Chef Carlos Jurado of Selva’s is bringing in a rather special co-host for his upcoming collaboration dinner on Thursday, April 30: Dutchess and Joplin’s partner-executive chef Saw Naing. You can make a reservation via Yelp.
“It’s really an honor to bring someone like Chef Saw to Long Beach,” Chef Carlos said, who has been one of the most active and prominent proponents of collaborations in the culinary scene. “We started together at Bouchon so this has become a full-circle moment for us both.
Hold up—I don’t leave the island. Who is Chef Saw Naing and what is Joplin’s?
The rising musician-and-also-a-chef star of Ojai, Chef Saw has brought an entire reinterpretation of Burmese cuisine to SoCal. Arriving in the U.S. from Myanmar in 2007, carrying little more than $200 and a resume bullet point as the lead singer of a Burmese rock band, he needed more than just determination to remake himself. And he did so via the kitchens he worked in: the famed Bouchon. Or Café Pinot. Or Tallula’s, where he rose to executive chef…
While that climb gave him technical fluency across French, Californian, and Mexican traditions, his real ascent began when he finally found a place to cook from both memory and skill. At The Dutchess, which opened in 2022 inside a historic former bakery in Ojai, Chef Saw emerged not simply as a chef-for-hire but as a culinary voice, layering Burmese and Indian family influences into an all-day destination that quickly became one of Ojai’s defining restaurants.
That success gave Chef Saw room to widen his language even further with Joplin’s BBQ, the restaurant he opened with his wife, Brittany Naing, where Texas-style barbecue collides with Burmese spice, smoked meats, and the same rock-and-roll sensibility that shaped his early life. If The Dutchess announced him as one of California’s most distinctive new chefs, Joplin’s confirmed that his rise was not accidental. And, while doing so, making Ojai, unexpectedly, the center of that story.
What’s on the menu for this Selva x Joplin’s collaboration?
Smoked Chicken Empanadas ($6): smoked arroz con pollo | Spanish-style crispy empanada dough
Yuccas Animales ($16): smoked lamb | processed cheese | chlorophyll aioli | pickled onion | chili
Bonita Farms Green Salad ($16): mixed lettuces | cilantro ranch
Scallop Crudo ($22): scallop on the half shell | housemade red wine vinegar espuma | chiles amazónicos fermentados
Smoked Spicy Pollo & Ramps ($35): fried smoked spicy chicken | ramps | mama’s rice
Smoked Spare Ribs – Selva x Joplin’s ($29): two ribs | Joplin’s sweet glaze | Niman Ranch pork frijoles Colombianos | Joplin’s masala potato salad | Selva slaw
Pork Belly Rice Bowl – Joplin’s ($20): smoked pork belly | jasmine rice | cucumber | seaweed | pickles | pineapple barbecue sauce
Brisket Stir Fry Noodle – Joplin’s ($20): 14-hour smoked brisket | green beans | onions | Joplin’s sweet glaze | shamble
Selva is located at 4127 E. Anaheim St. Their collaboration dinner with Joplin’s will take place on Thursday, April 30. Click here to make reservations via Yelp.
