Rising culinary superstar Ayesha Curry says she has plans to expand her budding food empire with a brick-and-mortar International Smoke restaurant in San Francisco. Her partner and restaurateur Michael Mina, who already operates dozens of high-end restaurants around the world, is closing his 8-year-old SoMa restaurant RN74 to make way for Curry’s grilled and smoked meat endeavor.
It’s certainly the next logical step for the lifestyle celebrity, “soup disruptor,” Food Network personality, meal-kit delivery service owner, and cookbook author (yes, that’s all one 28-year-old-woman). Curry originally collaborated with Mina for her International Smoke pop-up at Mina Test Kitchen in the Marina in 2016. The $45 four-course menu offered family-style dining and barbecue everything: char siu, St. Louis-style ribs, Korean BBQ, and more. It was held during NBA playoffs last year, and even Drake came through for a bite.
Curry will start as both a kitchen staff member and behind-the-scenes puppeteer. She tells SF Chronicle “One thing I’m not worried about is the aesthetic or the deliciousness of the food. I just want to…take my game to the next level.” International Smoke will serve ribs, lobster, slow-cooked pork, spicy sausage, and more. Curry tells Mercury News, “My diversity is reflected in the way that I cook. Barbecue is the perfect way to experiment and indulge in tasting different flavors, cuts of meat and styles of cooking.”
International Smoke is opening this Fall at 301 Mission Street, on the ground floor of SF’s Millennium Tower…yes, that sinking real estate fiasco of a building. Mina shared in an email to the Millennium homeowners that he hopes to “reinvigorate the building with new energy and excitement. Ayesha and I have worked on this project for quite some time and are excited to share a lighter side of barbecue, featuring global flavors and cooking techniques with signature Mina Group hospitality that you’ve come to know.” We’re looking forward to the first taste!