Soup And Sandwich, Please, Vietnamese Style

I'll be the first to admit it, I love Vietnamese food. I can't exactly remember when I had my first taste of it, certainly it wasn't until I was into my early twenties. But from that first moment, the food from this nation has taken hold of my taste buds and never let go. Even bad Vietnamese food still manages to hit some gastronomic nerve center in my brain that just makes me sigh and say, "ahhhhh!"

While there are actually quite a few places in Cleveland to get Vietnamese, the most talked about rivalry is between Superior Pho and #1 Pho, each just across the street from the other. While some speculate that they are somehow related, I can assure you that they are not. If you spend any amount of time reading the local Cleveland food boards, you will begin to understand that each eatery has its own proponents. Having never tried either restaurant, I jumped at the chance to go there for lunch with good foodie friends Nancy and Edsel.

Superior Pho was located at 3030 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44114 and can be reached at 216-781-7462. Not surprisingly, there was no website associated directly with the restaurant at the time of this writing. Now that I've told you the official address, here's how to actually FIND the restaurant, as the front door does not face Superior Avenue. Find the corner of Superior and East 31st and make the turn onto 31st going south (it's a one way street, you can only go south). As soon as you make the turn, the parking lot for Superior Pho (and Ha Ahn, too) will be on your right. The entrance to the building is adjacent to the parking lot.

Here was what the backside entrance to the building looked like:


To go to Superior Pho, enter the door on the left side inside the entrance. If instead you wanted to go to Ha Ahn, you would continue down the hall and enter the door on the right side of the hall.

Here was the door I would be entering for lunch today:


I got there slightly before noon and there were plenty of tables. Within about fifteen minutes, however, the place was packed with hungry Clevelanders looking for a filling meal. As I sat down at the table, my server left us with menus:






Seeing that the Vietnamese soup, or pho, was available in both a small and large size, I decided instead of getting one item off the menu that I would split a second one with Edsel. And having heard how good the banh mi sandwiches were, I knew that today would be a soup and sandwich kind of day, Vietnamese style.

Not realizing how quickly the kitchen turned out orders, I went to use the restroom and was gone for maybe three or four minutes. As I walked back into the dining room, our entire meal was being served up. When I thought about it, it made sense since the key to making money during lunchtime was turning tables as often as possible.

First up was a shot of my sandwich, a banh mi thit:


And here was a shot of the inside of the crusty French roll on which it had been served:


Finally, an end shot showing you the layers of meat, pate, and vegetables:


The phrase "banh mi" more or less describes a generic sandwich of this style. Often banh mi are offered with various toppings which changes the name from something generic to more specific. Today's sandwich, with its layers of homemade pate, roasted pork, cucumber, jalapeños, cilantro and mayonnaise, epitomized a great sandwich, Vietnamese or not. The French roll was crusty on the outside and the crumb had a wonderful chew to it. Of course, the bread was wonderfully fresh. The ingredients themselves were also very tasty and nothing overpowered anything else. The last time I had a banh mi was during my trip to the North Market in Columbus while I was there during Linuxfest 2009. That sandwich was good, but this one was better.

In addition to my banh mi, I also ordered a small bowl of pho. The nice thing about Superior Pho's menu was that all the pho were the same price (small or large). You order by simply telling the waiter which type of meat you would like in it. Today I got the #3, which had a mixture of well done brisket and eye round steak.

Here was a shot of my bowl of soup:


With every bowl of pho, you get an additional plate of vegetables that you can optionally add to enhance it:


Present on today's plate were fresh bean sprouts, jalapeño slices, basil, and wedges of fresh lime. Each table had the obligatory bottle of Sriracha as well as hoisin sauce and a jar of vinegar. I normally don't bother with the hoisin or vinegar, but I am a Sriracha freak. I absolutely love the stuff. While none of my other tablemates used the fiery condiment, I loaded up; not so much that I lost the delicate flavors of the soup, but enough that a thorough cleaning of my sinuses was required by the end of the meal.

The biggest surprise was how tender the meats were. I expected the eye round steak to be tender because they put it in raw and the heat of the soup cooks it to around medium. The brisket, however, was also incredibly tender and not stringy at all. The broth was flavorful and the noodles were cooked perfectly, having just the right amount of chew to them. The only real criticism was that I wasn't getting very much of the warming spices from the star anise or clove, spices traditionally used in making the soup stock.

