Please come and enjoy our very best authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Map of the Best Vietnamese Food in Minneapolis and St. Paul, The most popular Vietnamese restaurant in Minneapolis: Quang, Our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in St. Paul: Trieu Chau, Best Vietnamese food near downtown Minneapolis: Lotus Restaurant, Our favorite in Vietnamese in Dinkytown: Pho Mai, The best Vietnamese restaurant in Northeast Minneapolis: Hai Hai, Best upscale Vietnamese restaurant in St. Paul: Ngon Bistro, The unexpected spot for Vietnamese/French Crepes: My Huong Kitchen, the best restaurants in Northeast Minneapolis, one of the most romantic restuarants in the Twin Cities. This is usually ordered as beef noodle soup or chicken noodle soup, pho bo for beef and pho ga for chicken. Our favorite is the #151 (Bun Bo Xao Bowl). The banh mi lineup includes some classics, like that pork belly, but also nouveau versions made with bulgogi and kimchi. 509 Olive Way, Suite 305, Seattle, WA 98101, The Best Vietnamese Restaurants in Seattle, subsequent wave of Vietnamese coffee shops, 12 Asian and Pacific Islander Seattleites You Should Know About, What Downtown Seattle Says about Downtown Seattle, Price Point: Central Luxury Studio vs. Quiet One-Bedroom Condo. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Once just a tofu production company, Thanh Son branched out with an unexpectedly glittering deli space on King, with solid banh mi and a build-your-own che (beverage by way of dessert) menu thats bonkers fun. Much has changed since then, of course, but not Mr. Saigons banh mia mix of classic and modern creations built from housemade ingredients.
The smart money is on the "tai" (round steak) placed into the hot soup just moments before serving, the gentle cooking of the meat in the broth happening before your eyes. Her food writing can be found in. 2022 The noodles are bn, the basic Vietnamese rice vermicelli. Sophie Banh ensures the food remains great, while brother Eric keeps things of the moment, from adding stylish covered and heated patios to installing a formidable pastry program. That is especially true when it comes to the most popular Vietnamese food item, pho! Find exclusive news and promotions onthe best pho San Diego has to offer, other good Vietnamese food, secret ingredients, and much more. Update: Bep closed at the start of the pandemic. Before you know it, youll have a bowl with all the best flavors from Vietnam. Along the same lines, the menu features a unique mix of French and Vietnamese cuisine, with Vietnamese egg rolls sitting right alongside French hors dourves, Grande Soupe (house pho), and even delicious Ravioli and Risoto dishes. By 1212 S Main Street, Ste A, Seattle, WA 98144. Eric and Sophie Banhs pair of elegant Vietnamese restaurants still sparkle as they did when the first Monsoon wowed the city in 1999. But great Vietnamese food in this town also means vegan deli, spicy noodle soups, whole fried catfish, or elegant drinks. The vast menus organized by mollusk: sea snails, winkle snails, Canadian yellow spotted snails. Lotus does everything great, whether thats Chinese Chow Fun or legitimate Pad Thai, but its really the Vietnamese food that put this place on the map. Hai Hai is ran by the multiple time James Beard Best Chef in the Midwest finalist Christina Nguyen, who decided to open up a trendy take on all the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian food she grew up with. Each dish opens you (and your tastebuds) to another taste of our family and Vietnam. Lurking in the bottom are round rice noodles thicker than those found in ph, allowing the bold broth to cling to the noodles more easily. But we didnt need a food celebrity to tell us this sprawling two-level dining room was special. third-party delivery company: Grubhub. Other favorites include big bowls of bun rieu or spicy beef noodle soup known here as bun bo dalat. They wouldnt know a Jucy Lucy if it shot its molten hot-lava -cheese in their face. Instead of holding shrimp or beef within, they are sprinkled with savory wood ear mushrooms and fried shallots and served with sweet, sticky nc chm dipping sauce. Check your internet and refresh this page. Its strange to think of a time when pho wasnt splashed across our landscape as essentially as coffee, and when banh mi wasnt a lunchtime staple. The cloudless broth is spiced only mildly, so just the