Vietnamese Food and Cooking

SF Weekly's Seven Day Dish

Because I Wanted To Type The Words 'Cock Sauce'

The Doggie Bag: Today's Odds and Ends

Our favorite food blog posts of Tuesday, May 19, 2009 A nation divided: In perhaps the ultimate act of foodie patriotism, the NY Times food blog went on a 50-state search for dishes containing the fiery condiment sriracha, like the cheesesteak dumplings with sriracha ketchup at Philly's Fireside Ta ... More >>

Dish Duel: Banh Mi Bay Bridge Classic

Top: The Ba Le contender. Bottom: The Saigon sammy. A product of French colonialism in Vietnam, the banh mi is classic street food, a sandwich that combines elements of both nations' culinary traditions - France's baguette and pâté, usually, and Vietnam's cilantro, chiles, and pickled ve ... More >>

Around Town: The Chill Cafe

It seems a new frozen yogurt shop opens somewhere in San Francisco almost every week. In that kind of environment, how do you distinguish yourself? Trang Nguyen is hoping she's found the answer at her Financial District shop The Chill Cafe (125 Kearny at Post). There's much more on tap than the stan ... More >>

Two Blocks of Vietnam

Prowling the jungle of the Tenderloin for hot, sour, salty, and sweet.

The Pho Chronicles

Upscale setting for the Vietnamese noodle soup that's good for what ails you, but nothing like your mother made

The Out-of-Towners

Two quintessential S.F. restaurants impress visitors from the Southland and our critic

Bistro on a Budget

Dine in style without the sticker shock at Jimmie Kwok's

Three Out of Four

We like the beautiful decor, excellent service, and interesting drinks more than the uneven food at Bong Su

Nabe Faves

When you're in the mood for eating — rather than fine dining — we've got three new neighborhood ethnic spots for you

Bowl of Sighs

We try to control ourselves, but we just can't stop ordering Sai's pho ga

Best Vegetarian Pho

Sunflower Restaurant

Phodown

New Saigon City, Turtle Tower, Vietnam II

Missed Saigon

Tao Cafe

Mixed Blessing

Andalu

Best Thai and Vietnamese Restaurant

Malee Thai & Vietnamese

Best Cheap Meal Before Dropping a Wad at the AMC 1000 Van Ness

Pho Hoa

In the House

Jasmine House

International Death Match

Malee Thai & Vietnamese

Pho Star

Vi's Vietnamese Cuisine

Broke-Ass Foodie: Pho Clement 2

We try to spend as little time as possible under fluorescents, which is why we were heartened by news that a favorite (if ill-lit) pho place, Pho Clement, added a second location on Geary, sans harsh, flickering lights. Even pho looks better in soft light. There are two dozen numbered combinations h ... More >>

Final Winner of Our 'No Reservations' Contest Wants to Give You a Big, Greasy Hug

Melanie Dunea, from "My Last Supper"So disturbingly wrong.​Behold the fifth and final winning entry in SFoodie's No Reservations viewing party contest. In case you shed brain cells over the weekend, a referesher: We asked groupies of Anthony Bourdain's Travel Channel food show to tell us why ... More >>

Magic Curry Kart Rumor Too Good to Be True, Real Deal Even More Interesting

Tatyana BalteMagic Curry Kart: New logo, new food on the way.​Last night, in a bit of self-confessed "rumormongering," Mission Mission speculated that street food vendor Magic Curry Kart would soon be serving Vietnamese noodles from his impressive new bicycle cart. But, as the Magic Curry Man hims ... More >>

Local Flavor: Shredded Pork Shoulder with Chá Truong Vit

J. Birdsall​Dish: Shredded pork shoulder, served with Vietnamese pork quiche with duck egg (chá truong vit) ($12) Source: Out the Door, 2232 Bush (at Fillmore) Breakdown: This is two dishes in one: a tangle of cold pork and pork skin sanded with toasted rice powder, served with a wedge of col ... More >>

Grab a Spoon, Meat Lovers: A SFoodie Lunch Planner

Bonnie L./YelpMmm, beefy.​Monday, November 9, 2009 Think of it as the slurpable equivalent of the Double Deep Meat Lover's pizza, only without the cheese, the crust, or, for that matter, the corporate branding. Make your way to the silk-flower fabulousness of the Outer Sunset's Tay Giang, 254 ... More >>