The cost of my soup and sandwich with tax and tip came to a meager $11 which I happily paid. I am looking forward to returning so that I can try some of the other menu delicacies that I've come to love such as the cold rice noodle vermicelli dishes and Bun Bo Hue, an already spicy soup that sounded quite good on the menu. I know I plan on adding Superior Pho on my places to return to often and take people visiting from out of town.

It has been rumored that the restaurant will be expanding into the space next door, thus increasing the number of guests they can take care of in a single seating. As long as the kitchen continues to turn out quality, tasty food like I experienced today, I don't think they'll ever have a problem filling the place up. I highly recommend you take the time to look this hidden restaurant up in order to try the food.

Around The World At The North Market

When I first started attending the annual Ohio Linuxfest many years ago, I found myself drawn, almost lemming-like, to the Food Court on the first floor of the Columbus Convention Center during our hour long lunch break during the day long event. The Food Court contained the same list of tired old classics that we, as Americans, have come to expect in our mega-malls and airports across the country. Let's see, there is the kind-of-Japanese place, the two and three way combo plates at the Americanized Chinese place with nary a wok in sight, the submarine sandwich place, and the ever ubiquitous Italian place that offers pizza by the slice. The first several years, I followed suit and joined my fellow convention-goers, but by about the third year I attended, I finally figured out that something better was just beyond the doors to the outside world.

I speak, of course, of the North Market located literally one block away from the north side of the Convention Center. Located at 59 Spruce Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, the administrative offices can be reached at 614-463-9664 or you can visit them at their website. Even though today was a bit foggy and rainy, I braved the moisture-laden air to walk over for my lunch. Here was a shot of the front of the market:


Having lived in both Cleveland and Columbus and shopped at both the West Side Market and the North Market, I can tell you that although they both have an open-air market feel to them, the biggest difference between the two markets is in crowd control. The West Side Market can often be intimidatingly crowded and unpleasant to navigate through. The North Market, while it can be busy, never seems to be so bad that you feel like you are about to be manhandled in the middle of a mosh pit at a Phish concert. Besides the stalls where you can pretty much buy any type of fresh produce you could imagine, there were plenty of stalls where prepared foods were being served. Additionally, there were a number of tables on the second floor where you could take your lunch, sit down and enjoy yourself, if even for a few minutes.

After perusing my options, I decided on Vietnamese food for lunch, specifically at Lae Viet:


Most food vendors have hanging menus and Lae Viet was no different:


Seeing that banh mi sandwiches were available, I decided to go with a sandwich, a summer roll, and a bottle of water. I placed my order (a #2 and a #6), paid for my lunch (which, incidentally only came to $7), and climbed the stairs to the second floor eating area to address my ravishing appetite. Here was a shot of my lunch, with some spicy Sriracha which I added at the vendor's counter before leaving:


First up was the Goi Cuon, or summer roll, with a dipping sauce:


This was very good, however, the rice paper used to encase the filling was on the verge of breaking apart. My guess would be that they had rolled a number of these before the lunch rush and then let them sit too long. That being said, the filling was very nice, the large shrimp were fresh and not rubbery, and the dipping sauce was a nice combination of sesame, ginger, and hoisin sauce. This wasn't the best version of this dish I've ever had, but it was decent enough.

After finishing my summer roll, I unwrapped my banh mi sandwich, specifically, a Banh Mi Thit:


Here was a shot of the inside of my sandwich:


Layers of fresh vegetables and cilantro as well as ham, chicken, and liver pate were served on a French roll that had been toasted nicely in a sandwich press before being slathered with a layer of mayonnaise. The only thing I did to dress this sandwich up was add a thin line of the Sriracha chili-garlic sauce before I closed it up and took a bite. I have to say, for being only $4, this was an amazing sandwich. The bread was soft and crunchy at the same time, the fillings were tasty and fresh, and the small amount of Sriracha I had added gave the sandwich just the perfect amount of zing. I was originally worried that the liver pate might be too overpowering, but after just a few bites, I realized that like every other flavor in this sandwich, it was harmoniously balanced. It was like listening to a symphony play and being able to listen to the music as a whole and yet also being able to just focus on one instrument, picking out the individual harmony that a single component added to the whole. I finished the sandwich with a smile on my face.

