This Houston Thai Restaurant Won’t Change Its Menu, Not Even For Madonna

Anyone who knows James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter knows that the chef prides herself on her “unapologetic” Thai cuisine at her restaurant Street to Kitchen. The restaurant, now located in Houston’s Second Ward, humorously poked fun at her standards and customer reactions in a previous menu that featured an obnoxious customer named “Karen,” who complained about STK’s policies, including not changing spice levels and requiring diners to order all dishes at once. But if you’re wondering whether Chef G ever strays from her “no changes” policy, know that not even Madonna can change her mind.

Graham Painter, co-owner of Street to Kitchen and husband of Chef G, says a representative for the mega-pop star dropped by on a busy night in March. While Painter was overseeing operations at their Thai and Native restaurant Th Prsrv in Kemah, Chef G was manning the host stand at Street to Kitchen, quietly greeting guests and taking orders. That night, a British man walked in with a small group of people, Chef G recalls. The man immediately began ordering various dishes but with a host of modifications. Chef G listened but dismissed them. “We don’t do that,” Chef G said.

Brittany Britto Garley

“You know this is for Madonna?” the man reportedly said, but Chef G surprisingly didn’t know the superstar. “Well, Madonna. She’s really, really famous,” he said, according to Chef G.

His answer ?

“Well, I heard the chef here is also very famous.”

Painter says the man was speechless, but after a few moments, he agreed to have the Thai dishes prepared the chef’s way. When Chef G told her husband the story, Painter says he beamed with pride. “She didn’t set out to be a diva,” he says. “But a proud chef doesn’t want her menu changed. She works hard… If you go to a French or Italian restaurant, almost everyone understands that you don’t tell the chef how to prepare the food.”

Chef G, especially as a young female chef in a male-dominated industry, has always been keen to maintain her style and approach to Thai cooking, which is largely based on her grandmother’s recipes, Painter says. But that refusal to change is rooted in Thai chef culture, Painter says. While Thai chefs at street food stalls or tourist restaurants are often willing to make changes, Graham says most Thai chefs are reluctant to make changes or requests to their menus that many Americans aren’t used to. “When it comes to Thai cooking, we assume that everything is our way,” he says. “She’s younger and she’s a woman, but that doesn’t mean she’s not serious. She treats her cooking as an art.”

Interestingly, the Madonna encounter, which occurred while the singer was on tour in Houston, led to another encounter with the celebrity a few months later. Painter says he told the story to two Los Angeles musicians who were dining at a restaurant. Almost immediately, one of the musicians began messaging a friend. That friend was Alanis Morissette. Painter says the musician said Morissette found the story hilarious and invited him and Chef G to her Triple Moon concert tour at the Woodlands, which took place on Father’s Day. Chef G, who was more familiar with Morissette and her hit “Ironic,” agreed, and the Painters, who were invited backstage, missed his encounter by a few minutes, they say.

Annie Mulligan

Houston’s food scene is no stranger to celebrities. Hometown hero Beyoncé occasionally visits her favorite local restaurants like BB’s Tex Orleans and Frenchy’s, and has professed her love for Pappadeux. Lizzo promoted several local restaurants during her 2022 trip home, including Shipley Do-Nuts, Mai’s, and Chapultepec Lupita. And Bun B’s Trill Burgers has attracted a slew of A-listers, including Drake, Mike Tyson, and Ludacris.

But, according to Graham, Street to Kitchen’s interaction with Madonna’s team is proof that you never know who’s in Houston. Knowing Madonna’s reputation for female empowerment, the restaurateur says he’s confident she’d approve of Chef G sticking to his guns. “I think she’d be totally supportive.”

Eater Houston reached out to Madonna’s representatives but did not immediately receive a response.