You can’t get more Memphis than this: a Laotian food pop-up operating out of a Latino supermarket owned by a Vietnamese-American family.

If you know, you know.

If you don’t, let me introduce you to Lao Street Kitchen, a semi-permanent weekend pop-up inside Rio Grande Supermercado, where you can pick up a bag of fresh tortillas and a stack of banana leaves in one aisle, then walk a few feet over and get some of the best Laotian food in the city.

$10 Deal: Chukis’ hefty, cheese-wrapped Birriburro

This is exactly the kind of place that thrives in Memphis — unassuming, tucked into an unexpected location and putting out food that obliterates any expectations you had walking in.

You might’ve caught Lao Street Kitchen at Memphis’ Asian Night Market or the Lunar New Year Fair at the Agricenter, but now they’ve got a more regular home base within Rio Grande on Summer Avenue. That means no more waiting for a festival to get your hands on fiery papaya salad, crispy rice salad and some of the most aromatic sausage you’ll ever eat.

The Lao sausage, $15, is juicy, deeply aromatic and rich with makrut lime leaf and lemongrass. It makes other sausages seem like flavorless filler. Served with sticky rice, cucumbers, fresh herbs and jeow som — a tart, tangy, slightly spicy dipping sauce made with fish sauce, lime juice and chiles (similar to Vietnamese nuoc cham) — it’s a lesson in how acidity cuts through richness.

The best way to eat it? Roll a ball of sticky rice, mash a slice of sausage onto it like you’re laying bricks, dunk it into the jeow som and let the food do the talking.

Similarly, papaya salad, $10, is a masterclass in balance, hitting sweet, sour, salty and spicy all at once.

$10 Deal: Hard Times’ chicken Caesar sandwich is a revelation

The green papaya is shredded into thin, crunchy julienne, soaking up every drop of dressing. It’s refreshing enough to make you forget what season it is, whether it’s a sweltering July afternoon or a frigid February weekend. Some versions lean sweeter, but Lao Street Kitchen’s delivers a serious heat level, the kind that lingers just enough to keep you (me) wanting this all year round.

Crispy rice and fermented pork salad, $12, is a textural wonder. Crispy rice, fermented ground pork and an herbaceous hit of cilantro and mint come together in a dish that’s chewy, crunchy, funky and fresh all at once. It’s served at room temperature, which might throw you at first, but it lets the textures and flavors shine. The crispy bits of rice are addictively crunchy, the pork is funky in all the best ways, and the herbs brighten it all up. And, pro tip, steal some Jeow Som from your sausage plate and drizzle it over the top. You’re a chef now.

Lao Street Kitchen is exactly what makes Memphis’ foodscape special. Add them to the city’s weekend must-haves. 

And know before you go, they keep the lights on until they sell out. So plan accordingly — and also maybe grab some tamarind candy or tamales (hint, hint) on your way out.

Lao Street Kitchen, located inside Rio Grande Supermercado at 5110 Summer Ave., opens Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at noon. It closes once sold out.