{"id":235026,"date":"2019-01-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/vietnamese-sensation-3\/"},"modified":"2019-01-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T08:00:00","slug":"vietnamese-sensation-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/vietnamese-sensation-3\/","title":{"rendered":"sensaci\u00f3n vietnamita"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Frank Sabatini Jr.<\/p>\n

\"Vietnamese
A niche is filled in Point Loma for Vietnamese food (Fotograf\u00edas de Frank Sabatini Jr.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soon after Banh Mi Hoi An opened in July next door to Bookstar\/Barnes & Noble on Rosecrans Street, consumers with a taste for banh mi sandwiches and grilled meats began rejoicing. The applause stemmed largely from members of the Facebook group, Eating and Drinking in San Diego, as well as from LGBT patrons of The Hole in the Wall bar, which is in short walking distance.<\/p>\n

Having recently discovered the fabulous Saigon Star in Mission Gorge, my hankering for Vietnamese food finally led me here for a comparison taste test. I brought along a friend who also loves the food at Saigon. Our consensus was that the dishes at Banh Mi Hoi An are more exciting and complex.<\/p>\n

That declaration came only halfway into our lunch, after wolfing down a couple of pork skewers marinated in onions, lemongrass and five spice. This was glistening, unctuous pork with premium Asian flair. And for only $3 per skewer.<\/p>\n

Another starter, dirty french fries, featured a sprinkling of similarly seasoned pork over the thin-cut potatoes, plus caramelized onions and a fried egg on top. It was a refreshing departure from carne asada fries, and would undoubtedly help sober you up if stumbling out of The Hole in the Wall with an extra pitcher of beer in your belly.<\/p>\n

\"Vietnamese
Dirty fries with grilled pork and egg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The restaurant is owned by Duy Nguyen, one of the nicest guys in the industry who spent the last 20 years working in the financial world. Admitting he took \u201ca leap of faith\u201d when switching careers, the venture has so far paid off with a steady stream of savvy customers bestowing praise on his scratch-made meals. Meats are cut onsite and even things like pate, mayo, and a hot sauce constructed with four different peppers from his home garden are made in-house.<\/p>\n

While pondering our next choices, a woman at a nearby table interjected by recommending the chicken curry, citing that it was the fourth time in a month she had ordered it. The dish isn\u2019t listed on the menu, but it\u2019s available regularly as a special.<\/p>\n

\"Vietnamese
Chicken curry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was hell-bent on eating a banh mi sandwich \u2014 or two. My friend, however, deferred to the customer\u2019s testimonial and ended up with a superb stew of shredded thigh meat, potatoes and carrots set in a medium-thick broth flaunting yellow curry, star anise, cloves and bay leaves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tastes like the holidays,\u201d she effused. I agreed after stealing a few spoonfuls, and had also noticed how far removed it tasted from Thai yellow curry. This was more seductive and multi-dimensional.<\/p>\n

The banh mi rolls are about the only thing Nguyen doesn\u2019t make in-house. He sources them from Paris Bakery in City Heights. And they\u2019re as every bit airy on the inside and crusty on the outside as baguettes you\u2019d find in old European bakeries.<\/p>\n

I ordered two of the sandwiches \u2014 Vietnamese meatball and grilled beef. Both were in the good company of fresh cilantro, sweet pickles, raw jalapenos, shredded carrots and judicious smears of the house-made mayo.<\/p>\n

\"Vietnamese
Grilled beef banh mi with taro chips<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The loosely rolled meatballs are made of ground pork shoulder and contain fish sauce, garlic and five spice. They\u2019re designed to smash apart inside the sandwich and meld into the veggie fillings. For better, for worse, the meat becomes a little mushy but yields the right amount of fattiness and flavor.<\/p>\n

\"VietnameseI liked the beef banh mi better because the sesame-accented meat offered a firmer chew and didn\u2019t flop out of the roll as much as the crumbly meatballs. In keeping with tradition of these French-inspired sandwiches, the proteins didn\u2019t dominate the sandwiches. Nor were they overly scant.<\/p>\n

The famous Vietnamese noodle soup known as pho is missing from the regular menu. But it\u2019s offered as a daily special, at least through the winter months. Nguyen says he cooks the beef-based broth for two days and tosses in filet mignon or oxtail. On this day it contained both, a tempting prospect during chilly weather, but not possible given everything else we ordered.<\/p>\n

Nguyen\u2019s inclusion of \u201cHoi An\u201d in the restaurant name is a tribute to the namesake city along Vietnam\u2019s central coast where his grandmother was born. It\u2019s also where the late Anthony Bourdain gushed over pork skewers along the city\u2019s ancient streets in an episode of CNN\u2019s \u201cParts Unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vietnamese
Marinated pork skewers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe really put Hoi An on the tourist map,\u201d Nguyen noted.<\/p>\n

The restaurant serves beer and wine and also offers happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, when drinks and appetizers are 20 percent off.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Frank Sabatini Jr. es el autor de \u201cSecret San Diego\u201d (ECW Press) y comenz\u00f3 su carrera como escritor local hace m\u00e1s de dos d\u00e9cadas como miembro del personal del antiguo San Diego Tribune. Puedes localizarlo en fsabatini@san.rr.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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