Tag: Vietnamese

This spring marks 50 years since the fall of Saigon—an event many refugees call “the day we lost the country.” A turbulent postwar era followed, with South Vietnamese people suffering imprisonment and persecution by the Communist regime. At that time, there was hardly a Vietnamese presence in Georgia. But in the decades since, metro Atlanta’s Vietnamese population has grown immensely and now ranks as the ninth-largest Viet community in the United States.

For their second outing, Ron Hsu and Co. turned to a more casual format and a more specific focus: In December, they launched Juniper Cafe, devoted loosely to the fare of Vietnam. Why this direction? It’s not just that Vietnamese is a favorite cuisine of his, Hsu told me—it also sits at the precise intersection of his Chinese roots and French training.

Vietvana, a modern Vietnamese restaurant serving pho and banh mi, will open on East College Avenue in Avondale Estates on August 16.

Inside Guy Wong’s modern Vietnamese joint, the clamorous space is as chic as the rest of its Westside brethren, from the hand-painted chinoiserie wallpaper and curved wood bar to the herringbone floors and gallery wall of vintage prints.

Both locations of Nam Phuong are worthwhile starting points to explore the joys of Vietnamese cuisine beyond pho and banh mi.

This summer, Alex Kinjo will open food stall Pho Nam in the spot formerly home to Nature’s Garden Express in Krog Street Market. Then in September, he’s planning to bring his popular Vietnamese spot Nam, which closed in Midtown in 2011, to Sandy Springs.

Husband and wife team Vanh Sengaphone and Thip Athakhanh opened Snackboxe Bistro in Doraville earlier this year, serving Laotian street eats such as chicken larb, enormous garlic-pepper chicken wings, and sticky rice dishes.

If Ugly Delicious had you craving Vietnamese-Cajun dishes, look no further than Buford Highway newcomer Kajun Crab, where you can get your hands messy with saucy crawfish boils and sip drinks that literally smoke and bubble with the help of dry ice.

Located in an former Starbucks location in Midtown high-rise, Anh’s Kitchen is a sophisticated, intimate concept defined by the authenticity of its ingredient-driven kitchen and its hip sense of design.

I often find myself torn between eating big salads or Asian noodles for lunch. And when it's still warm out, cold noodles are the way to go. Here are five great dishes to try in metro Atlanta.