Friday, September 6, 2013

Vien Dong -- by gcleff11

This posting has a target audience.  If you require a high-end ambience; a more urbane part of town; and to have your food in front of you five minutes after you order, stop reading. However, if you yearn for delicious fresh food, regardless of looks and locale, I am humbled to have you continue...

Vien Dong ain't pretty.  It never will be.  The location is what it is, and may never get cleaned up to where the Spokane community would be proud of it.  Enjoying lunch there yesterday, my oldest son marveled that the prostitute across the street had the same outfit on that she wore the day before (yes, he did eat here two days in a row).  That's an unfortunate aspect of the neighborhood, and if it bothers you, don't sit by the window.  
Despite all this, Vien Dong just simply has the freshest tasting food in town, and it is very noticeable... 

We generally start with spring rolls and shredded pork & lettuce roll apps.  Simple, hand-made on order, and accompanied with delicious peanut and fish dipping sauces that are a perfect compliment to each...




While they are primarily a Vietnamese restaurant with traditional standards like pho & bahn mi, they do---like other great Viet restaurants in this country---prepare traditional Chinese-American style dishes.  If you are unfamiliar with Viet fare, or just plain timid about by trying something new, you can do no wrong by ordering one of their Chinese styled dishes.  A gateway drug menu item like that is their decadent, cake-batter dipped, Honey Cashew Shrimp.  Is it an entree---or a dessert...?




Pho is not rocket science; however, pho broth is.  You can tell the good stuff from the bad, i.e., from scratch, boned-boiled goodness, to the can opened crap other places use.  I have tasted both the beef and chicken broths this family creates for their soups, and they have flavors I get when I take the time to make a good broth at home.  Judging how they put effort and emphasis on freshness with all their dishes, this is not a surprise...  

My wifey will take bites of everyone else's dishes, but she orders only one thing when we visit: Wonton soup, with egg noodles instead of rice noodles (egg rolls not included), never finishing it. She's not a fan of rice noodles, and it's nice to have the option to order egg noodles for certain dishes...




Vien Dong is great place to enjoy a family meal.  It's not necessarily served 'family-style,' but you know you're going to have a bite of his meal, she's going to want a bite of yours, they want to sample your appetizer, etc., etc. That's the way it is for our family, and maybe yours too. Dining in this manner is always special to me.  My youngest child is eight years old; oldest is 24.  They, and all ages in between, agree: The Dong never fails to satisfy.  And it's all so amazingly affordable. Did I not mention that?  There, I did...




Everybody has their happy places.  Favorite restaurants fall in to this category for me.  Writing blogs, and providing silly little reviews for Urbanspoon may be a fun hobby, but it is only a byproduct of the overall pleasure mission....dining out.  I love it, and so does my family.  And if you were to poll all eight of us which was our top choice for dropping everything and heading out to eat, percentages would have Vien Dong coming out on top.  All votes for fast food or froyo from my little girls would be overruled.  And they'd be cool with it...




BUSINESS NOTES:  They gloriously open at 10AM.  I'm an early eater, and that is a major plus with me.  You can peruse their menu at:  http://www.viendongspokane.com/  They serve no alcohol, so it is always family friendly.  Don't go on a Monday!  Even these nice folks need a day off...


Vien Dong on Urbanspoon