Scott S.
Yelp
I randomly found this place and fell in love with the photos, and luckily was able to convince a friend to join me.
The restaurant is in a small strip mall, not in the most visually appealing neighborhood but it's clean and probably safe. Probably. I wouldn't leave a Macbook on the dashboard.
Anyway, the restaurant is small but gets very busy. You can tell because there's a sign up sheet. I signed up but there wasn't a wait.
We were seated and the waitress immediately came over to help us order, which I did not find obtrusive but rather helpful. I've eaten lots of pho, but most of the menu here was pretty new for me. It was nice to get some personal attention.
I ended up splitting #1 (crispy fried egg rolls, a favorite), #4 (rice paper rolls with interesting stuff and a unique sauce, new to me), and #15, which is just a porktastic plate of food. Seriously, 3 kinds of pork, these amazing soft, wide noodles that I'm sure have a name but I don't know it, and some delicious herbs.
Drinks-wise I had an iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, which was very much like melted coffee ice cream. Diabetics beware. I also had a... something... which was egg yolk, condensed milk, and club soda. It tasted great although again the sweetness and overall amount of sugar were high. It would definitely qualify as a dessert.
If it's not obvious, all the food was great. Really great. And new to me, which is also exciting. Vietnamese food is so good! I love all the fresh herbs and bright flavors. And the pitcher of nước chấm (fish sauce based... sauce) was awesome. I made good use of it.
It was $35/person without tip because they apparently don't take tips. That was odd but I hate tipping and would rather pay more so servers can have a living wage, so if Banh Cuon Tay Ho is ahead of the curve there it's fine with me. They take credit cards and split the bill without complaint
Parking is a bit tricky, the lot is decently sized but not huge. I'd imagine if it was busy you may need to park on the street.
I can't wait to come back and try more interesting, new-to-me Vietnamese dishes here.