I’m fond of saying that one of the best ways to get to know the character of a place is through its home-grown culinary scene. In a world where the proliferation of chain brands along Eagle Road in Boise, Idaho can give Southern Californians a heart-warming sense of deja vu, I’m drawn instead to their mom & pop alternatives whenever I can find them. This is particularly true when it comes to food.

Don’t get me wrong…there is some really good grub to be had from chain restaurants. If someone invited me out to P.F. Chang’s for dinner this evening, I’d be delighted. But given a choice between a brand concept and a family-owned restaurant with street cred, you know where you’re going to find me.

I’m proud of our culinary scene here in the Magic Skagit. We can see your “farm-to-table” and raise you a “vine-to-glass” and “grain-to-loaf” (or pint, if you’d prefer). Which is why one of my concerns during the pandemic was the impact that public health policies like social distancing would have on our local restaurants. I’m very happy to say that pretty much all the places I’ve come to love, and that I have passionately promoted to friends and family, managed to find a way to pivot to a business model that kept the doors (or, more precisely, the take-out windows) open.

Sadly, there was one particular gem in the Magic Skagit’s culinary crown that recently closed up shop: Sarkall’s. I can’t even write this without a hurting in my heart. We’d published a couple of stories about this Burlington, Washington purveyor of “donuts and noodle soup.” If that unlikely combination takes you back to a childhood pairing of Hostess and Campbell’s, however, you couldn’t be further off the culinary mark.

The donut shop cum ethnic restaurant was owned by husband and wife Kea Sok and Sophann Ley, who established their bona fides as donut makers at their former establishment, Darren’s Donuts in Mount Vernon. Kea and Sophann wanted a larger kitchen to expand their menu beyond deep fried dough (nothing against deep friend dough, mind you) to include cuisine from their Cambodian homeland. Meyer Sign was proud to have made the signs for both Darren’s and Sarkall’s, and there is a photo of my grandson posing in front of Sarkall’s eye candy pole sign in our original story, from which the following is an excerpt.

The “noodle soup” part of Sarkall’s menu is, in fact, the much loved Asian dish known as “pho”. If the key to a great donut is the dough (duh!), the essence of great pho is the broth — and the broth behind Sarkall’s three soup selections (beef, chicken, seafood) comes from family recipes originating in Sophann and Kea’s birthplace of Cambodia. (Sadly, the couple was forced to flee their homeland as children because of the genocide that took place under the regime of dictator Pol Pat.)

It takes two people to handle a large bowl of Sarkall’s “pho”. Thank goodness they have large left over containers, so you can enjoy it the next day (or two). Having only experienced the beef pho at the time of this writing (chock full of tender, thinly sliced steak and beef brisket), I can tell you that there is something immensely satisfying about adding the fresh bean sprouts, sliced jalapeño peppers and basil that come as a side, squeezing in some lime slices, and topping the whole thing off with a spoonful of chili sauce — and then savoring that glorious umami fragrance steaming off a bowl big enough to soak in. You leave feeling right with the world. And wanting an apple fritter.

And then there’s the Asian Sandwich — which some may recognize as the famous Vietnamese bánh mì — about which Wikipedia offers the following description: “(bánh mì) refers to a kind of sandwich that consists of a Vietnamese single-serving baguette, also called bánh mì in Vietnamese, split lengthwise and filled with various ingredients. A Vietnamese baguette is airier than a Western baguette, with a thinner crust.” In the case of Sarkall’s sandwiches, your choice of ingredients is lemongrass chicken, grilled pork (right off the skewer), or beef brisket — all of which, as the menu states, include slices of pickled carrots and daikon, fresh cucumbers, and sliced jalapeño peppers. For $4.99, you’ve got yourself a meal. Split a sandwich with a friend and order a small bowl of pho (which will cause you to reconsider “small” as a concept), and you’ve got yourself a celebratory meal.

To this day I will doggedly maintain that Sarkall’s made some of the best sandwiches to be had in the Magic Skagit. Such was the artisanal care put into making them (down to slow cooking the beef brisket), that you often had to wait awhile after your order — especially if there were any ahead of yours. But the end result was always well worth the patience.

Like all local restaurants during the pandemic (see our interview with Derrick Wyckoff of 192 Brewing Co.), we worried about Sarkall’s survival — but thanks to their popularity and determination, they were able to make their business work on a take-out basis. My wife and I were frequent customers, and I was looking forward to enjoying a celebratory meal there with Ken Hitt, the owner of Meyer Sign, once the pandemic guidelines allowed a dine-in option.

Alas, this was not to be. On May 14, the following cryptic message appeared on Sarkall’s Facebook page — possibly posted by Sophann: “We are in tears as we have been officially shut down. We are unable to make or even take anymore donut orders. I will continue calling everyone that messaged us. We are so sorry we can no longer serve you. Thank you so much for the years of love and support that you have blessed my parents and family with.”

We have absolutely no idea what calamitous event overtook Sarkall’s, but within days of the above posting a realtor’s sign appeared outside the restaurant. The sign that my now 9-year old grandson posed in front of is still in place — a haunting reminder of all the pork belly ramen and apple fritters I’ve been missing ever since. And don’t even bring up the subject of the chocolate old fashion and braided tiger tails unless you want the uncomfortable spectacle of seeing a grown man cry. Suffice it to say I’m still in mourning.

But I’ve learned through sufficient life experience that fate has an even handed way of dealing with adversity. For every agony of defeat, there is after all the thrill of victory — and vice versa. Even as Sarkall’s was shutting down its deep fryers, a new restaurant was opening up (pandemic notwithstanding) just a few blocks away: The Fairhaven. And although its menu does’t include a bahn mi sandwich, it does include a mighty fine bahn mi salad and a Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich that will knock you right off your Birkenstocks. The menu description reads, “Batter fried chicken topped w/ sweet & tangy bulgogi sauce, kimchi slaw, cilantro & scallion (available grilled)”. Frankly, you had me at “sweet & tangy bulgogi sauce.”

And then there’s Blue Taco, which recently opened up in downtown Mount Vernon’s Pine Square, whose owners have managed to pull off a legit street taco venue that has the vibe of a well designed chain concept while maintaining its madre y padre credentials. Speaking of Mexican food, of which the Magic Skagit boasts an embarrassment of culinary riches, COA is in full swing in their new Riverside address, as is their La Conner venue, and serving up food that would get a thumbs up from the most ardent Seattle hipster. You can still get an “immodest scoop” of ice cream at Snow Goose Produce, the Shticky Blonde Ale at 192 Brewing Co. still leaves a taste of honey on your lips, and for God’s sake, if you haven’t yet experienced the Pyung Chang Korean BBQ on 2nd Street in Mount Vernon, you really need to go and get your Bibim Bap on as soon as possible. I especially like the stone pot version of this classic dish.

Yes, I miss Sarkall’s. But what I miss is not simply the food, but the hospitality and inspiration of Kea and Sophann and their family. I miss having their narrative in the mix of the Skagit Valley’s culinary scene — one I would like to spend more time covering in the months and years ahead. But as we all come to hopefully learn through travail and triumph, when one door closes, another opens — and as more of those doors lead to food experiences that reflect the uniqueness of the place we call home, the richer our lives become. Stories of food are stories of place…stories of family, of culture and tradition, and of how we nurture one another. We are blessed to have so many of these stories to tell in the Magic Skagit, and we at Meyer Sign want to thank Sarkall’s for theirs. We fervently hope that the closing of their restaurant will merely be the turning of a page in that story, with many great chapters in store.

Click here for a round up of Magic Skagit food stories from the past…and stay tuned for more to come!