I had a good visit on the first time around... The food was good, ingredients were quality, cocktails were on par and service was just right. But the menu, while it sounded like something you would find on Buford Hwy, was pretty much adjusted to the gwailo's palates and the food excluded a lot of the scary stuff on a few dishes. I can totally understand why in this part of town... If they didn't do it, they would get no business. I get that but I still think they should have the option to go full ethnic retard if one desires it... But that might be too inefficient for the kitchen and the order would prolly get fucked up anyways. Shit, I can dream, though, right... But even if the menu isn't even 70% authentic, I would still come back here. And so I did... Well, I wanted to check up on Guy and see how the joint was doing and plus, he put the Bun Bo Hue on the dinner menu now. Ok, maybe that's the main reason why I came back. My quest for the best bowl of BBH in this town is never ending because I have yet still to find that perfect balance of spiciness, complex broth, meat to rice noodle ratio, ham hock and the ever important blood cakes.
Let's see what they're up to these days...
Wonton Dumplings. These pork and shrimp wontons were plump and tasty. The skin was a tad overcooked but it was totally acceptable... The only thing that needed help was the chili oil, it needed to be thicker and 100 times more spicier.
Escargot. These little sea snots were pretty tasty. They have a nice bite to them, not too soft and not too chewy, just the right spring to them. Like with the wontons, I wanted them to be a lot more spicy with the sriracha butter... I shoulda just asked them to bring me a bottle on the side to adjust accordingly.
Salt & Pepper Calamari.This is obviously everyone's favorite... Who doesn't like lightly battered and fried squid? This was a tasty dish, I coulda used more jalapenos but that's just me... The only thing missing was the tentacles which I was told that the whities were afraid of them and sent it back, so, now they serve only the tubes. Listen motherfuckers, the tentacles are the BEST part of this dish... Start demanding for the tentacles to be reinstated and man up, grow a pair and eat it like how it was designed to be eaten.
Shaking Beef. Well, it didn't really come out all sizzling and shit like on a fajita plate... It was more like a wiggling beef. It's still very tasty but the whole idea of a shaking beef is the visual and audio when it comes to table. You know, the whole interactive eating gimmick trick. I like it still but I would like it a lot more if it was on a sizzler plate.
Bun Bo Hue. It's a nice heaping bowl of noodle soup full of lemongrass hints but the broth wasn't as rich or complex as it could have been (as if it was diluted down for the demographics)... It lacked the balance of spicy, sour, salty and sweet flavors. It needed more shrimp paste/sauce and a ton more chili and chili oil. It should have a crisp clean sheen and luster on top. The slices of beef shank were tender and flavorful. The nice hunk of ham hock gave it that touch of authenticity and it was broken down enough to get that wonderful bite of gelatinous skin, it pulled right off the bone with ease. But the most important ingredient to this dish was missing... The magic cubes of blood cakes. The texture and color of these congealed blood cubes are paramount to completing this dish, to me they are the heart of this dish. The rice noodles should a bit thicker for this bowl but now I'm just nitpicking... The standard rice noodles served it's purpose. I can't put this BBH on my best of list but for what it was, this was a great way to introduce the whities to the magnificence and the healing powers of a great spicy bowl of Bun Bo Hue.
Crab Noodles. This is such a classic dish... Crab and noodles full of garlic and fire from the chiles. It's just old school comfort grub. This version was just a bit dumb down to cater to the crowds. It was garlicky enough and it definitely wasn't spicy... But it still had a wonderful crabby flavor to it and that's prolly the most important part. If this was spicy, it woulda been a helluva dish.
Whatever Le Fat is doing, it's working for them... The place was packed and people were genuinely enjoying their meals and drinks. Shit, I was, too. Did I think the food was outstanding? Fuck no, but it totally has a place in this part of town. The menu has a little something for everyone and I mean everyone, it was designed to fit the demographics with little hints of Vietnamese and Chinese ethnicity. But let's also not kid ourselves here, this ain't a destination for ex-pats searching for grub from the motherland but for the hip and trendy, the see and be seen types which has flourished around this little area... This is one of the places to be.
935 Marietta St
Atlanta, GA 30318
404-439-9850
http://lefatatl.com/
1 comment:
Post a Comment