Kensington Grows, Cooks, & Blogs: An Interview with Sunny Phanthavong of Vientiane Bistro
By Matt Hilferty Interfaith Philadelphia launched the Crafting Community Project in Kensington in the Fall of 2020. Through this neighborhood-rooted art and education initiative, we collaborated with organizations, faith communities, and neighbors to launch the Kensington Grows, Cooks, and Serves , a multi-part series exploring the intersections of food, faith, and culture within the Kensington area. One component of this initiative is a blog interview series highlighting Kensington-based restaurants and grocers who demonstrate understanding, community-centeredness, and the celebration of diversity. For this final installment in the series, we sat down with Sunny Phanthavong from Vientiane Bistro. 1. Tell us a little about your business. (e.g. Where are you located? When did you open? What do you serve/sell?) Vientiane Bistro is a Lao and Thai restaurant that opened in September 2018 at 2537 Kensington Avenue. We serve curries, noodle dishes, and fried rice along with appetizers