Capitol Hill food+drink | Soi — the other ambitious restaurant project coming to 10th and Union

OK. We know who the oxpecker is — that’s Soi. But the big water buffalo in the coming soon E Union restaurant’s logo? That could be many things.

When it opens this summer, the ambitious, regionally-focused Thai restaurant will be part of a massive development and preservation project on E Union in the rapidly changing blocks just south of E Pike. Soi will also, some will undoubtedly believe, ride in on the back of the beast of hype that is the unnamed, triple-concepted Renee Erickson project focused on the “flavors of the French Atlantic” it will neighbor.

But the bird and water buffalo for husband and wife restaurateurs Gabe Wiborg and Yuie Helseth are simple representations of the northeastern Thai region of Isan at the center of their plans for Soi’s flavors. And the ambitious space in a major project was what the couple needed to stage their vision of “an exploration through food.”

“We wanted to do a restaurant like Soi in the beginning but Kent wasn’t the right place,” Wiborg said. “We had ambitious visions, ideas, and goals.” Continue reading