beefiness of the broth climbs the steam clouds, perfuming the air. Egg and avocado also make unexpected but thoroughly enjoyable banh mi cameos. Q does a bang up job with the standard fillings (grilled pork, Vietnamese ham), but Tony's white fish (basa) bnh m is rightfully famous for the light, crisp fried fish and the bite of chive garlic oil. On first glance, bnh xo looks like an omelet. You can always find Vietnamese cuisine served with fresh salads and vegetables. Fusion feels like a wholly inadequate word for Eric Johnsons ode to Vietnamese flavors, a love acquired during his years cooking at Jean-Georges in Shanghai and exploring Southeast Asia any chance he got. The entire Ba Bar experience makes it a worthwhile valueyou're sipping a Moscow Mule from a copper cup in a restaurant whose dark-wood tables and minimalist dcor evoke a luxurious fantasy of Vietnam. Incredible banh mi sandwich options, bowl after bowl of authentic pho, and even James Beard Award winning Vietnamese chefs The Twin Cities is rocking a seriously awesome Vietnamese food scene! Alligator, deer, eel, rabbit, or frog? The enormous menu includes stretches from one corner of Vietnam to the other, including home-style dishes you don't see often in restaurants, their famous tamarind quail, and endless combinations of bun (rice noodle bowls). In Seattle, that tends to be less typical, as menus grow to epic proportions. Right now this little spot at the crux of Greenwood Avenue and Holman Road operates solely as a takeout and delivery app counter. Beverage director Jon Christiansen ensures cocktails are on point, and the Seattle rooftop remains one of the towns best, most secluded patios. Once youve eaten your fill, check out the subsequent wave of Vietnamese coffee shops. From any of our exotic dishes to the highly personable nature of our service, thiscomfortable, delightfulatmosphere in our restaurantoriginates directlyfrom our native Vietnamese customs. Simply join our mailing list and receive the Vietnamese gesture that wishes off any evil or harmful spirits. In Vietnam, each restaurant or street food stand specializes in a specific dish. Onions sliced paper-thin melt into the heat of the soup, giving it an allium-infused depth. The proof is in the flavor: the clear broth offers clean, robust meaty flavors. Like a Chinese hot pot, there's a meat and fish tray (beef, chicken, squid, fish, and clams), and a vegetable tray with chunks of pineapple for sweetness and whole okra pods, which are always the surprising favorite, retaining a bit of crispness as they absorb the flavors of the lemongrass-lashed soup. But make sure you ask for the separate specials menu. Prominent chef-fans sang its praises and drove a wave of diners still getting to know the charms of banh xeo and Vietnams traditional seven courses of beef. In the house special, the soup is hot and sour, the lemongrass so thick it's like a field of reeds in a lake. (410) 381-3839 Photograph by Amber Fouts. Tofu can absolutely be destination-worthy, as evidenced by the lemongrass, chive, and other varieties made fresh and sold here by the pound. Park behind this shop onMLK and youll see duck and pork belly hanging in a glass enclosure on the side of the building, a literal window into the careful ingredients that get tucked into satisfying baguettes. order at www.phodatthanh.net. The yellow tint comes from turmeric, and the stuffing forgoes the herbs and cheese of French cuisine in favor of sliced pork, shrimp, and heaps of bean sprouts. That translates to goat hot pot, and the sight of such a unique and intriguing dish was what first brought me here years ago. It is one of those situations where all these words are good things, but it's hard to picture the result. When Peter Kuang and his family opened their narrow slip of a restaurant in 2005, word traveled fast. If this formula was a lock for Amazon lunchers, it has proved even more successful with three subsequent locations that offer actual seating and an entire wall of automated pour-it-yourself beer taps. The tender meat practically jumps from the tiny bones into your mouth. The Vietnamese community that took root here after the fall of Saigon made Seattle immeasurably richerand embedded some dishes in our culinary canon. Please call (410)381-3839 or (410)381-3836 us for reservations and others. Duck rolls, chili-cumin pork ribs, master stock crispy chicken, and the classic banh mi.
