JANUARY 1 2009
AMERICANWAY 27
noodles— the stuff ofVietnamesecraziness
— tryTanTan,which specializes in someof
Vietnam’s renowned noodle creations, in-
cludingmi (egg noodles), bun
(vermicelli),
andhu tieu (ricenoodles).
Crazyyet? Ifnot, you’ll beunhingedafter
aVietnamesemeal inanyof these cities.
Tex-Mex twist: lemongrass-marinated beef
that you cook right at your table to create
Vietnamese fajitas, complete with herbs
and vegetables and all rolled inmoistened
rice paper. For those with a less venture-
some palate, Le Viet features crisp, clean
Anglo-friendly Vietnamese. Alpha Bakery
in Houston’s Hong Kong City Mall serves
Vietnamese baguette sandwiches, and for
refined ingredients such as Berkshire pork,
from the prized Berkshire breed of hog.
This contrastswithPhoViet Anh, a simple
mom-and-pop shop that features a veg-
etarian pho with a savory light broth. For
Vietnamesebanhmi
sandwiches, baguettes
packedwithpickledvegetables, cucumbers,
onions, and head cheese, try Baguette Box,
where you canpick themup for around$5
to$8.AndTamarindTreeoffersa tasty sev-
en courses of beef. For a distinctive Asian
culinary experience, visit Saigon Bistro
at the food court of Uwajimaya, a grocery
storefilledwith specialty foodsand ingredi-
ents forvirtuallyany formofAsiancooking.
TheBistro is acclaimed for itspho.
On the other side of the country, a large
Vietnamese populace can be found in
Philadelphia. There, after years of exist-
ing primarily in the city’s Chinatown, the
Vietnamese people and their restaurants
have largely begun settling near the Ital-
ianMarket in SouthPhiladelphia in recent
years. China Town is still home to restau-
rants serving traditional Vietnamese fare
from comprehensive menus, though, such
as Vietnam Restaurant and Vietnam Pal-
ace. “We’re still seeingfirst-wave immigrant
cooking,”saysCraigLaBan, restaurantcritic
for the
Philadelphia Inquirer
. “There’s not
a lot of contemporary Vietnamese cooking
going on here yet.” Sample the rich pho at
Pho75, or taste the creative complexflavors
atNamPhuong.Andget great SouthPhilly
Vietnamese hoagies stuffed with creamy
pâté, crunchy slices of head cheese, pickled
veggies, and thick smears of house-made
mayonnaiseatCafeHuongLan.
The largest populations of Vietnamese
immigrantsoutsideofSanJoseandGarden
Grove are found inHouston, Texas, where
many flocked to escape the high cost of
living in Southern California. “Vietnamese
people came to theGulf Coast because they
were in the seafoodbusiness and itwas like
home,” says Robb Walsh, food writer for
the
HoustonPress
. “Itwas tropical andhot.
They felt at home both culturally and culi-
narily. Theybecamebig fans of crawfish.”
Houston’s Little Saigon, officially named
such by the city in 2004, is strung along
Bellaire Boulevard, west of the city of Bel-
laire. Among Houston’s many Vietnamese
restaurants, Que Huong is perhaps the
most authentic. You can get beef five ways
at Saigon Pagolac, including one with a
MARk StuERtz
is a James Beard Award–winning food writer
inDallas.
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STUNNING COUTURE IS
NATURAL INOUR CULTURE.
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