Viet Noodle Cafe

This is pretty much Vietnamese food for hipsters.  The plus side of that is that there are plenty of vegetarian options, as in the spring rolls displayed above.  These are probably one of the best vegetarian spring rolls I've had, primarily because the were stuffed with jicama.  The downside is that the food cost more than I usually like to pay for Vietnamese-I think this may have to do with the organic ingredients they use, so maybe they've justified it. 

Their banh mi sandwiched are pretty great.  I've had the chicken and the white fish (cooked with tumeric and dill).  The tofu shitake banh mi was a little too sauced up with hoisin.  

Also, the Vietnamese iced coffee is excellent, on the creamy side perhaps. 

Viet Noodle Bar

3133 Glendale Ave

Los Angeles 90036

Indochine Vien

Okay.  I'm very excited to write my first scathing review.  Thomas and I were craving a light dinner and so we opted for Vietnamese.  We had to pick a place with vegetarian options for Thomas' sake and so we came across Indochine in Atwater Village after doing a little internet research.  

First of all, the service was pretty awful-and I'm really not one to be picky about service.  We ordered the spring rolls as an appetizer, and while Thomas thought they were great I thought the hoisin/peanut sauce ratio was a little heavy on the hoisin side.  Thomas ordered the vegetarian pho and I ordered the vegetarian bun.  The vegetarian version of bun substituted the usual fish sauce for a soy vinegar sauce, which was kind of welcome because too much fish sauce gives me a headache.  Thomas' pho was nothing extraordinary.  Both our dishes were $8.  Truthfully, I've had much better Vietnamese for cheaper and with better service, most notably in Westminster.  Indochine felt like a glossed up Americanized/hipsterized version of Vietnamese.  Let's face it, Vietnamese food is best at a restaurant that requires you to wipe down your chopsticks with a napkin before use. 

Was that scathing? Did I do a good job?

3110 Glendale Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90039