Cindy’s chef has the dish on Butter & Basil
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I recently had a lengthy conversation with Jerry Umnartyutithum, the former Cindy’s owner, on his plans for his new Davis diner, Butter & Basil.
As I’ve reported, it’s filling the former Black Bear Diner space at 255 Second St. Umnartyutithum and his two partners are excited about the 4,300-square-foot space – more than twice what they had at Cindy’s.
The diner operated from 1973 to 2022 at 4823 Chiles Road. In its latter years, it was serving traditional American breakfast and lunch, and Thai food in the evenings. Butter & Basil’s concept is similar but it’s a nicer, larger space with room for more offerings.
“I always intended to go back to Davis,” he said. He was holding out for a place with a parking lot.
The 61-year-old native of Thailand said he’s excited to bring his American and Thai cooking back to town. He still operates a Thai restaurant, Thai Terrace, in Sacramento.
“You cannot find old style cooking anymore.” He said much of the food served at chain diners is precooked and reheated, and the gravy is made from a powder.
“No one does biscuits and gravy from scratch anymore, but that’s what we do at Cindy’s, everything from scratch. Our customers can tell the difference.”
(He still calls it Cindy’s even though he came up with the great new name, Butter & Basil, which spotlights key ingredients in American and Thai cooking.)