That said, clear Vietnamese standouts include the Hanoi Sticky Rice and Vietamese Crepes, not to mention one of the best cocktail bars around. From the same owners who brought you the local legend MT Noodles in Brooklyn Park, Pho Mai is a new spot all about the two most popular Vietnamese specialties pho and banh mis! The menu grew as well, to include cocktails, Viet-tinged snacks like fries in lemongrass dipping sauce, and soup adventures like the turmeric noodles and short rib pho. Turns out that gamey and reptilian flavors go well with the lashings of lemongrass and herbal, sour notes that dominate Vietnamese cuisine. Beyond the basics, Seattle's Vietnamese restaurants serve such a wide variety of dishes that even Vietnamese cuisine maven Andrea Nguyen (author of Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Asian Dumplings, and The Bnh m Handbook) marveled to us about the availability of "old school dishes that are the essence of Vietnam" in Seattle. We are more than just a Mira Mesa, San Diego restaurant with good food. As a family-owned small business in San Diego, there is a lot of history and unique stories in every delicious Vietnamese cuisine that we serve. But, at least on the first visit, head straight to the large menus specialty section, full of noodle soups from central Vietnam. Vietnamese foodis often considered to be one of the more healthy Asian food options available. The namesake bun oc (rice noodle soup with snails that hails from Hanoi) has a complex, briny broth but even nongastropodal standards like lotus root salad and fish cakes draped across balls of crispy rice are standouts. Born in the humble boat-shaped structure across the parking lot, Seattles first pho shop has grown into this tropically styled space, whose broad windows sport the steam of all those bowls of rich pho served within. (Psst our guide to the best restaurants in Northeast Minneapolis might help!) 9225 Mira Mesa Blvd Ste #118, San Diego, CA 92126. The necessary thinness of the noodle to make the many layers of the rice batter work as a dish requires skill and patience, making this labor-intensive dish uncommon. The most well-known, popular Vietnamese delicacy is the rice noodle soup, or simply known as pho. Also, our blog will include topics such aswhat our family is doing, what healthy foods to eat, and how to incorporate good Vietnamese food into your diet. Two Banh Town faves: corned beef and braised chicken. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. The brisket falls apart in your chopsticks. Sure, Billiard Hoang makes solid pho, but it also offers a chance to explore other noodle soups like tomato-brothed bun rieu.
Located on Minneapoliss famous Eat Street (Nicolette Ave), Quang sits among some stiff competition when it comes to delicious, authentic Vietnamese restaurants. Ba Sa serves its shrimp laksa, pho tai lan, and ca kho to in a serene space on Winslow Way. Thats because this tiny little spot has an authentic vibe that we just cant resist. We are glad you find us here. As mentioned in that article, if youre looking for Vietnamese food in Northeast, then you absolutely cannot go wrong with the legendary Hai Hai. That is not the case at Ba Bar, where ph is just one item on a menu including a wide variety of Vietnamese classics, carefully crafted cocktails, and freshly-baked pastries. From the staple Vietnamese pho to other hidden gems, we invite everyone to enjoy an authentic, savory taste of Vietnam. Especially when the house green chili sauce is involved. The hot pot comes on a burner, bubbling away, while any additional table space is filled up with things to dip into the soup. Huong Duong means sunflower in Vietnamese, which explains the bright-yellow walls in the laid-back dining room. Very little has changed, save Seattles deepening awareness of how lucky we are to have this place. In 2004, Tam Nguyen expanded the citys definition of Little Saigon with a deeply atmospheric dining room, serving an enormous menu of carefully prepared Vietnamese regional staples. Sure, the bathtub-size super bowls of pho are a fun novelty, but the real draw here is housemade rice noodles, soaked, ground, and fashioned over several laborious days. A vast menu includes uncommon meatgrilled snails, deep-fried quailbut the kitchen shows just as much care with standards like banh xeo or a short rib rice plate (the menu also includes Chinese dishes). You can always find Vietnamese cuisine served with fresh salads and vegetables. We actually visit the sights, taste the food, and share the real locals inside scoop. Sandwiches come thick with vegetables, especially batons of pickled daikon. Lan Hue's banh mi are all about housemade ingredients. Note: Huong Xua suffered significant damage when firefighters responded to a nearby blaze September 13. From the staple Vietnamese pho to, Our family's history is unique. The DTC team is different. Bnh m are such a central part of the Seattle