The Cambod-Ican man
Dan McSwiggen, owner of South Side's Cambod-Ican shares restaurant's colorful history
Marissa Rosenbaum
Issue date: 1/17/08 Section: Features
Last update: 1/17/08 at 1:47 AM EST
From annual sidewalk sales to three nights a week from an aluminum truck, to a counter out of the owners' very own restaurant property, Cambod-Ican Kitchen's unique fusion of Cambodian and American cuisine continues to be a success no matter where it's sold.
Located across from Nakama on the corner of 17th & East Carson streets, Cambod-Ican Kitchen, a family-run business, calls itself "home of the world famous kabobs and wantons."
Before opening at its current location, Cambod-Ican Kitchen was known as Cambod-Ican Cookery, and the food was served from an aluminum truck in the parking lot behind Nakama.
"The truck was a unique experience until we got evicted-which we're grateful for," Dan McSwiggen, owner of the restaurant said. "We now have a food establishment, and we have built on the success of that truck."
16-year-old Caitlin McSwiggen, Dan's daughter, agreed. "It was hard to move around, everyone was in my way. There wasn't much room in there," said ?
The eviction resulted from the remodeling of what, at the time, was a Rite-Aid, but is now Nakama. During a winter night, which Dan refers to as "a cold spell," many of the nightly regulars stood around eating their food, like any other night. When a group of people noticed water coming from the building, Dan said he knew something wasn't right.
"It doesn't usually rain in the middle of winter," he said. "I ran inside the building to see what was wrong, and the water was spraying forcefully. I called the police and when they arrived on the scene, they discovered a 6-inch sprinkler burst."
After the eviction, Dan decided to buy the property in which the restaurant currently resides. Although knowing the property needed a lot of work, he and his wife "cashed in the kids' CDs and did whatever we could to buy it so we could pay back our mortgage."
The current restaurant is decorated with numerous paintings of Cambodian artifacts, temples and brightly-colored walls, Cambod-Ican offers a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. The wooden door to the kitchen contains a carved moon to symbolize the famous Moon Sauce, which the restaurant uses on their kabobs, and the sides of the kitchen contain wooden siding to establish a distinctive atmosphere.
"Now, to me, food trucks have always held a certain charm," customer and Carnegie Mellon student Dan Tasse said. "And I was glad to see that the Cambod-Ican Kitchen lost none of that charm when it moved out of its truck."
Dan and his wife, Moeun McSwiggen, live a mile from the restaurant with their 16-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son, who also help run the restaurant.
Moeun, who does a lot of the cooking, came to America from Cambodia in 1984, shortly after Pol Pot, leader of communist organization Khmer Rouge killed her father. Before coming to America, Moeun and her family sought refuge in Thailand and the Philippines.
"It was tough, but anything you go through is tough," Moeun said. "You learn to adapt to overcome the challenges."
Dan, who is one of seven children, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Before owning the restaurant, he worked as a self-employed contractor in carpentry and roofing, while Moeun worked in numerous Chinese restaurants where she learned different tricks of the trade.
"When I was shopping at the Strip District, I saw people cooking and selling their food on the sidewalks, and I told my husband that I could do that, just find me a place," Moeun said. "When I saw an ad in the paper for a food vendor, I knew this was my chance. That's how we first started, sidewalk sales."
"Although she's a great cook, she's really good at anything she does," said Dan. "She's taught both our children how to cook, although only my son helps with the cooking at the restaurant. My daughter does a lot of the busing and setting of the tables."
Dan and his wife created the name Cambod-Ican, short for "Cambodian" and "American," as a way to overcome prejudice. The restaurant serves traditional Asian dishes, such as chicken kabob, seafood wanton, baby spring rolls and the curried vegetable bowl. Dishes are served in large quantities for a cheap price-to target American eaters. They also serve Americanized dished such as cashew chicken, egg rolls, beef with broccoli and General Tso's chicken.
"I love the chicken fried rice," Caitlin said. "My mom makes good fried rice."
While Cambod-Ican Kitchen remains a popular late night eatery, the restaurant owners continue to overhear prejudice comments. Often referred to as "chicken on a stick," or "cat on a stick," the restaurant's name and slogan are a response to "the continuous Pittsburgh racism," Dan said.
"We often would get people walking or driving bye screaming racist comments like 'Meow!' or 'It's cat!'
We even had one girl specifically ask me if [the food] was cat," Dan said. "To her response, I turned around and said, 'Honey, if you think its cat, it's the best cat you've ever tasted.' This remains our slogan to this day. Although I find it profoundly ignorant, we didn't let the remarks offend us. As long as you buy it and love it, you can say whatever you want."
Jeremy Garrad, a finance major at Duquesne, agreed. "It's really good and open late at night," Garrad said. "The prices are low, and you get a lot of food. I've had other Cambodian food before, but this is really blended into American cuisine. It's like apples and oranges."
Although originally open for lunch, the McSwiggens switched to serving only dinner, beginning at 4 p.m., in order to get people in and fed quickly.
"Many customers would come in for lunch, and they needed to get served quick. It was hard to do, and if you can't get people in and fed quickly, you make more enemies than friends," Dan said.
