The Best Lunch Spot

Hands down my favorite lunch spot has got to be Saigon Deli between 12th & 14th on Jackson. I go like 3-4 times a week. They got this lunch buffet all super fresh and tasty where they take a basic takeout container, fill the big tray with rice and the small ones with two items of your choice. Seriously, the portions could feed the average human for 2 days (for me it feeds lunch if I'm real hungry), all for a whopping sum of... $3.50. $3.50?!!!!! The price is ridiculous, probably the best deal EVER.

They also got a kick ass selection of banh mi, Vietnamese sandwiches, ranging from $1.75 to $2.25! I love their sandwiches, the best that I've come across so far in the ID. They got 8 total, I used to order them by name but now I order them by number cause their engrish baaaad.

My favorites are as goes:

Grilled Pork Sandwich #1 - best grilled pork ever?

Three Types Ham and BBQ Ham Sandwich #3 - packed full of mystery meats but all super tasty plus it come with a special surprise - PATE!!!!

Shredded Pork Sandwich #6 - I have no idea what's in this thing and I'm afraid to open it up to check - texture tastes like something between jellyfish and cartilage - in anycase I just close my eyes and chew chew chew my way to food happiness.

Meatball Sandwich #8 - They take a pork meatball and SMASH it into little pieces and scatter it inside your sandwich. Super greasy and juicy, tha way meatball got to be.

All sandwiches come with pickled carrots and radish, fish sauce, cilantro, and jalapeno - you can request them to be taken out but why you wanna mess wit such a good thing???

Besides the food, my favorite part of going to this joint is the people. There this one main guy in the front sportin' a crustache who acts real surly but you can tell he's a nice guy and a little eccentric . Then there are the usual 3-5 ladies running around constructing sandwiches and serving the buffet all gossiping away in Vietnamese. Customers pile around the counter with no semblance of organization and wait until one of them calls on them. And like I said before they're English is SUPER BAD. My typical visit usually goes like this:

Saigon Deli: Hello kia hep you?

Me: Yeah I'd like to order a #3 and a #8

SD: (Pause)... Three #8?

Me: No, one #3 and one #8

SD: (Longer pause)... Three #8?

Me: Nope, (spelling out with my fingers) one #3 and one #8

SD: (Coy smile) ohhhh oookkkayyy!!!

or

SD: You been hepped?

Me: No not yet

SD: What you like?

Me: One #3 and one #8

SD: (Pause) #1 and #8?

Me: No, #3 and #8

SD: Ohhhh okkayyy...waamup? (later I realize they are asking me if I want my bread warmed up?)

Me: Nod my head and smile and pretend I understand

or

SD: Hep you?

Me: Yeah I'd like a #3 and a #5

SD: Okayyy (smile followed by a menacing glance away)

I get my order, check it out and discover I got a #7 instead of a #5.

Me: Excuse me, sorry but I ordered a #3 and #5

SD: (Smiling and almost laughing) nooooooooo youuuu order #3 and #7!!! ... as she walks away.

Me: Oh well...

They get it right around 95% of the time but even if they screw up the order I don't really mind cause it's all tasty and I just scored the best lunch of my life, all for under $4... suckas.

Nasty Beef

Who that eatin my nasty corn?
NASTY BEEF!
Who that sippin my nasty jus?
NASTY BEEF!
NAAASTYYYYYYY UHH!

My first entry is devoted to Chinese style beef brisket, or what I like to call Nasty Beef. "Why it call Nasty Beef?" you might ask? Cause the beef look BAAAD, it comes complete with mean chunks of fat, tendon, gristle, and other random parts. However, these parts usually hold the key to good flavor. In fact the badder the beef look the better it usually tastes. Me and my friend figured that beef brisket noodle soup was a pretty good litmus test for all the Chinese spots down here, cause the quality of the noodle soup was usually proportional to the quality of the rest of their menu. So where the best Nasty Beef in the ID do you aaaask? The search don't stop but for now I can suggest these spots:

1. Congee Noodle Rice - I'm pretty sure this isn't the actual name of the restaurant but that's what they got in bright neon on their window. It's situated across the bum park with the star trek toilet machine next to Ambrosia, the bubble tea shop. This has been my steady spot for Nasty Beef noodle soup for the past 5 or 6 months. They have a construct your own noodle soup menu where you can choose your noodle (about different 5 kinds) as well as a broad selection of meats dumplings and veggies, and yes, they got beef brisket, nice gelatinous fatty and flavorful. Soup broth is clean and pronounced, provides a nice base for the noodles and toppings to swim in. And the best part - it's SUPER cheap! Good shit...

... so actually, it's been awhile since I been to any other spots so I can't really accurately comment on them although since I last remembered...

2. Mike's Noodle House - Who Mike anyway? I suspect it's the tall skinny guy who's constantly walking in and out of the restaurant with supplies and shit. Super Gwai Lo name for a pretty good joint. Beef brisket noodle soup is good n' NAAASTY, although the last few times I went it gave me the re-runs, maybe a little too nasty for my beefy self...

3. Sea Garden - Nice soup, BAD (as in good) beef brisket, nice noodle. And good seafood fresh in live tanks if you got da cash.

as for the five spice version of beef noodle soup:

4. Szechuan Noodle House- Nice and cheap

5. Shanghai Garden - I call this place Chinese Food For White People cause it's like the only Chinese place in the ID that I see white people at (I jest I jest, you know I got love for my lighter brothers and sisters) but I admit they got good beef and hand-shaved noodles a specialty but expensive compared to neighboring restaurants. That doesn't seem to deter customers however cause this place is PACKED like every night. Do they que for the deepfried beef/chicken/pork/shrimp/tofu in cranberry/strawberry sauce? It's like the ID's KFC - Kitchen Fried Chinese food.

Okay I rests my cases.