Pho Grand 3195 S. Grand Boulevard; 314-664-7435
Pho Grand's menu has been St. Louis' gateway from the familiar to the more adventurous aspects of Vietnamese cuisine, like fried silkworms and squid teeth. Many dishes hook you, like the banh cuon thit nuong (soft rice-flour crêpes boast a flavor profile of pure addiction, filled with ground pork, cloud ear mushrooms, onions and a sweet, garlicky nuoc cham dipping sauce). Next up is banh xeo, a.k.a. "Happy Pancake," a crisp and cheerful counterpoint to the decadence that came before it. The menu offers a lot of latitude for exploration while you're buzzed on the cafe sua da, iced chicory coffee made deliciously viscous with sweetened condensed milk.
Phuc Loi (3723 Gravois Avenue; 314-772-7742)
Perhaps the most unassuming restaurant in all of St. Louis, Phuc Loi makes up for its blink-and-you-miss-it exterior with terrific Vietnamese dishes. The bun bo Hue is an incredible pork soup, fiery hot, with the strong mineral note of pork blood. The best dish might be the banh mi dac biet, the popular Vietnamese sandwich with ham, head cheese and -- what puts it over the top -- a fried egg.-- Ian Froeb
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Banh Mi So #1 - Saigon Gourmet (4071 South Grand Boulevard; 314-353-0545)
You might visit this charming South Grand spot for banh mi -- it's in the name, after all -- delicious sandwiches with thinly sliced meat, pickled vegetables and sometimes pate on a crusty baguette. Or you might decide to test the neon sign in the window that proclaims the best spring rolls in St. Louis. These, too, won't disappoint. Or you might just settle for a simple bowl of pho, redolent of cilantro and basil, or paper-thin char-grilled pork over rice sauced with nuoc cham that hits the perfect spot between sweet and spicy.-- Tom Finkel
Read the original post here: Tip o' the Cap: Banh Mi So #1 -- Saigon Gourmet
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