Le Fat

It's about time this place opened... It's only been like 2 years and Guy is still trying to grow a moustache. Maybe they were hoping that the memories of Yum Bunz  has finally been vanquished from the people's minds. They did a good job on the interior, not one item reminded you of it's former glory hole. It's so fresh and so clean clean. It really does have the 70's Vietnamese style vibe. The servers are in classic black and white garb. The host/manager(s) are suited up which states what kind of establishment this place wants to be perceived. It feels upscale-ish but it's casual and approachable. It wants to be a neighborhood spot but at the same time it wants to stand out with an air of sophistication. I know my one reader is prolly asking themselves what the fuck are you talking about Pouche-bag? Just get to the fucking food because that's all I really care about. As you wish my little buttercup...
The menu contains most of the classic hits found at many of the Viet restos along Buford Hwy, you got your pho, bun, com, noodles, shaking beef, a couple of nods to Chino, Thai and Frog grub as well as a hat tip from Miso. But the most interesting dish I was drooling over was the Bun Bo Hue, this is spicy beef noodle bowl that most people never heard of or done correctly, especially, in this town. I know of one place that does it pretty damn good and I ain't spilling da beans on that spot. I was dead set on this bowl... But to my dismay, he had taken it off the menu. Said it was too much work. Booooooo...shit. C'mon, bro, don't die on me... We're related, I'm sure of it, at least that's what all the whities always say about us. The one dish that I was really excited about and it was 86'd off the menu, I know most people wouldn't even give two shits about this, but this woulda, coulda been his superstar. But instead, not one but two servers were instructed to push the shaking beef over and over again... I had enough fucking shaking beef in this town, stop telling me how great the sizzling beef cubes are, I'm sure they are but I wanted something more "authentic"... Can that be found here? Let's take a ride on a fishing boat and see what's the catch of the day... 

Soft Shell BLT Bun. A lil piece of Miso found here along with their duck bun. Sounded delicious on paper... C'mon, it's soft shell crab in a transportable vessel right to your facehole with no utensils needed. What's not to love? Well, the soft shell crab was crispy and tasty, but the bun was cold and the BLT lacked any oomph, the sambal mayo shoulda given you that kick of flavor but it was pretty muted.

Papaya Salad. Green papaya, apple, mango, crispy shallot, peanut brittle, Thai pepper vinaigrette. There are so many different versions of this salad, it really depends on what area of SE Asia you're in (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam). They're all a little bit different but since a Thai pepper vinaigrette was used, I assume this was more Thai. If I see papaya salad on any menu, it's gonna be in my dirty mouth. It's a fancier version of the common people's papaya salad. Instead of plain crushed peanuts, they use a peanut brittle. I tasted more green apple than papaya because it was julienne so thin that the flavor got lost in there. I prefer it to be more spicy which this was not and coulda used more fish sauce and dried shrimp was sorely needed but I assume the crispy shallot was an approachable substitution for that crunch factor. I mean, we don't want to scare anybody away with them crazy weird Asian ingredients that still moves in your mouth. It's a refreshing summer salad but it needs a little more kick to the taste buds for me. The prawn chips are cute, cooking them is even more fun... If you never had cook them, get you a box and just toss in the hard translucent little disks into a fryer and it puffs and grows to like 10 times their original size... I wish I could only be that lucky. I love the giant prawn chips that fries up to the size of a dinner plate. Fun fun fun.

Drunken Noodles. I thought I was drunk when this came out... This was a bit too dark for drunken noodles, then it hit me, this was totally beef chowfun! I can't believe he put a Cantonese dish on here disguised as another, I friggin love it. This was not so good as a drunken noodle but for a beef chowfun it was pretty tasty for intown. I still remember the look on Guy's face when he came out and asked how it was, I said, Dude, this is totally beef chowfun... And his stunned face was like, "It is?". Who are you trying to kid here? We both know it's beef chowfun but I swear I won't say a word to the gwai lo's... Ooops, I did it again. It's ok, no one reads this shit anyways. You're all clear. 

Pho. Don't even think about seeing raw slices of meat or internal organs in this pho... But you will find some velvety smooth meatballs and tender thick cut brisket and flank in the bowl. The broth was too light and it needed more complexity and spices, it didn't wow me, but the meatballs were pretty good. I thought they were made in house but they were not. Still a decent bowl of noodle soup intown, but if you're looking for more authentic ingredients like tripe, intestine, blood cake, raw meat, Buford Hwy ain't that far away. 

Wonton Soup. That is the biggest soup spoon I have ever seen. It's like the spoon the three blind Stygian witches used in their cauldron from The Clash of the Titans. The dish that is the most Chinese in here is actually the most authentic. Has nothing to do with Guy's background or anything... I think he's actually an Eskimo, such a big boned, stocky fella, don't forget cuddly and oh so sexy. Did I say that out loud, nevermind. The wontons have the proper ratio of pork and shrimp filling. The wonton skin and filler were cooked spot on, not too soft and not too toothy, just right and pretty good flavor. The clear broth was a little too light, it needed more umami but really no major complaints. Nine bucks for a refreshing bowl of wonton soup is kinda steep but you have to consider your environment. This got me all thinking about the best bowl of wonton noodle soup I had ever had in the entire world... Mak's in Hong Kong, it's pricey at $32HK a bowl but it's really like $4USD. Hell, I remember when it was only $3USD back in the day. That was some deal, you can't beat that with a chopstick. 

I like the place, it has a niche over here on the west side. Something a little different than your standard tacos and burgers found in this area. And a definite upgrade from the previous misconception. It's more Vietnamese/Chinese than Vietnamese/French. The use of quality ingredients shows in the end product even though it has it price... But at least they're cheaper than Gu's Dumps (dreadful). I could see myself coming back here, but not until the Bun Bo Hue is back on the menu and maybe a banh mi appearance(?)... Le Pouch is putting you on notice, Le Fat. Don't fail me again, Chino.

Ok, maybe I'll be back to try that rotisserie half chicken... I can't resist a damn good chicken. I wonder if they would flash fry that chippy for me (it does look flash fried in some recent pics)... If so, that would be sick.


935 Marietta St
Ste A
Atlanta, GA 30318
404-439-9850