I have to admit, I had an ulterior motive for picking the North Market today for lunch. The other reason I knew I would be going to the North Market was that I simply had to stop by Jenis Ice Cream shop (which was fortuitously located just to the right of Lae Viet). I have had their ice cream on numerous occasions and am absolutely in love with it. Having finished my sandwich, I returned to the first floor and eagerly walked over to Jenis stand. Here was a shot of the chalk board with the available ice cream flavors:


What I love about Jenis ice cream is both the freshness of the product and the originality of the flavors. Flavors are either subtle or bold, sometimes both. While I do think there are flavors that small children would find appealing, I think their ice cream is targeted to people who want all five flavor sensations hit with every spoonful. You can get pre-built ice cream concoctions (like a sundae), or you can mix and match the flavors that sound good to you.

Here were a couple of shots of some of the ice creams in the cases:



After looking over my options, I decided to get a trio of scoops for $4.25 in a bowl. My first choice was an intriguing combination of sweet corn and blackberry:


I figured that this would be my "subtle" flavor. For my second and third choices, I decided to amp it up a bit and choose bolder flavors.


I choose the Thai Chili because I had heard good things about it and I knew I would enjoy Jenis's take on Thai flavors. The Dark Chocolate I choose because I am a true chocoholic at heart and anything claiming to contain that much cocoa powder MUST be a good thing. I paid for my trio at the cash register and picked up my post-sandwich treat:


Garnished with a small wedge of fresh waffle cone, I took this outside and found a picnic bench where I could savor every bite. I started with the sweet corn and blackberry. Although there were no discernible chunks of corn, the sweet corn flavor was definitely present and balanced so well with the slightly acidic fruit of the blackberries. I was right to start with this flavor as this experience was all about subtlety. Next up, I started in on the Thai chili ice cream. This was a blend of local Krema natural peanut butter, coconut milk, toasted shredded coconut, and of course, Thai chilies. The shredded coconut gave the ice cream a nice textural balance, but the real winner was the Thai chili heat. It was gentle and tickled the back of my throat. While this was a bolder flavor than the first flavor, the subtlety of the Thai chili was also nicely balanced.

Finally, I got to the Dark Chocolate ice cream. While I was pleased with how good the Sweet Corn and Blackberry and the Thai Chili ice creams tasted, I was blown away with the Dark Chocolate. After just a single bite of the Dark Chocolate, I actually found myself involuntarily uttering the phrase, "Holy Shit!" softly under my breath. At the same time creamy and smooth, there was so much cocoa powder in this ice cream that it also had just the tiniest bit of mouth feel, or grit if you will, that only made the ice cream even more flavorful. The intensity of the chocolate flavor mixed with the mild bitterness that only dark chocolate can bring to the table was heavenly. As far as I am concerned, this was the best chocolate ice cream I have ever eaten. If you are a chocoholic, I suggest you drive yourself as quickly as possible to a Jenis Ice Cream outlet and try it for yourself.

Not for nothing, the waffle cone triangle served as a nice palate cleanser between flavors. Slightly sweetened with just a touch of vanilla flavoring, it served as a nice buffer to allow me to segregate the flavors in my mouth. Now mentally and physically sated, I threw away my waxed cardboard cup and spoon, picked up my waterproof notebook and headed back to the conference for another four hours of sessions on all topics Linux and open source.

I can't recommend enough that you check out the North Market in Columbus if you happen to be fortunate enough to live there or find yourself visiting. The entire place is a vibrant example of a farmer's market, the prepared food vendors are diverse and delicious, and a stop at Jenis Ice Cream is absolutely mandatory. With so much from which to choose, there should be no excuse to leave with unhappy taste buds.

Weekend in Pittsburgh

This weekend I decided to brave the cold and snowy roads and spend some quality time with a good friend from college and his family. As it turned out, it happened to be his birthday, too. Not much discussion was needed to decide how to celebrate, however; it would be a visit to the ever cool Dave & Buster's down in the Waterfront district. My friend's brother also decided to drive in and join us.

