"A part of us was sad after we had our first bite of the buttery, tangy thit heo xao lan (a sauteed pork dish) at Ban Toi, a casual Vietnamese restaurant in Dorchester decorated with stock photos of New York and city council campaign signs. It was so good that we figured that the rest of the meal would be a relative disappointment. But then we had our first spoonful of a chicken pho that made us question whether we’ve ever had chicken pho before, and we realized that Ban Toi is just a place that makes a handful legitimately perfect dishes. Nothing sad about that." - dan secatore
