WHY The Pioneer rice special, a combination of crispy minced shrimp cake, slabs of grilled marinated pork, delicate steamed egg loaf and a salad garnish, has customers returning again and again. WHAT The small city of Artesia may be famed for Little India, in which this Vietnamese place sits, but in fact it’s as multinational [...]
February 24, 2013 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY The perfect place for a Downtown dinner date, where modern Vietnamese food meets seldom-seen Singaporean specialties in the middle of Little Tokyo. WHAT A vintage brick building has been transformed into two rooms of rustic style, with filament bulbs in Vietnamese birdcages in the dining room and a buzzing bar scene up front. The [...]
August 23, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Some of the San Gabriel Valley’s best Vietnamese sandwiches come out of this tiny Alhambra mini-mall deli. WHAT A to-go operation with friendly counter service, Banh Mi My Tho packs a lot into a minuscule storefront: a half-dozen types of banh mi sandwiches, hot Vietnamese broken-rice and noodle-based meals, snacks like meatballs on a [...]
July 25, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Vietnamese-American comfort food in a stylishly barren Highland Park café. WHAT We’re so happy that chef Diep Tran’s hip yet family-friendly spot finally started serving lunch, especially because her Grandma’s Pho, pork baguette sandwich, spicy fries and delicious curry chicken pot pie are great midday dishes. And we’re just as happy to come for [...]
July 21, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Vast bowls of delicate noodles crowned with flowering basil tops and mint; char-grilled meats arranged over hillocks of raw greens; shrimp rolled around sugarcane sticks; sweet-tart jackfruit salad with pickled lotus roots; and more such crowd-pleasing dishes. WHAT Vietnamese cafés are hip and happening—the light, intensely colorful, vividly flavorful food perfectly suits the L.A. [...]
June 30, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Vietnamese fusion restaurants have exploded in recent years, but Red Medicine is no ordinary pho-taco joint. WHAT Jordan Kahn’s painterly riffs on Vietnamese flavors are under the radar—he’s doing some of the city’s most creative cooking right now. The chic, industrial polished-concrete space makes a neutral backdrop for eye-popping compositions. Unusual ingredients—rose marmalade, smoked [...]
June 13, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Starry Kitchen spices up the Downtown lunch scene with a modern, irreverent approach to Vietnamese-influenced cooking. WHAT California Plaza is a little less corporate with the success of freewheeling Starry Kitchen, which started as an underground restaurant in the owner’s apartment. You pick a protein (free-range lemongrass chicken, the famed crispy tofu balls, spicy [...]
April 29, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Echo Park mixes it up with a winning combo of reasonable prices and modern Vietnamese food that incorporates a nod to the neighborhood’s Latin American roots. WHAT Tacos get a burst of rich flavor from pho-style beef, while dishes like Vietnamese crèpes, mi quang (a rice noodle dish with shrimp and pork) and banh [...]
March 9, 2012 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY To check out SoCal’s first Vietnamese-American gastropub. WHAT Happy-hour specials and a half-dozen brews on tap pair with beer-friendly food that mirrors the everyday flavors most Vietnamese-American kids grow up eating—with a slightly creative twist. Good examples include the grilled mini skewers of curry-marinated chicken or beef and the sliders on Hawaiian buns (pulled [...]
November 17, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »
WHY Upscaled Vietnamese cuisine with an eye for authenticity. WHAT Stashed in a strip mall that butts up against the Orange County border, Benley is one of Long Beach’s most consistent restaurants. That’s because it has a very clear handle on the kitchen, which turns out refined and thoughtful Vietnamese cuisine: great bowls of pho [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
Discoveries |
Read More »