Viet Bistro satisfies beyond pho

Christopher DeVargas

Light and crispy egg noodles under seafood and veggies at Viet Bistro.

By Brock Radke (contact)

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 | 6 p.m.

The last few months have been sad ones for local lovers of Vietnamese grub. Ever since Bosa 1, our city’s best Vietnamese restaurant, closed earlier this year, I’ve been moping about, feigning interest in the occasional bowl of pho when I’m really craving chao tom (shrimp rolls) and com tam dac biet (combo rice plates).

But wait, a light through the clouds: It’s called Viet Bistro, and it’s squashed into a west side strip mall near a Chipotle. Like Bosa, this is a friendly mom-and-pop joint, but the menu’s much bigger. In fact, they seem to do it all, from pho to banh mi sandwiches to those filling rice plates (though the flavors won’t stick with you the same way). There are lighter dishes, crispy egg noodles under piles of stir-fried seafood and vegetables ($10), and a five-spice beef salad with sesame and peanuts over crisp lettuce and herbs ($9.50). The specialty of the house is bun bo hue, ($9) something of a spicy super-pho, a beef-and-lemongrass stock loaded with noodles, beef shank and tendon, pork hock, cilantro and scallions.

This story first appeared in Sun sister publication Las Vegas Weekly.