James Beard-Recognized Miss Kim Is Planning a Second Ann Arbor Restaurant

Ji Hye Kim, chef and owner of Ann Arbor restaurant Miss Kim, is riding high following a fifth nod this winter as a James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes. While other Korean American restaurants across the country showcase the beauty of the Third Culture experience, an increasingly essential part of America’s culinary world, Miss Kim uniquely embraces Michigan and celebrates the state’s locally grown ingredients. Her ethos fits well under the umbrella of the Zingerman’s umbrella of restaurants by paying workers fair wages while carving out a community hub. Kim’s Kerrytown space fosters collaboration with chefs from all over the country for pop-ups, book readings, and hands-on demonstrations. Kim grew up in Seoul before immigrating to New Jersey. She arrived in Ann Arbor for college, attending the University of Michigan. Now, nine years after Miss Kim’s opening she’s ready for her encore. She’s ready to go smaller with a casual counter-service restaurant with an all-vegetarian menu. Construction has already started on Little Kim which, like its bigger sister, will lean heavily into Kim’s Korean identity, while incorporating Chinese, Japanese, and Indian influences with ingredients sourced from Michigan farmers and producers. Kim’s shooting for a spring opening. “I think Miss Kim was, and still is sort of an expression of my Korean American-ness, like, I’m Korean and I’m American, and I don’t have to justify either, and this is my expression of that culture and community that I’m part of,” Kim tells Eater. “I think Little Kim is similar, but I think it’s more that I was really focused on being able to be more equitable.” While Miss Kim isn’t the most expensive upscale restaurant in town, Kim, like a growing number of lauded chefs, is seeing food costs continuing to skyrocket with the average diner eating out less. The menu at Little Kim will feature customizable bowls, wherein diners select a choice of jasmine rice, greens, or fries, followed by protein options like kidney beans in soy sauce and ghee or chickpeas in gochujang marinara. Veggie choices include vegan kimchi, as well as a variety of sauces and garnishes. Diners can also expect soups that combine cultures like a spiced moong daal soup, made up of slow-cooked mung beans and winter squash, and a daily kimbap like a panko fried paneer sandwich. To drink will be a menu of freshly squeezed juices, housemade sodas, and small-batch kombucha, a mocktail program, as well as beer, wine, and makgeolli. Little Kim will also sell Kim’s gochujang and soy sauces for home use. Once construction is complete, the restaurant will feature an open kitchen and an aesthetic that combines elements of Kim’s Korean heritage and modernity. Miss Kim opened in late 2016 after Kim honed her culinary skills while working at the Zingerman’s cheese counter. She also studied cooking across the globe, in Tuscany and Rome, and has traveled numerous times to Korea, Taiwan, New York, and Hong Kong. Her travels helped Kim to recognize similarities in cooking traditions across the globe, garnering a loyal following over the years. Examples of that can be found in classic dishes like tteokbokki, which Kim gives the cacio e pepe treatment by accompanying her bouncy crispy rice cake batons with umami-rich miso butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and black pepper. Of her sustained national recognition, Kim says she’s been pleasantly surprised to see her Ann Arbor restaurant listed along with other big names in the restaurant world in much bigger markets. “I’m coming from a place of gratitude,” says Kim. “This is a gift, it’s not something that I’m entitled to, and it’s definitely something that I didn’t expect to see.” Little Kim, 407 N. 5th Avenue in Ann Arbor; planned for a spring opening.