sandwich scene that, like a burger in L.A., the debate isn't whether or not to eat bnh m, but if one wants the fast-food equivalent, the diner standard, or the fancy pub version. All Rights Reserved. The mi quang submerges shrimp, quail eggs, and bits of spareribs in broth and a thicket of wide turmeric noodles, all topped with peanuts and caramelized onions. Perfumed with coconut milk, the version at Green Leaf is soft and flaky, making it easy to snap off a section and roll with lettuce and herbs before dipping into nc chm. Theres nothing that cures a hangover like a big bowl of Vietnamese soup. It shares the half-moon shape, vibrant yellow color, and stuffed nature of the egg dish. Taylor McKenzie Gerlach, Ann Karneus, and Angela Cabotaje. Not only does My Huong Kitchen serve fantastic takes of all the usual Vietnamese staples, but they also sport an item on their menu unlike any other their delicious takes on French Crepes. We're passionate Twin Cities locals writing from personal experience. The dining room only seats 25-30 people, all in no-frills booths or tables, but the small space just means youre even closer to all the magic going on in the kitchen. A visit to this yellow-walled spot just off Jackson doubles as an opportunity to explore Vietnamese soups, like lemongrass-sparked bun bo hue or comforting hu tieu, often overshadowed by our collective love of pho. But the banh xeo is still crisp and fresh, and that fan base remains strong as ever (these days, says Kuang, vermicelli bowls are a top seller). 7119 Martin Luther King Junior Way South, Seattle, WA 98118. One or two pieces make a good snack, but to make a meal of it, get the meaty version, piled with Vietnamese ham on top. With the opening of a second restaurant in Belltown, the lines have lessened, but the food remains vibrantly crisp and green. Huy Tats family runs the excellent Lan Hue banh mi shop (and the equally spectacular Hue Ky Mi Gia), but he launched his own fast-casual brand in a bid to plant these sandwiches squarely in the center of Seattles pre-pandemic lunch scene. Technically this restaurant is named Trung Nam French Bakery but dont let the name fool you. No wonder nearly every table in this soaring room emits a plume of steam from a soup bowl. After youve plowed through an incredible banh mi or broken rice dish, theres no better way to finish your meal. Big groups and families make an event out of the whole catfish, fried until its skin crackles beneath your chopsticks like radio static. Nguyen attributes this in part to Seattle 'facing Asia' and its role as a major transportation hub and port. Rooted deeply in kinship and culture, we strive to capture the essence of our family in the entire dining experience. you can also pick up what Sean recently picked as the best banh mi in the Twin Cities, not to mention traditional banh bao (oh-so-soft steamed buns with pork stuffing). With roots stemming from Saigon, Nha Trang, Hanoi, Hoi An, Hue, and Bac,we combined the best of each person's unique upbringing to bring you unique flavors that you can only find at Bolsa Vietnamese Restaurant in Mira Mesa, San Diego. 6400 Martin Luther King Junior Way South Seattle, WA 98118. The blue neon screams out "Lu d" from the window of Ben Thanh. In our new blog, we will share stories of our family, upbringing, the Vietnamese culture, lifestyle, and much more. From pate chaud and baked or steamed hum bao from the bakery case to the pate, ham, meatballs, perfect shatter-prone baguettes, even the mayo that populate the sandwich menu, this stylish banh mi shop (from the family behind the miracle chicken wings at Hue Ky Mi Gia) makes just about everything in house. Delivery order available with Large letters on the front window deliver three emphatic words: com (rice), pho, and bun (rice noodles). Located in Minneapoliss downtown Skyway, its the prefect place for a mid-lunch stroll to break up the workday.
Its the same soup you love at Pho Bacnow with snacks and new noodle dishes. On the surface, we may just be a Mira Mesa restaurant serving our family's best Vietnamese food, but there is much more to that. Use the lettuce to wrap it tight, though, as the mountain of bean sprouts dotted with savory pork slivers and chunks of shrimp are tough to contain. And once inside, youll find a menu thats packed with some of the best Asian food from all over the world. Which is to say this bamboo-trimmed room is serious about seafood. These wings have a shatteringly-crisp, golden-brown crust, sprinkled with vibrant green dots of scallions and peppers and browner bits of the garlic that joined the wings in the fryer. But no eggs were harmed in the making of this rice flour and turmeric pancake.
The original location on 19th and its Bellevue spin-off each retain their own personas, but both nail consistencyin the warm service, the grilled beef la lot, drunken chicken, and clay pot catfish, and the allure of weekend dim sum brunch.
