Repainted, new door, renovated interior, Magpie and the Tiger is getting ready to open for unique Korean-inspired cuisine at 828 Upshur Street NW.

by Maya Gold

Himitsu, the nationally-acclaimed Japanese-inspired restaurant that closed before Covid on Upshur Street, left behind a legacy — and an empty brick-and-mortar location. The restaurant was replaced by Pom Pom, which itself closed in the summer of 2020.

But, like a phoenix from the ashes, the location is re-opening with Himitsu’s chefs at the helm. Or maybe another type of bird: Chef Caleb Jang, Himitsu’s sous chef, will be the executive chef of Magpie and The Tiger, the new restaurant coming to the spot. Kevin Tien, the executive chef of Himitsu — as well as Moon Rabbit and Emilie’s — is the owner of the new spot.

When Jang and Tien found out the space on Upshur was open again, they started thinking about it. “We did really great things there,” Jang says. “We wanted to do something with the space again.”

While Jang has an extremely accomplished resume as a sous chef at Himitsu, Seylou and Moon Rabbit, this will be his first time running a restaurant.

“Kevin and I have worked together for quite a while now. Kevin is an extremely generous guy, and I experienced a lot of his generosity and leadership,” says Jang. “That sort of thing is the reason why I’m able to be in that space and have my own shot in running a restaurant.”

*Kevin Tien (left) and Caleb Jang (right). The two have been cooking together for many years--Jang was Tien’s sous chef at both Himitsu and Moon Rabbit. (Photo: Rebecca Hattery-Khan)*

As a Korean-American, Jang wants to focus on Korean food — though “not exclusively that” — where his inspiration for the restaurant’s name comes from. Minhwa is a form of traditional Korean folk painting. The jakhodo is a genre of the minhwa, featuring a tiger and a magpie.

“In the past couple years, I’ve wanted to connect with my background and where my parents came from, that history and ancestry,” Jang says. The name of the restaurant is, he says, “A call back on my culture and an idea of connecting back with that.”

Jang notes that there’s some preconceived notions of what a Korean restaurant has to be. “I think it’s great that there’s an awareness of Korean food, but there’s so much more than the top three of KBBQ, Korean fried chicken and free side dishes.”

While he can’t reveal too much of the menu yet, he plans to explore Korean food that people may not know about — though, he reassures me, it will “still be extremely delicious.”

If all goes to plan, Jang hopes to open the restaurant by the end of the year, though he notes it’s their “idealistic goal.”

Caleb Jang and Kevin Tien *(Photo: Rebecca Hattery-Khan)*

Another goal? Providing a high standard of living for the staff of Magpie and The Tiger. Jang says all their staff will have a living wage and paid health insurance, and emphasizes the importance of a healthy environment. “[It’s] not one of those stereotypical kitchens where you would get talked down to a lot,” he said. “We’ve been through a couple of those kitchens,” Jang says. “It doesn’t matter how good anything is if you devalue humans as humans and don’t treat them as people.”

Follow Magpie and the Tiger on Instagram and look for their opening soon.

Magpie and the Tiger
828 Upshur St NW
Coming soon…