Restaurant review extravaganza 19 page 2

Jefferson’s

If you’re headed to this weekend’s Jefferson Street Jazz and Blues festival between 26th and 28th avenues, brace yourself for some parking challenges. When the streets east of Tennessee State University fill up with festival traffic, you might find yourself circling the blocks in search of a spot, and if you’re still cruising all the way near the 1100 block and it’s close to mealtime, you might just consider pulling into the side lot at Jefferson’s restaurant and grabbing a table on the patio for a lunch of healthy soul food. More >>

New York

An Choi

As I stood in An Choi’s entranceway waiting for my sandwich, I couldn’t help but admire the décor: warm wall treatments quizzically stenciled with phone numbers (bicycle repairmen? Prostitutes?), small square tables surrounded by low stools, light bulbs with bare filaments that suggested a Third World market, and–running across the ceiling–thick cables that vibrate and swing, as if you’d just missed the last trolley of the evening. The narrow room takes a jog as it nears the open kitchen, and beyond that lurks a courtyard with a single communal table–perfect for late-night card games. An Choi strives to evoke Vietnam’s urban vibe, and admirably succeeds. More >>

“Tart grub for unquiet Americans”

Orange County

Zen Vegetarian

Every day in Little Saigon, metric tons of cattle are boiled down into soup for pho. There are restaurants that specialize in the bovine bender called bò 7 món, seven courses of beef. Other places will serve you deer and alligator or just about every species of the animal kingdom, just in case you’re feeling peckish after a trip to the zoo. More >>

Phoenix

Takeda Thai

Been hungry for Thai food lately? If so, call yourself a trendsetter.

This is purely anecdotal, but it seems to me that there’s been a visible proliferation of Thai restaurants across the Valley in the past few years, even more so than sushi bars or Vietnamese pho joints. There are scores of them — usually a few in every neighborhood, and many of them quite good. Think of how Thai Rama, Thai Basil, Thai Elephant, and Swaddee Thai have spawned multiple locations. Competition is steep. More >>

San Francisco

Noodle Theory

After a couple of years operating his cozy upscale noodle shop, Noodle Theory, in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, chef-owner Louis Kao has crossed the bridge and opened a San Francisco branch in the densely restauranted Marina. His menus are short and sweet: a few starters, mostly dumplings; several salads; and then soup noodles (served in big round bowls) or sautéed noodles (served in deep square bowls). Several of the salads also feature, yes, noodles. More >>

“Reel in the ginger catfish potstickers.”

Seattle

Plaka Estiatorio

In a city with only one McDonald’s Playland, has Greek become the family cuisine of choice? Half the kids in this city have grown up with feta-doused fries and gyros omelets at diners like Voula’s, Pete’s Eggnest, and Costas Opa, and everyone with a child under the age of 5 knows about the pen at Vios where you can sequester your toddler long enough to toss back shots of red wine. Plaka Estiatorio may only have been open since March–and there’s no puzzle pile in sight–but Ballard families have embraced the restaurant as if it were doling out lollipops and Ritalin. More >>

St. Louis

Midland Wok

At the Vietnamese restaurant Midland Wok, the #26 soup — banh canh gio heo — is described in English as “big clear noodles and pork.” This leaves out some crucial information, as I discovered when I ordered a bowl for lunch. A couple of minutes after the owner took my order, he returned with the menu to make sure that I wanted the #26.

“Right,” I said. “Noodles and pork.”

The owner frowned. “You eat pigs’ feet?” More >>