Huong Binh is far less of a one-dish wonder than many spots, but the bnh hitiny bundles of intricately wound thin rice noodlesare the star of the show. People tend to open ph restaurants because there are just a few fresh ingredients to maintain, and staff doesn't require a ton of training, Banh tells us. 1207 South Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98144. Discover articles on howto make pho and more information about the exotic Vietnamese culture & lifestyle in our newsletter. These days, Tamarind Tree is also a rare destination for a proper Bo 7 Mon, Vietnams traditional seven courses of beef. Every single detail, broth, noodle, soup, poultry, and everything in between, has been carefully polishedin order to provide an unforgettable, palatable taste. Dive into the whole Vietnamese experience by visiting our blog today. The tranquil dining room at the foot of the main drag also has a sizable patio. With the mix of porky, beefy, and spicy flavors, it's easy to see (and smell) why Eric Banh named this as his favorite Vietnamese dish in Seattle (outside of his own restaurants). Meat is nearly as generous, all inside a pitch-perfect baguette. It's easy to take Ba Bar for granted because its always there for you. No word yet on their reopening. It's hard to pick up the pineapple flavor in the broth itself, though, as the aromatic assault from the bowl leads with the brightness of lemongrass and follows up with an exhilarating jab of spicy chili, the pineapple a silent partner in the flavor project, doing some heavy lifting behind the scenes. Rich in history and taste, our family-owned restaurant serves the same delicious dishes we have at home to your table. That means the menu represents a melting pot of delicious dishes fueled by the chefs imagination, rather than just traditional pho or banh mi. From rice dishes to the Vietnamese crepe (Banh Xeo), noodles to Vietnamese coffee, our menu boasts over 100 items to choose from. Lets be honest the usual Vietnamese joint leans towards hole in the wall atmopshere. Naomi Tomky is an award-winning food and travel writer based in Seattle, Washington. As the name implies, baguette sandwiches are the move here. There are a variety of meat and seafood options to pair with the noodles, but Huong Binh does wonders with the pork skewers called "tht nng," somehow recreating in the small restaurant kitchen the intense caramelization usually produced on grills on the street in Vietnam. From the pho noodles to the pho soup, fill your body with a balanced meal that's perfectly packed with the right amount of carbs, protein, and most important of all, taste! If you thought the best chicken wings in the city might come from a sports bar or fast-food restaurant, you'd be sorely mistaken: they're only available at this Chinese-Vietnamese noodle shop in Little Saigon. Bun and Oc excels at far more than mollusks. That is especially true when it comes to the most, A Mira Mesa restaurant serving our best Vietnamese food and more, "Pho Gais beef phos lighter, non-bovine cousin, based in poultry. Not so at Ngon bistro, which we consider one of the most romantic restuarants in the Twin Cities. Allecia Vermillion and Seattle Met Staff The flat rolls (the name means rolled cakes) are thinner and more layered than the similar Chinese cheong fun served at dim sum, the croissant to cheong fun's scone. We strive to provide more than pho in San Diego, but rather, a combination of good food and positive experience. Its no secret that were low-key obsessed with this place. Online order available for pickup. or call us at At Bnh Cun Tan Dinh, a sliver of a place, the offerings include the usual bnh m and Vietnamese deli fare, but it's the artfully-rolled, supple-skinned Bnh cun that make it worth a stop in Little Saigon.
But lurking deep in the appetizer menu is something called "fried butter garlic chicken wings." Speckled black with sesame seeds, the cracker breaks into chip-like pieces, and suddenly the clams are like the next guacamole: the dip of champions. Over the years, Kuangs family opened (and closed) a few additional locations around the city. Our family's history is unique. The fruit adds sweetness, but the real key is that an enzyme in it helps to break down the beef shanks and ham hocks to flavor the broth. If you leave Vietnam, she points out, the next land you'll hit is the West Coastand Seattle's early Vietnamese community encouraged more and more immigrants to settle there. We should all be so lucky to have a neighborhood restaurant like this in our midstcrispy banh xeo, vermicelli bowls full of crunchy vegetables and rich grilled meat, a mango salad you could (gladly) eat every day. The tangy and slightly-fishy pineapple and anchovy sauce it comes with brings a touch of sweet to the bold flavors of the miniature bivalves. That said, if you want to taste the flavors, techniques, and iconic dishes of Vietnamese cuisine, Seattle has some of the best you'll find without crossing the Pacific. The garlic and pepper flavor doesn't migrate into the protected meat, but there's plenty of extra fried bits floating around that can be mopped upa good alternative to the too-sweet sauce that's offered on the side.
