Thai-Johnathon V.
Yelp
Qualities of any great Vietnamese restaurant (imho) must have:
Potted plants of varying shades of green and heights. check!
Almost overpowering aroma of allspice, cardamom, star anise, and Saigon cinnamon. Check!
Menu consisting of dishes broken up by type of noodle. Written in Vietnamese. Check!
Vietnamese waiter/owner upon realizing you speak or at least comprehend basic Vietnamese when you order, and begins to spout out fluent Vietnamese at rapid fire pace. Check!
Chef in the kitchen making all sorts of culinary noise. Check!
Wait staff speaking loud Vietnamese. Check!
Suffice it to say, being a long way from home in my new adopted city on the East Coast (West Coast is best coast...arguable...maybe...probably not) I've found a Vietnamese restaurant that reminds me of home, in the best possible ways!
I'm writing this review after having been here twice now, the first occasion having had the bun thit nuong (grilled beef w/ dry vermicelli noodles and side of sweet fish sauce) and it was like I had never left Little Saigon of Orange County (note: Little Saigon is the largest community of Vietnamese immigrants, covering 3 cities. Rivaled by the community in San Jose, CA). My second and most recent time, I was craving bun bo hue (spicy beef noodle soup) and I must say, It is so close, it's almost imperceptible to being back at home. My lady ordered pho bo vien & tai (rice noodle soup w/ meatballs and rare steak) and spoke nothing but great things about it (her standards are quite high, as her father makes it all from scratch all the time...lucky!)
Now, all cards on the table, I haven't been down to Dorchester, as I have invariably been told, but without having to schedule my day around the T, and being imperceptibly close to Downtown Boston (only a 15 minute T ride from State street!) Saigon Hut (or is it Saigon Restaurant? or is it East Saigon of Boston?) definitely fits the bill as being as close to the real thing as I can get to being back home.
Still have not personally had the pho, but if I were to assume that they take care of their pho like their other smaller dishes, then I can't wait to go back and feel at home again!