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Is this humble Asian diner on Wilcrest one of the best family-style Vietnamese joints in the country?
Sometimes Anglo-friendly Vietnamese food does taste better than the real thing
Bodard Bistro on Bellaire is packing them in with "not too greasy" Vietnamese food
There's a thrilling new Vietnamese restaurant on Bellaire with a menu that reads like a mystery
Nam caters to mainstream palates by keeping the flavors mild and the herbs innocuous
Houston has some of the best Vietnamese noodle houses in the country
Houston has some of the best Vietnamese noodle houses in the country
Cuttle up to some tasty fish at this heavenly Vietnamese hideaway
Photo by Robb WalshWhere: Pagoda Vietnamese Bistro & Bar, 4705 Inker St., 832-673-0400 What $13 gets you: A cup of pineapple seafood soup ($5) and a big bowl of vermicelli salad ($8) or a Vietnamese sandwich ($4) and a bowl of pho ($8). Pagoda is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant with a chic mode ... More >>
When a reader asked me to recommend an excellent pho shop close to downtown where he could get a quick lunch, I sent him to the Pho Saigon location at 2808 Milam. And I told him to remember to put a napkin over his tie. The original Midtown location was opened by Houston's P.B. Tran in 1998. ... More >>
Tan Ba Le Baguette on the corner of Beechnut and Boone is an excellent lunch destination. This Vietnamese diner specializes in street vendor dishes at an affordable price. Ordering here is simple: Walk up to the counter and ask for steak and eggs. The steak-and-eggs combo was traditionally ... More >>
The barbecued pork in the banh cuon thit nuong at Tay Ho 18 in Hong Kong City Mall isn't as charred and crispy as the barbecued pork in the banh cuon thit nuong at Thien Thanh on Bellaire, but it's still pretty tasty. At Tay Ho 18, you can watch through a glass wall while the woman who makes ... More >>
Banh mi means "bread" in Vietnamese and thit means "ham"; banh mi thit is a ham sandwich. So when I saw banh mi bo kho on the menu at Banh Cuon Hoa #2 on Beechnut, the subject of this week's cafe review, I figured bread beef stew = a Vietnamese roast beef sandwich. Ever since I first learne ... More >>
Is the authentic little Vietnamese noodle shop Banh Cuon Hoa #2 too adventurous for your tastes?
It was almost closing time at Kim Chau, the aging and eccentric Vietnamese restaurant on Longpoint near Antoine. Kim Chau's dreary dining room, with its black-and-white checkerboard tile floor and tables covered with cobalt-blue vinyl tablecloths, glowed weirdly in the fluorescent light throu ... More >>
According to an expert, North Vietnamese food without water beetle essence is like a hot dog without mustard.
In this week's Café review, Carl Han reveals his own formula for banh cuon dipping sauce -- a recipe that involves water beetle essence along with chile peppers and fish sauce. After demonstrating my dismal understanding of Vietnamese cuisine in my review and blog post about Banh Cuon Hoa 2, ... More >>
This funky trailer in South Houston is worth the drive for Vietnamese breakfast.
Did you know that you can request extra fat with your pho? A Pho Binh regular let me in on this secret recently. I tried it at Pho Binh, and the waitress knew exactly what I was talking about. She brought me a small bowl with green onions soaked in beef fat skimmings from the stock pot. I won ... More >>
Photo by Longhorn NationAs the whole world knows by now, popular Midtown Vietnamese Restaurant Mai's caught fire yesterday. This Houston institution is so popular, the fire has even gained national coverage outside of the culinary community, which is quite an amazing feat. So why do we mour ... More >>
Photos by Katharine ShilcuttTofu and veggie spring rolls at Pho Nga.Although old Chinatown is a shadow of its former self these days, there are still plenty of good Vietnamese restaurants lurking in shady strip centers, offering the same wonderful bowls of pho and helpings of com dia that the ... More >>
We've been to Cali Sandwich (3030 Travis St.) more times than we can count. It's definitely our go-to cheap Vietnamese sandwich spot. But somehow, we missed Thien An (2905 Travis), only a short distance away. On a mission to get us to try his favorite Vietnamese sandwich shop, our friend br ... More >>
Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations i ... More >>
Kim Tai is the perfect place to drink a couple of cold beers and chow down on Vietnamese diner food.
Tam VoMost people are familiar with the Vietnamese beef noodle soup, pho (pronounced "fuh"). Pho is good, but bun bo Hue (pronounced boom baw way), or Hue-style beef noodle soup, is great. If pho was like flying a kite, bun bo Hue would be like flying a jet fighter: intense and not for the we ... More >>
With Givral's temporarily out of commission, Houstonians scramble to get their banh mi thit fix
Cali.Blame it on the Nom Nom kids from Great Food Truck Race--all those recaps left me with a serious craving for banh mi, the sandwich I basically subsisted on in college. When I discovered that the friend who had been DVRing the show for me had never tried a banh mi, I knew what this week' ... More >>
Chances are that if you've eaten pho, the popular Vietnamese soup, you've only eaten pho bo. That is, you've only eaten beef pho. There are many reasons why beef pho is more popular than its counterpart, chicken pho, but the long and short of it is that chicken pho is finally starting to mak ... More >>
Cafe TH harkens back to East End Chinatown with a French vibe.
