My recent trip to California reignited my fervor for Vietnamese food. We ate at Pho Viet in San Jose two days in a row, wolfing down pho, bbq beef, bbq pork, vermicelli noodles, sriracha and bubble teas. I thought the food rocked— it was fresh and vibrant and crackling with amazing flavors.
Then I went onto Yelp.com and read some of the reviews… the consensus among the San Jose reviewers seemed to be that Pho Viet was “okay” and “mediocre”.
This leads me to believe that either (A) I have no clue what constitutes good Vietnamese (quite possible), (B) I’m so Vietnamese starved that anything tastes good to me, or (C) San Jose residents are seriously lucky if Pho Viet is considered average among their other Vietnamese options.
I’m hoping the answer is B or C. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the food was just so-so. But feed a starving man a steak and he’s going to love it, whether it’s from Peter Luger or from Bennigan’s. When you’re living in an area with no Vietnamese food (not counting Manhattan), you’re just happy to have it. I’ve been poking around to see if there’s some Vietnamese restaurant in Westchester I’ve overlooked. No luck so far.
While we’re at it, where’s the Ethiopian in Westchester? Does anyone know of anything in the area? The Westchester restaurant scene’s come a long way in the past few years, but there’s still a need for an influx of ethnic cuisines. Let’s hope some brave Vietnamese or Ethiopian restaurateur is given a chance to show what he’s got— we’ll all be better off for it.
Until then, I’ll have to sustain myself with memories of Pho Viet and its “mediocre” Vietnamese. On second thought, forget that, I can’t wait. I’m going to Manhattan.
Where’s the Vietnamese and Ethiopian in Westchester?
My recent trip to California reignited my fervor for Vietnamese food. We ate at Pho Viet in San Jose two days in a row, wolfing down pho, bbq beef, bbq pork, vermicelli noodles, sriracha and bubble teas. I thought the food rocked— it was fresh and vibrant and crackling with amazing flavors.
Then I went onto Yelp.com and read some of the reviews… the consensus among the San Jose reviewers seemed to be that Pho Viet was “okay” and “mediocre”.
This leads me to believe that either (A) I have no clue what constitutes good Vietnamese (quite possible), (B) I’m so Vietnamese starved that anything tastes good to me, or (C) San Jose residents are seriously lucky if Pho Viet is considered average among their other Vietnamese options.
I’m hoping the answer is B or C. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the food was just so-so. But feed a starving man a steak and he’s going to love it, whether it’s from Peter Luger or from Bennigan’s. When you’re living in an area with no Vietnamese food (not counting Manhattan), you’re just happy to have it. I’ve been poking around to see if there’s some Vietnamese restaurant in Westchester I’ve overlooked. No luck so far.
While we’re at it, where’s the Ethiopian in Westchester? Does anyone know of anything in the area? The Westchester restaurant scene’s come a long way in the past few years, but there’s still a need for an influx of ethnic cuisines. Let’s hope some brave Vietnamese or Ethiopian restaurateur is given a chance to show what he’s got— we’ll all be better off for it.
Until then, I’ll have to sustain myself with memories of Pho Viet and its “mediocre” Vietnamese. On second thought, forget that, I can’t wait. I’m going to Manhattan.