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| BIEN THUY ~ casual **** 5095 F BUFORD HIGHWAY DORAVILLE GA 30340 NORTHWOODS PLAZA (770) 454-9046 Pho is either friend or foe. Either way, it's worth getting to know. This Vietnamese staple of soup is mixed with the customer's choice of meat, noodles and condiments (fish, soy, peanut and pepper sauces as well as bean sprouts, cilantro and lime). It all makes for exotic do-it-yourself comfort cuisine as long as you pick ingredients you know. Diners with Western standards for supping should not study Vietnamese menus too thoroughly (tendons, nerves and tripe are oft listed at most Pho locales). Newcomers to Pho should try a trustworthy restaurant like Bien Thuy, a handsome hole-in-the-wall eatery on Buford Highway. MENU: **** In addition to serving large bowls of soothing soup, Vietnamese barbeque, rice noodle dishes and vegetarian entrees are also available. Like many a Buford Highway menu, some dishes need additional explanation and the spelling has much to be desired. But patience and probing provides cuisine appealing to both the cautious and the curious. FOOD QUALITY: ***** The food is consistently prepared with fresh herbs, vegetables and complex yet comforting flavors. FOOD PRESENTATION: **** All dishes are attractively arranged and served with bountiful sides of crisp cilantro, crunchy fresh sprouts and colorful combinations of cooking. ATMOSPHERE: **** For a hole-in-the-wall in a strip shopping center, the atmosphere is unusual and rather cozy if you sit in one of the trellised booths decorated with plastic flowers and pontoon flair. It's not the Ritz. Still, it's all a bit romantic and safely surreal. CLEANLINESS: ** All appears quite sanitary, but things are certainly not spic and span. Condiments could use some wiping down, and a sweeping of the floors and bleaching of the walls might help. However, the locale is busy enough not to worry about being served food from forlorn times. SERVICE: *** Opened several years ago, the chef, server and owner of the restaurant is known to non-Asians simply as Susan. While her food is always trustworthy and she's eager to explain and suggest dishes to newcomers, she might greet regulars with kisses on a good day or downright rudeness on another. Though a clear graduate of the bipolar college of meeting, greeting and seating, her cooking is solid, whether brewed with love or loathing. MENU RECOMMENDATIONS: The Pho is my fave, built from a broth I cannot recreate. Made from roasted ginger, star anise, beef bones and magic and clarified, it's best with the rare steak and thin, rice Tai noodles or number 15 on the menu. My Buford Highway buddy, Judith, prefers the rice vermicelli with whatever additions suits her mood de jour. Her fave is the Bun Cha Gio, noodles with egg rolls sliced on top served with a hoi sin peanut sauce she would rub all over everything edible, given her deep passion for the stuff. For a party of two or more very hungry diners, try the Bien Thuy Dragon Stuffed Shrimp and Meat. This plentiful dish of large shrimp wrapped in pork is grilled and served with rice pancakes to wrap it all up along with the (ever present and bountiful) condiments. The less adventurous can always opt for the more familiar steamed rice dishes accompanied by meat and/or veggies. Susan (if she's in her happy mania mood) will gladly suggest ideas for beginners. Sure bets are the Vietnamese iced coffee for a pick me up. Beer is served for the opposite effect. And basil rolls or fried Cha Gio (similar to Chinese egg rolls) are fun appetizers. ***** OVERALL RATING: **** Susan's Pho would be my last request on my deathbed or on death row, even though I'd need the condiments, the big bowl and the chopsticks, the plastic flowers and even the occasional attitude dished up by Susan. Despite or because of all, Bien Thuy is a favorite and the price is certainly right: Full meals that usually provide leftover lunches a day later cost from around $5.00 (for most entrees) to around $15.00 for shared fancy fare like eel sour soup. Stick with the cheap and known you'll find a friend in Pho. review by Suzanne Wright |
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