This story really tugged on my heartstrings—it bears a lot of similarity to my family’s restaurant story. My dad was orphaned at 11, and his entire life was uprooted when he emigrated to America at 19. He opened his restaurant alongside his two orphaned brothers in Austin, TX. Tim and Joe Rammell, also orphaned, ended up opening a restaurant alongside an unexpected best friend in Salt Lake City, UT.

Drunken Kitchen (DK) opened their proverbial “doors” out of a commercial ghost kitchen on November 17, 2023. Since then they’ve gone from ghost kitchen to shared kitchen, and now they’re cheffing it up out of a brewery restaurant. They’ve got their eyes set on opening another location—and they’ve got the chops to back it. Last year, Salt Lake City Weekly gave DK a slew of accolades: #2 Best New Restaurant, Best Dumpling, and Tim as the city’s #2 Best Chef.

And this year, DK was featured as one of Salt Lake City Magazine’s Best Restaurants—and nominated by Salt Lake City Weekly for Best Asian Restaurant.

Grab a cocktail and follow along as I get to share yet another “American Dream” unfolding in real time—and what it took three childhood friends to make DK a reality. Stick to the end—DK’s graciously agreed to share a recipe for BTB readers to take home.

Tim and Joe were born in China and Taiwan, respectively, to the same parents. But before Wyoming, before kitchens, and before Salt Lake City (SLC) they grew up together in Taiwan’s foster system.

Then came the moment that changed everything.

In 2006, an American family showed up in Taiwan looking to adopt a little boy. They wanted Joe.

Tim was ten years old. Joe was nine. Naturally, the two were inseparable, having endured so much together. Joe refused to come to America unless both of them were adopted. So as fate would have it, the two brothers were adopted together and dropped into one of the wealthiest mountain towns in the country: Jackson, Wyoming.

No English. New culture. New everything.