10-close, 7 days a week. The menu is also getting another revision; looks like it'll include some sushi items.

I don't work for Thom, but we are close friends. I helped him open Temple and stayed on through April, but with my business, writing gigs, and visual merchandising job, something had to give. I work hard, but couldn't work that hard!

Marlys: My name is actually misspelled in the article, too!

[Alexis]

Hey Geoff: How come my emails to your work address ALWAYS bounce back? I just tried to respond to one from Scott Fischburg and that came back with an error message, too.

[David Foureyes]

Re: Getting over extended. What gives with the rumored (confirmed) Thom Pham venture in Myer's Park? Any additional info?

[Aliecat]

I'm glad he caught them!

[geoff]

That sucks...what email program are you using? I think our spam filter might block personal accounts like yahoo, hotmail, etc. I'll check it out on Monday.

[stevemarsh]

Jheez, yhou mhake ohne ahrguable ohversight, ahnd YHOU, Ahlexis, ohf ahll pheople ahre thaking shots aht ohur fhact-checking dhepartment? Ihf yhou rhead the phiece, Ih hhave ah whole pharagraph onh the whole Thom/Tom thing.

[Concerned]

I don't think you understand: There is zero reason to try Temple again. The lack of service, the lack of decent food, and the outrageous price are one thing, but the fact that we were among the only people in the establishment...and the horrible decor? Give me a break! Temple isn't a status symbol, and Mr. Thom should stick to Azia. Or maybe he's perfectly cut out to make these scenester wanna-be locations. Hmmm...quite possibly!

[Alexis]

Geoff, my emails would be coming from my business domain, personal-touch-errands.com. I've always had this problem emailing you, so I might worry that you're not getting a lot of emails from other people, too.

And I'll clarify the spelling mistake for Steve. Thom changed his name from "Thom" to "Thomas" when he moved to the States. So Steve thought that also meant he dropped the "h" when using the nickname, but that's not the case.

[geoff]

well, I guess that explains it...they see "personal touch errands" and figure it's an Asian massage company that makes house calls. It's not, is it?

[Alexis]

Um, no.

[Som Yun Gui]

It could be.