I went to Khuu Bistro — a decidedly unique Vietnamese restaurant in a Reseda mini mall — with a friend from Philadelphia, who was wearing an Eagles sweatshirt. Our server noticed the Eagles logo, and started telling us about his years at Villanova, just outside of Philly, where he had been the coach of the volleyball team. He had gone from spiking balls at the net, to serving sticky rice dumplings to our table. Life, given its druthers, certainly enjoys those twists and turns.
Khuu is both a terrific Pan-Vietnamese restaurant — offering dishes from both the north and the south — and an education in the subtleties of the dishes. On the munu, under the “Pho” heading, comes some notes on how to know whether the pho is good … followed by an essay on the arguments for, and against, flavoring the pho with sriracha or hoisin sauces.
We learn that pho “is a Vietnamese soup consisting of bone broth, rice noodles and thinly sliced meat (usually beef).” And then, the menu asks, “How do you know if pho is good? A good broth should have a deep and sweet flavor from the marrow bones that have been simmering for hours. Yet it needs to be a clear, amber-like color and subtly flavored. When the customers taste it, they shouldn’t feel any spice stronger than others.”
This is followed by a Talmudic debate that boils down to this: “To sauce or not to sauce…” Seems as if it’s a regional variation, with the north going without sauce, while the south liking their broth well-sauced. It’s a bit like iced tea here in the U.S.A. In the north, the tea is served unsweetened. In the south, it’s sweet tea that they drink — so sweet that restaurants should have a dentist on staff. (For all I know, many do!)
The menu begins with 11 “small bites,” described as ranging from the popular street food banh beo, to the nutrient-dense spring rolls … though small and sometimes simple, these plates don’t skimp on texture and flavor.” Which is a notable…
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