I admit it. I’m a romantic. Sometimes I give my heart away too easily to a handsome french fry here, or a buff egg roll there, only to have it broken on our second meeting. The french fry has gone limp, the egg roll greasy. That’s why I forced myself to hold back after going to Little Saigon the first time. I had to see how I’d feel on our next date. Now I’m ready.
The place is really cute. It’s in one of the little houses that make up much of downtown Glendale’s shopping district. You’d expect to be served Irish stew or corned beef and cabbage here. There are lace curtains in the windows and potted fake plants scattered about. But the food is Vietnamese, and lots of it, too. You can order by number, or enjoy feeling foolish trying to pronounce the Vietnamese names of the dishes correctly - all one hundred and one of them. So far we’ve tried eight.
The dish that first delighted us was #62, bo cuon la nho ($9.99), This, of course, is marinated beef wrapped in grape leaves and served with rice noodles and “paper”. It comes, as do many of the dishes, with a large helping of fresh-as-can-be romaine lettuce leaves, mint, thai basil, coriander, and sliced carrots and cucumbers. It it looks like you’re going to run out of greens, the pleasant servers (none of them Vietnamese) happily bring you more. The beef is tender and flavorful, contrasting nicely with the brininess and chew of the grape leaves. On our second visit, Ken ordered #55, black peppered bite-size pork ribs with caramelized onions ($6.99). It was served in a pot which came boiling to the table. The broth was delectable, flavored by the onions, and the ribs were falling off the bone with just the right jolt of pepper.
I decided to order two appetizers - egg rolls ($4.99) and banh xeo ($7.99), which are rice flour crepes filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. The egg rolls were good, but not noteworthy. The crepes were delicious. I’ve had them at other places and they usually arrive at the table soggy from the filling. These were perfectly dry and crisp, despite the load of meat and veggies. Our friend Sue, who was with us on our first visit and happily came on the second, had the fried rice bowl ($6.99) both times, so we plied her with our goodies. I bet the next time she’ll go with the ribs.
There are 10 variations of Pho, with rice noodles, and 5 more soups made with egg noodles. Then there are 6 hot pot soups. Many dishes are served over rice, and others with stir fry noodles. Catfish is done 4 ways and shrimp 3. There are 3 green mussel salads and 5 mixed salads including one with jellyfish. I could go on, but if you go on line, you can see the menu for yourself.
As I mentioned above, the servers are friendly and attentive. They actually remembered our names and what we had eaten on our first visit. We had directed other friends to Little Saigon that night, and the servers remembered them, too. The portions are large, the ingredients fresh. And there’s even a cute patio. I think I’m ready to commit.
Little Saigon
7016 N. 57th Ave. Glendale
623-939-6136
Monday - Friday 11-3 and 5-9 Saturday 11-9 Sunday 11-7
littlesaigonaz.com
No comments:
Post a Comment