Cambod-Ican Kitchen is open Tuesday through Friday from 4 p.m. until 3 a.m., and Saturday from 4 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. The restaurant is occasionally open on Sundays. Hours vary, so make sure to call ahead before venturing to the South Side. For more information log onto the restaurant's Web site at www.cambodicankitchen.com or call 412-381-6199.
Located across from Nakama on the corner of 17th & East Carson streets, Cambod-Ican Kitchen, a family-run business, calls itself "home of the world famous kabobs and wantons."
Before opening at its current location, Cambod-Ican Kitchen was known as Cambod-Ican Cookery, and the food was served from an aluminum truck in the parking lot behind Nakama.
"The truck was a unique experience until we got evicted-which we're grateful for," Dan McSwiggen, owner of the restaurant said. "We now have a food establishment, and we have built on the success of that truck."
16-year-old Caitlin McSwiggen, Dan's daughter, agreed. "It was hard to move around, everyone was in my way. There wasn't much room in there," said ?
The eviction resulted from the remodeling of what, at the time, was a Rite-Aid, but is now Nakama. During a winter night, which Dan refers to as "a cold spell," many of the nightly regulars stood around eating their food, like any other night. When a group of people noticed water coming from the building, Dan said he knew something wasn't right.
"It doesn't usually rain in the middle of winter," he said. "I ran inside the building to see what was wrong, and the water was spraying forcefully. I called the police and when they arrived on the scene, they discovered a 6-inch sprinkler burst."
After the eviction, Dan decided to buy the property in which the restaurant currently resides. Although knowing the property needed a lot of work, he and his wife "cashed in the kids' CDs and did whatever we could to buy it so we could pay back our mortgage."
The current restaurant is decorated with numerous paintings of Cambodian artifacts, temples and brightly-colored walls, Cambod-Ican offers a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. The wooden door to the kitchen contains a carved moon to symbolize the famous Moon Sauce, which the restaurant uses on their kabobs, and the sides of the kitchen contain wooden siding to establish a distinctive atmosphere.
"Now, to me, food trucks have always held a certain charm," customer and Carnegie Mellon student Dan Tasse said. "And I was glad to see that the Cambod-Ican Kitchen lost none of that charm when it moved out of its truck."
Dan and his wife, Moeun McSwiggen, live a mile from the restaurant with their 16-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son, who also help run the restaurant.
Moeun, who does a lot of the cooking, came to America from Cambodia in 1984, shortly after Pol Pot, leader of communist organization Khmer Rouge killed her father. Before coming to America, Moeun and her family sought refuge in Thailand and the Philippines.
"It was tough, but anything you go through is tough," Moeun said. "You learn to adapt to overcome the challenges."
Dan, who is one of seven children, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Before owning the restaurant, he worked as a self-employed contractor in carpentry and roofing, while Moeun worked in numerous Chinese restaurants where she learned different tricks of the trade.
"When I was shopping at the Strip District, I saw people cooking and selling their food on the sidewalks, and I told my husband that I could do that, just find me a place," Moeun said. "When I saw an ad in the paper for a food vendor, I knew this was my chance. That's how we first started, sidewalk sales."
"Although she's a great cook, she's really good at anything she does," said Dan. "She's taught both our children how to cook, although only my son helps with the cooking at the restaurant. My daughter does a lot of the busing and setting of the tables."
Dan and his wife created the name Cambod-Ican, short for "Cambodian" and "American," as a way to overcome prejudice. The restaurant serves traditional Asian dishes, such as chicken kabob, seafood wanton, baby spring rolls and the curried vegetable bowl. Dishes are served in large quantities for a cheap price-to target American eaters. They also serve Americanized dished such as cashew chicken, egg rolls, beef with broccoli and General Tso's chicken.
"I love the chicken fried rice," Caitlin said. "My mom makes good fried rice."
While Cambod-Ican Kitchen remains a popular late night eatery, the restaurant owners continue to overhear prejudice comments. Often referred to as "chicken on a stick," or "cat on a stick," the restaurant's name and slogan are a response to "the continuous Pittsburgh racism," Dan said.
"We often would get people walking or driving bye screaming racist comments like 'Meow!' or 'It's cat!'
We even had one girl specifically ask me if [the food] was cat," Dan said. "To her response, I turned around and said, 'Honey, if you think its cat, it's the best cat you've ever tasted.' This remains our slogan to this day. Although I find it profoundly ignorant, we didn't let the remarks offend us. As long as you buy it and love it, you can say whatever you want."
Jeremy Garrad, a finance major at Duquesne, agreed. "It's really good and open late at night," Garrad said. "The prices are low, and you get a lot of food. I've had other Cambodian food before, but this is really blended into American cuisine. It's like apples and oranges."
Although originally open for lunch, the McSwiggens switched to serving only dinner, beginning at 4 p.m., in order to get people in and fed quickly.
"Many customers would come in for lunch, and they needed to get served quick. It was hard to do, and if you can't get people in and fed quickly, you make more enemies than friends," Dan said.
Cambod-Ican Kitchen is open Tuesday through Friday from 4 p.m. until 3 a.m., and Saturday from 4 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. The restaurant is occasionally open on Sundays. Hours vary, so make sure to call ahead before venturing to the South Side. For more information log onto the restaurant's Web site at www.cambodicankitchen.com or call 412-381-6199.
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