When Brandon Jones reached out to the owners of the Ekiben restaurant last week, he was just hoping for the recipe to make his ill mother-in-law’s favorite dish.
Whenever his wife Rina’s mother traveled from Vermont to Maryland to visit the couple and Rina’s sister, there was one meal from Ekiben that she craved above all others: tempura broccoli.
“She always joked that when she’s on her death bed that if there’s anything in the world, she wants tempura broccoli from Ekiben,” Brandon wrote in a Facebook post last week.
In late December, Jones’s mother-in-law was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Before Brandon and Rina visited her this past weekend — possibly for the last time — they wanted to bring her Ekiben dish of choice.
There was one problem: the tempura broccoli likely would not taste the same after a six-hour drive to Vermont.
Ekiben, an Asian fusion restaurant, was founded in Fells Point and added a second location in Hampden in 2020. Brandon contacted Ekiben’s owners and co-founders, Steve Chu and Ephrem Abebe, to ask for the recipe or even some of the ingredients to bring and cook for her.
But Chu had a different idea.
“Thanks for reaching out. Ephrem and I are more than willing to meet you guys in Vermont, and make the food fresh so it will be just like what she remembered,” Chu replied.
Chu, Abebe and co-worker Joe Añonuevo drove up to Vermont in a pickup on Saturday, arrived at Rina’s mother’s house on Sunday, set up a fryer in the back of the truck and cooked tempura broccoli and spicy tofu bowls in the cold Vermont weather.
When the Ekiben workers met Rina’s mom, they recognized her right away from her visits to the restaurant, the Baltimore Sun reported.
“We’ll always remember the faces,” Chu told the Sun. “We all remembered her.”
The family told Baltimore Fishbowl that they have decided not to do additional interviews at this time.
Chu declined to give comment to Baltimore Fishbowl out of respect for the family’s privacy.
The story leading up to the Vermont trip, which Brandon originally posted in a Canton Facebook group and was later shared on Twitter and Reddit, has garnered attention from people from Baltimore to as far as India.
Social media users praised Ekiben for both its tasty food and acts of kindness.
“Well, that’s official. Ekiben can never close unless the owners decide to close it. Keep this restaurant in business forever,” Redditor @tommykaye said.
Twitter user @AlainnFocail said “Okay, I knew Steve and Ephram were great guys, but this is next level and now I’m tearing up right when I was trying to fall asleep. If you’ve never had Ekiben, it’s goddamn delicious. They specialize in steamed buns and mmmmm.”
Okay, I knew Steve and Ephram were great guys, but this is next level and now I’m tearing up right when I was trying to fall asleep.
If you’ve never had Ekiben, it’s goddamn delicious. They specialize in steamed buns and mmmmm. https://t.co/YkbVvmdXP9— Heather Linington-Noble (@AlainnFocail) March 13, 2021
The restaurant has gained interest from new customers too.
“That’s it: I’m going to support on my next day off. I have heard so much about this place regarding the food alone, but based on the owners’ incredible humanity, I am a fan — for life. Well done, Ekiben,” Redditor @justlikeyou said.