Sriracha is the New Salsa: Freeman Forecasts 2010 Restaurant Trends

villagevoice.com2010: Year of the cock?​Local hospitality and restaurant consulting firm Andrew Freeman & Co. has just released its annual national forecasting report for 2010, its third annual Trend Watch List. We got a kick out of learning that skewers are totally hot, PLTs -- P standing for ... More >>

The Outer Mission's Under-the-Radar Banh Mi

M. LaddChicken banh mi: Mellow hints of five spice.​While the Vietnamese restaurant Lotus Garden (3216 Mission at Fair) can be a fine spot for tea and a hot bowl of pho, it didn't really offer on-the-go lunch options. So owner Kathy Tang quietly started selling takeout-only banh late last year ... More >>

Doggy Bag: FrankenPho Walks!

Bright Like Neon/FlickrClassic it's not.​Our favorite morsel from the blogs. It's alive!: The Bold Italic's Reyhan Harmanci flirts with FrankenPho, a mashup of her favorite elements from five local joints slinging the Viet noodle soup. Yeah, so what if Harmanci's ultimate formula seems a bit ... More >>

Opening Today on Geary: French-Vietnamese Restaurant Quan Bac

​Big blue Quan Bac opens today on Geary in the lounge-restaurant space that last housed Sushi Rock #3. (Heck, it's housed a half-dozen restaurants over the past decade.) Owned by Shera Le, who also runs Bun Bo Hue Quan Ngon Vietnamese Noodle on Noriega, Quan Bac specializes in French-Vietnamese fu ... More >>

Blue Bottle Trying to Develop Artisanal Version of Vietnamese Drip Coffee

Genevieve Y./YelpVietnamese screw-down drip filters at My Father's Kitchen.​Requests from S.F. pho restaurant My Father's Kitchen and other customers got Blue Bottle wholesale trainer Vien Dobui thinking. Why couldn't the Oakland-based micro-roaster develop its own artisanal version of Vietnam ... More >>

Little Saigon Cafe (with Happy Dumplings) Offering Mostly Takeout in the Tenderloin

J. BirdsallHappy Dumpling's happy dumplings, now indoors.​After reading Luis Chong's post yesterday about a new restaurant being opened by the owners of the popular Happy Dumpling stand at the Stonestown farmers' market, SFoodie contacted owner Chuck Kerson to learn more. He and partner Linda Jia ... More >>

Ready when you are: People who wait for brunch? Not us

J. BirdsallHappy Dumpling's happy dumplings, now indoors.​After reading Luis Chong's post yesterday about a new restaurant being opened by the owners of the popular Happy Dumpling stand at the Stonestown farmers' market, SFoodie contacted owner Chuck Kerson to learn more. He and partner Linda Jia ... More >>

Spice Kit's Short Rib Ssam Wrap

John BirdsallKorean ssam with beef short rib ($7.95).​Tuesday, June 29, 2010 After glimpses of four-star glory, Fred Tang and Will Pacio are ministering to the $10 lunch crowd. Opening yesterday: Spice Kit, their quick-casual spot in the office zone where FiDi fuses with SOMA. Tang and Pacio ... More >>

Bacon Banh Mi at Cafe Dolci

Bacon banh mi from Cafe Dolci ($4.35).Friday, July 9, 2010Cafe Dolci, a downtown coffee stand that serves banh mi and packages of spring rolls and sticky rice at lunch, is just big enough for the owners to pirouette around each other behind the counter. The quickest way to find the restaurant's demu ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain Weeps for What?

John BirdsallNo. 7, pho bo tai nam, from My Father's Kitchen on Divis.​Our favorite morsel from the Web. CNN's Eatocracy concluded Nicole Dow's two-part Q and A with Anthony Bourdain today. Yesterday, the man-craggy TV host described returning to Lebanon (his No Reservations production crew h ... More >>

Tofu Banh Mi from Ebbett's Good To Go

John Birdsall Shredded Hodo Soy Beanery tofu with pickled carrots, cucumbers, piquillo peppers, spicy pesto, and sriracha mayo, $8.​Monday, September 13, 2010 John Birdsall​Like Nancy Botwin, East Bay moms Suzanne Schafer and Shari Washburn wanted to do something that would guarantee th ... More >>

18 Reasons Pairs Wine with Vietnamese Food

Ryan Bjorkquist/FlickrThis is the first of what 18 Reasons promises will be an occasional series focusing on wine and Asian food.​Sure, a Cabernet can obliterate a Peking duck faster than an eight-top at a banquet, and the havoc hoisin sauce wreaks on the wine? Not pretty. The problem of pa ... More >>