(At one point, Lotus had six restaurants operated by the Vietnamese community throughout Minneapolis) And to this day, its the Vietnamese food wed argue they do best, like their fantastic pho, multiple Vietnamese salads, or Com Tam broken rice. Vietnamese cuisine is so ubiquitous, so varied, and so delicious in Seattle in part because the Vietnamese community here is so large. Nobody in Seattle is picking the herbs for your ph hours before they make it or bringing the chicken fresh from the farm that day to make stock. Both Tony's and Q, which are separated only by the large parking lot in front of the Viet Wah supermarket, bake their own bread. Plus a few less-common dishes, like duck noodle soup or a pork chop redolent of caramelized fish sauce and topped with a fried egg. But restaurants still specialize, and the key to finding the best Vietnamese dishes in Seattle usually depends on ordering the right thing at the right place. Thin slices and quick cooking keeps the pork from drying out. The rest of the menu is just as good too, with everything from hugely popular pho bowls to solid fried rice. Right now they run a simplified menu due to Covid challenges. The deli is currently closed; neighboring business Full Tilt Ice Cream created a Go Fund Me to support the rebuild. Warming noodle soups, cool cocktail hangouts, and many a great deli in between. The friendly service at Ben Thanh makes ordering less familiar dishes easy, and with the hot pot, they're happy to handhold and make sure everyone knows what they're doing. Ph Bac, as the plastic menu board declares, is "the best ph in town Maybe, don't know, really, who cares, just eat it." This authentic Vietnamese restaurants been passed down in the family for generations, and the result is all sorts of quirks that make the place so special. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our authentic Vietnamesemenu represents the best of what our restaurant has to offer. Although we are known for our chicken noodle soup, there's a vast array of items on our menu. At our Mira Mesa restaurant, you will find a rare taste of Vietnam that combines traditional, timeless recipes with modern service. Famous for their endless pho options and a beef noodle soup thats taken the whole city by storm, Quang is as authentic (and as popular) as it gets. Columbia, MD 21045 Northeast Minneapolis is one of the most food-rich neighborhoods in all of the Twin Cities, and deciding where to eat on any given night can be no easy task. One with an expansive menu of banh mi, vermicelli bowls, and rice plates.
Since then, I've worked my way through the entire menu, sampling the Hanoi-style roast pork and accidentally ordering a $30 whole fried catfish that could have fed a family. Most of Minnesotas travel guides are written by people with East Coast accents sitting New York City cubicles. You can find us at Bnh cun are flat, wide rice noodles, like a thin crepe, folded over many times to create a delicate but complex texture. Located near Mira Mesa Blvd, our local restaurant isone of the best places to eat in San Diego. Beyond Ph: A Rice Paper Roll Platter Is Vietnam on a Tray, Nem Li Hu (Hu Lemongrass Pork Skewers), Skip the Beaches and Hit the Streets: A Crawl of Da Nang's Amazing Street Food, Rant: What The New York Times Doesn't Know About Bnh M, How to Eat Falls Church, VA: The DC Area's Southeast Asian Food Mecca, How to Eat Dorchester: A One-Day Tour of Boston's Best Vietnamese Food, Where to Eat and Drink in New Orleans: A Local's Guide, Where to Eat Near Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, The Best Family-Friendly Restaurants in Philadelphia, 8 Great International Meatballs in NYC, Hold the Red Sauce. In the great bnh m taste-off, it comes down to a chance to choose your own deciding factor: for the bread and fish lovers, it's Tony's, for those in search of the strongest flavors and classic meat fillings, it's Q. There are many mediocre ph spots in Seattle, but there are also a number of good ones. Our passion for usingfresh ingredients for every menu items, combining with traditional flavors and rewriting familiar recipes into exceptional cuisine, is our mission and greatest joy. Yes, that one time Anthony Bourdain visited for The Layover was pretty cool. It is an angry red soup, brimming with assorted animal parts (pork hock, cubes of blood cake, beef tendon), each loaning their specific texture and potent flavor to the dish. Tiny baby clams, barely bigger than a nail head, are marinated with onions, garlic, chilies, herbs, and peanuts, quickly cooked, and served sans shell with a giant crispy rice cracker. Others go for snacks packaged in-house: shrimp spring rolls, chicken with rice, or minced pork inside steamed rice wrapped in banana leaf. Get in line, choose your dish, and choose your ingredients. Tamarind Tree introduces a level of elegance that Green Leaf forgoes, with excellent service, a full menu of wines, sakes, and cocktails, and a pleasant and elegant (if somewhat odd) dcor that includes indoor fire pits and a faux waterfall on the patio.