Dr. Manson and I resumed our search for good Vietnamese food by dropping in here yesterday afternoon for lunch. What was in this space previously, I can't remember, but it's now squeaky clean and bright and doing a fairly brisk business. We started with Fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls (5), which Michael has adapted as one of his litmus tests. These were pretty much your standard offering and he thinks the shrimp were frozen, but I couldn't tell; they didn't taste old, with that annoying iodine flavor of 'long time no sea'.
Pho hasn't played a part in Michael's food choices before and I think he started out with a winner here, the BBQ Pork Noodle Soup (6.55). I explained that the meat is served on the side sometimes so that the diner can dip a piece in a small bowl of sauce of his choice, eat it and then spoon up some broth and/or noodles. He tried one piece this way and then just dumped the rest of the meat into the bowl. Hey, he's the one eating it and that's all that matters.This was a hefty serving and he ended up taking half of it home.I can't recall having curry in a Vietnamese place before, so I ordered the Curry Beef Noodle Soup (6.55). Can't say much for this - the meat wasn't trimmed of fat and gristle, just chopped into chunks. It did have a few bits of roasted potato, which were quite flavorful. I think the Curry Beef Noodles at Bund Shanghai are much better.
Besides pho, there are some salads, vermicelli bowls, combo plates and rice plates, all economically priced. The food I saw around me all looked good, so I think I'll try my luck again sometime soon.
This block of Kearny is transforming nicely. I'm told the Grasslands Bar has been cleaned up and is no longer a terrifying toilet, and there's a fairly new Japanese place on the corner of Jackson that has been a series of restaurants. House of Nan King continues to pull in the tourists, and I keep telling people to go to Chef Jia's next door, where there's seldom a wait, the portions are bigger and the food is better!
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