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March 6, 2017 On the record

X Vault Pub pushes the limits for South Paris foodies

Photo / Lori valigra Alex White, chef (center), flanked by owners Dr. Myung Kim (left) and Paul Cornish, who also is a chef, standing before the vault in the former bank building in South Paris that inspired the decor in the new restaurant, X Vault Pub & Provisions.
By Lori Valigra

When dentist Dr. Myung Kim and restaurateur Paul Cornish each moved to South Paris in 1998 for quality of life reasons, they didn't know they would one day start X Vault Pub & Provisions at 10 Main St., a restaurant that would give local Mainers a taste of food fusion in a revamped former bank.

The two met when Cornish became a patient of Kim's and the dentist ate at Cornish's former restaurant, which he closed in 2012. They decided to collaborate in June 2016, moving into what was most recently the Smilin' Moose. They used the still-standing Mosler safe as a centerpiece behind the restaurant's cherry and copper bar.

The décor is eclectic, with steampunk pendants and track lighting and one music wall sporting two fender guitars and photos of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton, courtesy of Cornish's side interests. Occasionally, musical acts play there.

The fusion of the restaurant's food, which includes beef kimchi quesadilla, a hummus plate, a lettuce wrap, Cajun cedar plank salmon and the X Vault burger with its special sauce, stems from Kim's Korean background and being the former owner of a California winery and a self-acknowledged foodie, Cornish's long tenure in restaurants and head chef Alex White.

As Kim says, one of the meanings for X Vault is that “x” is a variable, so the restaurant isn't limited to just one type of food and gives patrons, some local and some of whom travel from Portland, something different to talk about. And if you go on a Friday night, expect to wait; lines frequently flow out the door and are an hour or so long. Mainebiz visited the duo recently in their cozy digs, which seat 60. An edited transcript follows.

Mainebiz: How did the two of you get to South Paris?

Myung Kim: I had multiple practice offices in Boston, and when our second child was born we wanted to slow down.

Paul Cornish: I came here for quality of life reasons and to open a restaurant.

MB: How did the fusion menu originate?

MK: I didn't want to do anything typical. I wanted a diversity of good food and good drinks.

PC: A lot of places around here have the same things. We have comfort foods, but also Asian fusion foods in the menu.

MB: Do you try to buy local food and drinks?

MK: We carry Norway Brew, Allagash, Sebago and Pennesseewassee beer. But we also carry sake and beers from Thailand and Singapore and liquors. Our ramen noodles come from Korea. All our food is house-made. Alex makes a miso blend dressing with tahini and sesame oil.

PC: Our burgers are West Coast style, which means well done, sloppy and unique with our special pinkish-red sauce. I won't say what's in it. Our breading is unique. Alex, Myung and I taste-test the food, as does Myung's staff [at his dental office, upstairs]. Our prime rib is a classic, but the favorites are the burgers and quesadilla.

MB: Tell us about the business.

MK: We have 10 full- and part-time employees. We opened officially on Jan. 10. We're self-funded, with the two of us investing less than $500,000 combined.

MB: Your kitchen looks streamlined and high tech. Tell us about it.

PC: It is a commercial kitchen with LED lights to use minimal electricity. Our commercial hood has sensors that can detect heat and smoke and automatically turn the fan up or down accordingly.

MB: How do you want customers to feel about your restaurant?

MK: One person said 'a lot of my friends are here.' Everyone mingles. Food brings a lot of fellowship to everything.

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