After a number of beers and way too many games of Air Raid (holy cow, is that an addictive game -- and expense, too), we left Dave & Buster's only to discover that it had started to snow pretty hard. By this time, we had all pretty much sobered up and were in need of sustenance. I had originally wanted to come early on Saturday so that I could stop and have a local sandwich legend. Unfortunately, I hadn't left early enough and thought I had missed my opportunity. So, with great zeal I suggested we go and get a Primanti Brothers sandwich. Although there are several locations, we choose to go to the original one in The Strip (18th Street). Even though we arrived around 1 am, all the street parking was full up and there were tow trucks sitting waiting to tow anyone who parked illegally. Fortunately, Primanti Brothers has its own parking lot, which was mercifully empty. Here is the sign on the side of the restaurant:


The deal with a Primanti Brothers sandwich is that you can order whatever type of sandwich you want and they will top it with coleslaw and french fries and serve it to you on deli paper. There is nothing formal about this place. An extra order of fries? Served on another piece of deli paper. After paying for and picking up your finished order, you retire to an open table to enjoy your feast. I decided to go with a hot corned beef and provolone cheese sandwich. You'll have to excuse the lighting in the next two photos, the restaurant was dimly lit and since it was 1 am when we went, there wasn't any additional lighting available from the restaurant's front windows. First, a shot of my entire sandwich:


As you can tell from the picture, there is a LOT of bread on top of the sandwich. The bread is hand cut to order and this results in a more unique look. From the bottom up you have the bottom slice of bread, corned beef, cheese, coleslaw, french fries, and then the crown. There are really only two points to make here. First, as you can imagine, this is a challenging sandwich to eat. I had to basically employ the squish and bite method in order to fit it in my mouth. Second, this was a delicious sandwich. The vinegar and sugar that was in the coleslaw really balanced out the unctuous taste from the corned beef. It had that sweet, sour, umami combination that really went well together.

Here is a photo of half of my sandwich. You can see the layering of ingredients a little better.


The only thing I didn't really care for were the fries. I'm kind of picky about my fries and I like them crisp and not overly greasy. These were hot, yes, but a little on the limp and greasy side. They didn't really detract from the sandwich, but they also didn't really add anything either. My two comrades and I split an actual order of fries as well. Overall, this was also a pretty economical meal. Each of us had a sandwich, we split an order of fries, and two cokes totaled just around $20.

By the time we left Primanti Brothers, it was close to 2 am and we were all just itching to get back to my friend's house where we could crash. Unfortunately, the snowfall had been steady and getting progressively worse, so it took us close to an hour and a half just to get home. It was at that point we learned that my friend couldn't even get his car up to his driveway (steep hill) so we had to park at the bottom and walk the last bit. Thankfully the really cold weather had moved out of the area the night before.

Before I left Pittsburgh, I had decided to include another sandwich place in my weekend visit, only this time it would be an ethnic sandwich called banh mi. This is a Vietnamese specialty that uses a French-influenced roll filled with all sorts of meats and condiments. My Ngoc in The Strip (I had to drive right past Primanti Brothers to get here, funny, no?) is well known for their banh mi. I knew this would be the place I would be going to for lunch today.

I arrived around 1:30 pm today to find most of the lunch crowd had already gone. I was seated at a table by the window (my request) and started perusing the menu. I had assumed there would be an entire section just for the banh mi. Nope. There were two types available, chicken and beef, and both were listed in the appetizers section. Unfortunately when I asked about them, my server informed me that they weren't available. I thought about asking why they weren't available, but his English and my Vietnamese are both terrible, so I decided on a different path instead.

For my appetizer, I started out with a rather traditional Vietnamese specialty, the summer roll with shrimp and hoisin dipping sauce.


These had a nice fresh flavor to them but there was nothing really out of the ordinary in the summer rolls themselves. The real surprise was to find just the slightest bit of heat in the hoisin dipping sauce. While I certainly like my other dishes spiced with a generous serving of sriracha, it had never occurred to me to add a little spice to my summer rolls. It really worked well.

Following my summer rolls, I decided to have a version of their Pho with round steak instead of the beef ball (which comes with their standard Pho). It is closer to the Pho that I have gotten used to in Cleveland. Here is the Pho with accompanying plate of extras:


What you can partially see on the plate are bean sprouts, thai basil, and a lime wedge. You add whatever extras you like. Before adding anything to the Pho, I tasted the broth. Sublime. It was full of meaty flavor without being overly salty. I could've just eaten a bowl of this by itself. But after combining everything else with a bit of sriracha, I was in Pho heaven. It was absolutely delicious. I ate all of the broth and most of the other ingredients. I left with a warm belly to face my long drive back home to Ohio.

I look forward to trying the banh mi next time I'm back in Pittsburgh.