I recently became vegan to support my sister's choice to be vegan herself, and to benefit from the affects of eating vegan. I have done it before, but with work, college, and 5 kids, it's a challenge!
Anyway, my husband and I had a chance to...
Read MoreI recently became vegan to support my sister's choice to be vegan herself, and to benefit from the affects of eating vegan. I have done it before, but with work, college, and 5 kids, it's a challenge!
Anyway, my husband and I had a chance to go out so I googled a vegetarian/vegan friendly restaurant. I found Andy Nguyen's. It looked really good and we loved how the founders of the restaurant are Vietnamese refugees, and their kids still keep up the hard work of managing the restaurant!
We ate outside, in the back. It was so nice. Even though it was around 100 degrees today, it didn't feel like it in our little oasis. There were huge pots of bamboo encircling the dining area, and oscillating fans with mist spraying to cool off the whole place. There were so many umbrellas to keep the sun off us that it was like a roof. They even had vegetables and herbs growing in pots in a separate section than the dining area. We really enjoyed the entire ambiance.
But, most importantly, the food was BOMB! We wanted to try everything! But we decided on Maha mushrooms, patience noodles, fried okra (all 3 pictures I shared), Limitless compassion, Nirvana lemon salad, and the hot chili sauce.
We. Were. Blown. Away. We were moaning and groaning with culinary delight. Lol!
I very enthusiastically recommended the Maha mushrooms! They are 10x better than fried calamari. So! Freaking! Delicious! Crispy, flavorful crust, chewy, yet soft and spongy inside! They were served with something like mae ploi, a sweet and spicy (but not so spicy) sauce.
The fried okra was also very delicious and satisfying. But the lemongrass dipping sauce for it? To die for. I wanted to spread it on everything I put in my mouth! And, I did! I even dipped the Maha mushrooms in it! I am wishing I would have ordered a tub of the sauce to take home. If you don't like okra, just ask for the sauce! I could have bathed in it and been so happy lol! It had perfect ratios of salt, sour, and lemongrass flavors, and something I can't quite pin, ...maybe... sweetness? Whatever it is, I'm going back just for that!
The patience pho was so good. I never thought I could have vegan pho and be satisfied. I was wrong. The flavor is almost perfect, just a little spoon of the hottest hot sauce I've had in a long time and it was on point. And, I always thought pho could use more vegetables! There were so many vegetables in the pho that I lost count lol!
The Nirvana lemon salad is reminiscent of the southeast Asian raw paper thin sliced steak and lemon salad with tomatoes and onions. I'm not sure the name of it, but I sure do love it. This salad was the perfect replacement. Nothing was missing or left to be desired. There were pieces of sliced "beef" that I couldn't even tell were plant based!
Next time I have a chance to go out to eat, vegan or not, I'm RACING to Andy's. Thank you to the wonderful people who left their home in Vietnam and built a wonderful place for people to find happiness in food for generations to come. And, thank you to their children who keep it going.
Identifies as women-owned 
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