Rice Paper Scissors 2.0: Vietnam Underground

Poster by Will Chu​Saigon-Style Pop-Up Where: "An industrial workshop in the Mission"; precise location to be tweeted (or e-mailed) the day of the event When: Thu., Mar. 31, starting at 6 p.m. The rundown: Katie Kwan (KitchenSideCar) and occasional SFoodie blogger Valerie Luu (Little Knock) ... More >>

When Donuts Aren't Enough: Will Cops Keep the New Turtle Tower in Business?

Luis ChongA Peek Inside Turtle Tower #3.​This week location #3 of the famous Turtle Tower Restaurant offered a glimpse of their food with a limited menu. A sort of test run before the June 1 official grand opening. SFoodie was lucky enough to take a peek while the employees were enjoying their ... More >>

Cafe Grill Bar: Nice Digs, Good Vietnamese Food, Ignore the Name

Jonathan KauffmanCafe Grill Bar's rice plate with pork, egg cake, and pork skin, $7.50.​You may forgive Cafe Grill Bar for the absence of personality in its name when you walk into the place. The cafe/grill/bar looks like the VIP lounge for Virgin Airlines, or possibly a location shoot for the fal ... More >>

Pho Vung Tau: Nice Space, Functional Noodles

Jonathan KauffmanBun with grilled pork and shrimp at Pho Vung Tau, $6.25.​ Last month, SF Weekly moved offices to within a mile of Chinatown, allowing me to embark on a new project: systematically visiting a different Chinatown restaurant each week, starting at Powell and Vallejo and moving sout ... More >>

Vietnamese Thursday Pop-Up Will Deliver Food by Bicycle

Phil CarterKatie Kwan, left, and Valerie Luu​If you were in Saigon Ho Chi Minh City any time until about a decade ago, chances are you got food delivered by bicycle. The Vietnamese pop-up Rice Paper Scissors will bring Saigon nostalgia to the lower Haight and Fillmore every Thursday night, sta ... More >>

My Canh and the Problem of Sloppy Noodles

Jonathan KauffmanMy Canh's bun mang vit (duck soup salad). ​Rice Plate Journal is a yearlong project to canvas Chinatown, block by block, discovering the good, the bad, and the hopelessly mediocre. Maximum entrée price: $10.A pattern with SFoodie's visits to Chinatown restaurants seems to be ... More >>

Banh Mi Dish Duel: Bun Mee vs. Cafe Bunn Mi

Jonathan KauffmanCafe Bunn Mi's sole sandwich: Not the same as Bun Mee's.​In Hanoi, where copyright laws are laxer than in San Francisco, success and unauthorized cloning go hand in hand. The moment Lucky Hotel gets a good mention in the Lonely Planet guide, five more Lucky Hotels appear, some on ... More >>

Wakeup Video: How to Make Vietnamese Coffee

High Beam Media​Eric Slatkin, a San Franciscan who makes films under the name High Beam Media, just finished a three-minute short on how to make Vietnamese coffee -- you know, the kind that drips slowly from a metal filter into a glass of sweetened, condensed milk and is just as good hot as it is ... More >>

Top Five Meals Under $5 in San Francisco

Thomas Hawk/FlickrCheap eats here.​Now that burritos and falafel wraps cost $8 and a bowl of pho can't be found for less than $6, the under-$5 meal has become a rarity in San Francisco. Damn that Healthy San Francisco. (Kidding.) But the cheap meal is not a unicorn, and there's no need to reso ... More >>

Golden Flower's Southern-Style Pho Is as Good as We Get in San Francisco

Jonathan KauffmanGolden Flower's house special pho.Rice Plate Journal is a yearlong project to canvas Chinatown, block by block, discovering the good, the bad, and the hopelessly mediocre. Maximum entrée price: $10. It is impossible to feel isolated, or adrift, at Golden Flower, Chinatown's best V ... More >>

This Friday: Rice Paper Scissors Pop-Up at SFMOMA

​What: Rice Paper Scissors lunch pop-up Where: The Schwab Room, ground floor, SFMOMA When: Friday, January 6, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Cost: varies The rundown: Sharon Lockhart's Lunch Break exhibition at SFMOMA contemplates workers' activities during their lunch breaks through film, photogra ... More >>