Phoenix, Arizona Restaurant Reviews- Vietnamese
Avina’s Vietnamese Restaurant
I had the pleasure of dining at Avina’s last
week. I had passed the restaurant located in the Fry’s Shopping
center on 43rd Ave. and Bell, during the Christmas holiday, although at
this time they were closed.
The restaurant is small but comfortable. The origins of
the restaurant can be found on their website at www.avinas.net.
There are a dozen or so tables with some
that can accommodate parties of six. On this night there were a
number of Asians enjoying large bowls of noodle soup. The menu states a
10% discount for Thunderbird Graduate school students as well as ASU
East and West students and Honeywell employees.
There is a large television that was
tuned to a cable Vietnamese station and featured beautiful women with
long dark hair singing and dancing Cher-style, backed by a full
orchestra.
As I walked in, I was greeted and seated by a
pleasant young woman. There are 11 appetizers offering skewered
pork, spring rolls, egg rolls and crepes. I opted for the Banh
Khoi, Sweet potato cake. ($1.00) It was a hamburger patty sized crispy
deep fried cake, crunchy and sweet set on a pool of pureed pineapple.
The list of Banh Mi caught my
attention. I had heard of these Vietnamese Submarine sandwiches
but had never sampled one. I wondered if the origin of this dish had
anything to do with the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
How else could we find French bread as a
staple of Vietnamese cuisine? The frogs got whipped pretty bad and
perhaps during their hasty retreat had to leave behind truckloads of
baguettes!
The menu description is: French bread filled
with meats, cucumbers pickled carrots, jalapenos & cilantro.
There are six varieties — chicken, sliced pork, barbecued pork and pork
meatball. An older woman who I assumed was the owner took my
order.
I chose the first listed Banh Mi Bi, billed
as shredded pork Sub. ($3.99) The woman mentioned that she
recommended the BBQ pork sub as the one that I chose had pork skin and I
may not like it; possibly she has had complaints before.
I forged ahead with my choice
nonetheless. It was delivered soon after and consisted of a split
French roll, the top slathered with mayonnaise and overstuffed with
exactly what the menu stated. The store bought French roll was a
bit disappointing but the crunchy mix of cilantro, carrot, cucumber and
jalapeno slices, made the sandwich.
Perhaps she was right about my choice
though, in addition to the vegetables there was a portion of finely
shredded pork skin, which was chewy and rather rubber band-like but she
did warn me. It was still quite good.
At a table nearby, I saw a beautifully
golden-brown deep-fried noodle bowel filled with vegetables and shrimp;
quite colorful and appetizing.
I had ordered a Vietnamese condensed milk
iced coffee Boba. ($3.50) It was possibly the richest most
flavorful coffee I have yet encountered. Slightly sweet due to the
addition of the milk.
There are seven listed desserts on the
menu. From rice pudding sweet kidney beans and coconut and
fruit concoctions. I opted for the Kem Nuoc Cot Dua- Coconut Ice
cream but alas they were out.
I plan to return to Avina’s to sample the
noodle, rice and seafood dishes. I am looking forward to sampling a
dish listed under the heading Pre-ordered party entrees. Ga Don
Thit- BBQ Boneless stuffed Chicken stuffed with peas, carrots, clear
noodles, onions, dried Asian mushrooms. ($30) Also listed are
salted crab and Stuffed squid ($30 & $20).
In addition to the Asian diners there were a
few students but not a Frenchman in sight; most probably still licking
their wounds from Dien Bien Phu!
Avina’s Vietnamese Restaurant
4349 W. Bell Rd.
Glendale, AZ 85308
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