good girl dinette

good girl dinette
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

#25 on my 101 in 1001 list (38/143)
walking up to good girl dinette, i could smell something baking. i couldn't tell you what that was, but the aromas were warm and inviting. for me, vietnamese food is comfort food. modernizing it by commingling of a little americana is an intriguing concept. the resto itself is casual and bright, at least during the day. the large windows along the front let in lots of light, but no direct sunlight. i loved all the quaint little touches in the interior design, from the vintage modern comfy chairs to the bright orange chopsticks.

we started with the mushroom imperial rolls. first, i was impressed they were made with traditional vietnamese wrappers. even in little saigon, it's getting harder to find eggrolls made with these wrappers, which have not only a great crunch, but a certain chewyness that feels good when you're eating it. the ones that seem to be more prevalent these days are made with wrappers commonly found on chinese eggrolls. those are brown and made from wheat flour rather than semi-translucent wrappers made from rice flour.

balanced out with pickled veggies and lettuce, these mushroom rolls were the best vegetarian eggrolls i've had. the mushrooms gave the rolls umami so much so that i wasn't missing the pork. the dipping sauce that comes with the rolls is a sweet, salty and tangy concoction that is reminiscent of nuoc mam. although it is probably more vegetarian friendly and tasty, i was still wanting the more intense flavor of nuoc mam.

the cauliflower curry pot pie, which had a lot of flavor and a slight kick, came piping hot to our table. a great vegetarian alternative, it had comfort food written all over it.

i had the slow-roasted pork baguette. the french bread was perfectly crunchy and lathered with a light mayo, buttery spread, pickled veggies that added another layer of crunch and fresh cilantro. overall, it was surprisingly light, which was nice. some pieces of pork were a little dry, while fattier bits were perfect. overall, i enjoyed the combination of flavors. i thought there was going to maggi on it, but i didn't taste any. eating this sandwich, i was really craving the taste of maggi as it was a new take on the banh mi. the baguette came with a side of spicy fries, which actually weren't too spicy, more like garlic and jalapeno rubbed fries. they were delicious.

the almond custard with kumquat sauce looked promising, but was a miss for me. the almond part was super creamy, which i liked, but almost too rich in almond flavor, which would have been fine, but the kumquat sauce ended up being overpowered by bitterness that left a bad aftertaste in combination with the strong almond.

one of the standouts about this place is how vegetarian friendly it is. there's a non-meat option for just about every meat option on the menu, and there didn't seem to be any sacrifice in flavor as is often the case. some restos offer vegetarian options, but much of the focus is on the meat, while the veggies come across bland and treated as an afterthought. i didn't get that here. the veggie dishes were equally composed as the meat dishes.

the people who waited on us were friendly and eager to please. when we went for a saturday lunch, it was quiet, and we had a lovely meal. the menu seemed minimal, but it hasn't been open for very long, so i'm hoping the chef, diep tran, will add specials and more items to the menu. some flavors could be intensified, but this place has a lot of promise.