Another week, another new thing. I took the initiative and found a new happy hour place for me and a few cohorts. It was a Vietnamese place located in a strip mall. I have never been to a Vietnamese restaurant, probably because I'm not usually a fan of Asian food. I don't like rice and I really don't like their sauces. I mention this because it shows my lack of judgment while having a glass of wine.
On the positive side of the evening, it had a nice atmosphere and good service. However, their widely advertised Happy Hour was seriously lacking. Wine choices: Dark Horse Chardonnay or Red Blend and Proverb Pinot Noir at $5 a glass. Not good, even for house wines. Knowing that I didn't like Dark Horse, I tried the Proverb. It was fine. But what really killed all of us was the happy hour menu. Copied from their website and menu:
With any purchase of an Happy Hour drink, get $2 off ONE starter!
Many times, we get appetizers as our main course, and were considering this option when the server came to take our order. Come to find out that it was limited to ONE appetizer for the entire table. So, you could have a group of ten people and they were only willing to take off $2 whether or not it was separate checks or all together. Nothing really stood out to me on the starter menu anyway, so my choices were pho or rice platters.
Now, you would think that I would have ignored the rice platters and gone straight for the pho, especially since I'm all about new things this year and I've never had pho before. You would think! But apparently, I was not thinking. The brothy soup just didn't seem to go with my wine, so I ordered the Asian bbq pork platter. It was terrible. Despite being cut thin, the pork was tough and chewy and full of fat. And of course, I hated the sauce and the rice. I was fooled by the term 'bbq' thinking it would be spicy and have some flavor. More like watered down corn syrup with red food coloring. I ate the side salad, which was good, though tiny. Sadly, neither of my friends cared for what they ordered either, even the pho. Cross another place off the list!
I did try a new Asian specialty that I liked yesterday. My son's girlfriend made lotus root, which is a first course dish in China. As she described it, you cut off the top and stuff the tiny holes with sticky rice. Then you put the top back on and secure with toothpicks. Boil the root until it is tender. She then sliced it and topped it with some sort of flower blossom syrup. It was mildly sweet and actually had a nice consistency. I forgot to take a photo, but here is one I found online that looked just like it:
I remain impressed with your commitment to try new things this year, even if you don't always end up liking them. I love Asian food, but your experience with the wine list is not unusual - that is one thing they don't seem to do well. Beer and sake are no problem, but wine choices are always limited (and not great).
ReplyDeleteYou really should try pho sometime. When it's made properly, it's delicious - and really hits the spot during the cold winter months!
I would probably like pho, since I like most soups. I really don't know what I was thinking. I had not had much to eat that day and I guess I just wanted something substantial.
DeleteI generally like Asian food, especially Thai. I did try a Vietnamese place some years back, expecting it to be something like a different take on Thai, but I was kinda underwhelmed. Not bad, just not terribly interesting. . .
ReplyDeleteI have been to a Thai restaurant twice and I did like what I had. I think we all probably have a tendency to lump all Asian cuisine together, which is not right. It would be like saying all European food is similar.
DeleteI love Chinese food so much I see no reason to experiment with any other Asian food...actually I do like those Japanese Hibachi styles, otherwise I am not a very adventurist person.
ReplyDeleteI did like Hibachi Japan as a kid, but most people like grilled steak and shrimp, I would think!
DeleteSounds like one to stay crossed off the list.
ReplyDeleteWon't be back!
Delete"Another week, another new thing"--I love that outlook, Bijoux. Sorry to hear that this place was a bust, but you tried something new and now you know what to avoid.
ReplyDeleteI used to go to a Vietnamese place near Union Square and it was fabulous. And they had a decent Happy Hour deal, too.
Keep doing those new things!
I won't give up! I'm hitting it big with the coffee shops; not so much with the happy hours!
DeleteI think it's awesome that you have committed to your decision to try something new each week. Bravo! And the whole point of doing that is to "experience" it, and that doesn't mean that you'll always love what you've tried. But at you made the effort to try it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had Vietnamese food in ages. There was a really good place I used to go to occasionally in Orlando, Florida that had the most delicious Asian salad with marinated chicken. The dressing was FABULOUS! But I usually only grave Asian food once a year.
Have you ever tried "Double Down" from Dark Horse? I love it. In fact, I'm sipping a glass right this very second.
Have a fantastic week, my friend! X
Wow! Vietnamese places are a fairly recent thing around here. I have never heard of Dark Horse Double Down. I've only tried their Cab and I hated it, so they are off my list! LOL! So many wines, so little time. Hope your week is great, too!
DeleteThat lotus root sounded delicious!! Do you not like all Dark Horse or just the chardonnay? We like their Merlot. I've had wine with pho before, it somewhat goes together well. You wonder about the place you went, how it stays in business. The quality of the food doesn't seem that great and that would make me a bit upset too if there was only one happy hour starter with $2 off no matter how many at a table. I'd be writing a review for Yelp, LOL.
ReplyDeletebetty
The lotus root was surprisingly good, considering it doesn't look all that appetizing. I don't like Dark Horse Cab, so haven't given them another shot. And don't worry, I wrote a review on Trip Advisor! LOL!
DeleteI've never had Vietnamese food but I usually like most asian foods that I've tried. I like rice but I'm not supposed to eat much of it.
ReplyDeleteI've just never liked rice because it's flavorless to me. And I really only like pasta if it's covered in a sauce.
DeleteNever drink and dine ..... without an assist from Yelp!!
ReplyDeleteI prefer TA. I've seen too many fishy Yelp reviews, besides the ones written by teens!
DeleteWell, I prefer TA too but isn't that getting a bit too personal?? :-O
Delete😂🤓
DeleteI love Pho. When I was in Hanoi, there was a wonderful restaurant that was close to my hotel where for about a buck, I could get a filling bowl of pho along with a large bottle of Hanoi beer! Vietnam also eats lots of seafood (in addition to pork and chicken-including chicken feet)
ReplyDeletewww.thepulpitandthepen.com
That sounds like a great deal!
DeleteThat seems misleading - I could see them limiting the happy hour starter special to one per customer, but one per table even if everyone is ordering a drink? So good information to have anyway - it's important to know where not to return! The lotus root sounds good, albeit a little labor-intensive.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wonder when English is a second language that there's a disconnect going on. And yes, I was touched that his gf went to the trouble to make lotus root for us.
DeleteIt is so exciting to see what kind of new things you are trying. We have one Vietnamese restaurant close to work, in an outdoor shopping mall, that I've visited a number of times. I've like everything I've eaten there so far, but I haven't tried pho yet.
ReplyDeleteLotus root sounds interesting, but it seems like a lot of work.
Yes, lotus root is too much work for me. She taught us how to make wontons at Christmas and that was hard enough for me!
DeleteI like some Vietnamese foods...yummy
ReplyDelete