Saturday, March 03, 2007

Mekong Musings

Mekong, the Vietnamese restaurant on Broad Street, has been around for quite a while. It’s still my favorite Vietnamese place. Over the years, they have expanded capacity and established a killer beer and ale list along with a very nice wine list. I’m particularly fond of the Ace Pear Cider ($6.95 for 500 ml bottle) that is a great accompaniment to any dish served with nuoc cham (the slightly spicy, slightly sweet, vinegary fish sauce).

With any favorite place come favorite dishes. At Mekong I have one. The reason I only have one favorite is a bit embarrassing. Except for one occasion, I have only ordered one dish – Rice Noodle Salad with either the grilled pork or grilled beef and chicken. I know it’s insane, but I adore and even crave this dish at times. One day I’ll break out of my rut. I know Mekong prepares other fabulous entrees as well, but, I stuck to tradition last night…

Bun Bo Cha Nuong – Grilled beef and chicken rice noodle salad. Served with chopped lettuce, cucumber, bean sprout, pickled carrot, scallion, room temperature rice noodles, topped with crushed peanuts and served with nuoc cham on the side. I ordered mine minus the cucumber and bean sprout. The fish sauce (which I can’t rave about enough) last night was a tad spicier than usual, which both my husband and I appreciated. I liked the amalgamation of tastes and textures – fresh, grilled, sweet, sour, hot. And all for $6.95.

Other menu items are listed on Mekong’s website – www.Mekong-Restaurant.com. Check it out to find a dish you can rave about.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a tendency to order the same thing over and over. Mine is the grilled pork platter over broken rice. I go to Dalat now . I think the owners are related. I have branced out a bit to order the clay pot fish and the quail but I always go back to the pork platter.

GP said...

My favorite, both for eating in and take-out, has been the clay pot chicken and the appetizer sampler. The appetizer sampler gets the fried food indulgence out of the way and the chicken is tender and slightly spicy. Good times and decent meal for two as well (if you feel like sharing).