Newbies should commence their explorations at this modish dining room with polished wood floors and dangling lamps, where the 120-plus-item menu is an encyclopedia of Vietnamese cooking. The menu also rewards the food adventurer with beguiling twists on the familiar (lemongrass short ribs, thrice-baked chicken) and dishes that don’t stint on their commitment to authenticity. The staff is uneven—sometimes attentive, sometimes fumbling.
Don’t miss: Spring rolls; bun thit nuong, a noodle bowl with grilled pork and shrimp; congee (porridge); shaky beef; bánh xèo, a rice-flour crepe with pork, bean sprouts, and shrimp; grilled, stuffed grape leaves; chicken salad with cabbage, gizzards, and liver; snails in coconut sauce; fried tofu with lemongrass.
Open: Daily for lunch and dinner.
Inexpensive.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