Only one restaurant in town specializes in pho made with chicken.
Photos by Troy FieldsLast year, I wrote about becoming acquainted with pho ga -- chicken pho -- at Pho Ga Dakao. I liked the place so much that, whaddya know, I went ahead and gave it a proper review. You can read all about in this week's print edition, including the free-range chickens (seen ... More >>
Just because it calls itself a pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) restaurant doesn't mean that pho is the best thing to order. Case in point, when I walk into Pho Dung (11201 Bellaire Blvd # 815) in the Hong Kong City Mall IV, I notice as many rice dishes on the tables as I do noodle soups. ... More >>
Pho duoi bo, be thui (oxtail pho with side of veal) at Pho Ga So 1There's something about chewing on a bone that's infinitely satisfying. That's what I was thinking when, after watching my friend get her hands dirty while happily devouring her oxtail, I got another side order. The waiter loo ... More >>
Photos by Katharine ShilcuttTexas barbecue done right at Gatlin's.On Wednesday afternoon, I mused that some day I hoped for visitors to Houston to feel as excited about our dining scene as I was about New York City's. The sheer breadth and depth of ethnic and regional cuisines present here is ... More >>
Grilled lemongrass beef vermicelli at Com Tam Kieu GiangWhen people who have never tried Vietnamese food ask me what they should try, I usually recommend the grilled pork and rice vermicelli, or bun thit nuong, and a pineapple milkshake, or sinh to thom. As with any other ethnic food, reco ... More >>
kshilcuttFung's Kitchen.Travel & Leisure recently named Houston as America's Best Burger City. But as many Houstonians would tell the nation, Houston is known for much more than just burgers. It's a melting pot of culture and cuisine, and thus offers awesome dishes beyond the typical burger ... More >>
Bun Bo Hue - shown with the traditional "gio heo," or pork hock There's so much more to explore and understand about Vietnamese cuisine than banh mi and pho. The regional differences in the north, central and southern regions of Vietnam mean that there are foods at which each region excels. ... More >>
Nem Nuong Cuon (Grilled pork meatball sausage spring rolls) with special recipe sauceIf you ask me where to go for Vietnamese food, my response will usually be: "What are you in the mood for?" Depending on whether you want rice, vermicelli, pho, banh mi, family style meals, etc., my answer wo ... More >>
Thanh Phuong in Pearland is turning out some of the most exciting food, anywhere.
Photos by Theo SantosVenison carpaccio, Vietnamese-style, at Thanh Phuong is a standout dish.There's nothing new about using game meats like venison, quail or rabbit in Vietnamese cooking. Boar luc lac? Sure. Venison tai chanh? Absolutely. What's new is its general availability in Houston. As ... More >>
Photos by Mai PhamPho Ga Kho at Pho Thai Binh Duong Pho Thai Binh Duong (11528 Bellaire Blvd #G, Tel: 832-351-3451) is one of those under-the-radar pho places that is patronized primarily by Vietnamese. It's partially tucked behind a building in the back of a strip mall near the intersection ... More >>
The venerated Mai's has been rebuilt after burning down, and it looks pretty. But the food still mostly disappoints.
Beo Nam Loc Combo PlatterIt is very common for Vietnamese restaurants to be known for one or two specialties, and in some cases that's all they'll serve, like Bun Bo Hue, a place Mai Pham recently wrote about. A couple of weeks ago when I made plans with my dad for dinner and he specifically ... More >>
Banh Mi Xiu Mai Dia at Thien An SandwichesThien An Sandwiches is one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants inside the loop, but I find myself not eating there as often as I'd like due to its hours. I don't work close enough to visit for lunch, and by the time I get home it's closed. So I foun ... More >>
Photo by Troy FieldsChicken pho ready to go at our No. 3 pick.For the next 20 weeks, we'll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2011 Best of Houston® winners. In many categories, picking each year's winner is no easy task. We'll be spotlighting 20 of those categories, in which the winner had ... More >>
Photo by John SuhIt's okay to cheat in this day and age: the key to quick and good phoNow that the season of big holiday dinners is mostly over, it's time to put away those casserole dishes and serving platters, and unearth that stockpot and those gigantic soup bowls. It's time to push the c ... More >>
Photos by GroovehouseJohn McIntyre attacked his Zombie banh mi with all he had, but it wouldn't die."I'm ready to start eating," muttered a nervous-looking John McIntyre, a senior linebacker for the University of Houston, as he waited for the 22-inch Zombie banh mi to land in front of him at ... More >>
Photo by John SuhEat a banh chung for New Year.Happy New Year! Or as the Vietnamese say, Chuc mung nam moi! It's the lucky year of the Dragon -- those born between today and February 9, 2013, are predicted to live fortunate, prosperous lives. And what better way to celebrate the new year t ... More >>
Photo by Troy FieldsJus' Mac does mostly mac, and mostly does it well.Like it or leave it, restaurants specializing in macaroni and cheese -- that ultimate "white people comfort food," as my baffled brown friends call it -- are becoming increasingly popular across the United States. From Conn ... More >>
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