2837 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis, MN
612-874-6030
Category: Vietnamese
Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 5
Service: 6
Ambience: 5
Recommendation: Average to Poor. There are many superior Vietnamese restaurants in the Twin Cities, and with Quang just a few blocks away, we’d recommend you drive right past Pho Tau Bay.
Our quest to find the best Pho in the Twin Cities brought us to Pho Tau Bay. We had heard good things about it and were anxious to see
what the restaurant had to offer. Its located on the south end of eat street and isn’t hard to find. The surroundings are no different than most ethnic restaurants in the Twin Cities – I’m ok if they choose to focus only on the food, although it still baffles me why we can’t have more ethnic restaurants that serve good food in nice surroundings.
The menu is quite large and similar to other Vietnamese restaurants. We figured we’d be able to judge the quality of the food by ordering a couple of appetizers, a sandwich, and two types of soups. The Spring Rolls were average…just not as fresh and fragrant like the good ones. The Egg Rolls were good though and we appreciated the crunch of the light and crispy golden brown skin. The Vietnamese Sandwich with Grilled Chicken was quite nice – the chicken had a nice caramelized texture and good flavor and the bread was soft. On the other hand the Steamed Pork and Pork Ham Sandwi
ch wasn’t edible…all the meat was processed and we didn’t eat most of the sandwich. The Pho was good, but not memorable – we wouldn’t rank it as high as Quang’s. Our least favorite entrée was the Rice Noodle Soup with Pork, Crab, and Tofu. The soup had an unpleasant pungent seafood odor and the processed crab isn’t something I would put in my mouth again. Even the drinks weren’t up to the mark – the Durian Shake had a strange aftertaste and the Vietnamese Coffee wasn’t sweet enough. You’re probably questioning why anyone would get a Durian Shake, but frankly, we love Durian. A good Durian has a custardy creamy texture and decadent (but acquired) flavors, but the Durian used in the shake was anything but decadent. Service was ok – slow and surly, but the food was served promptly.
$. Most entrees are under $7.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Pho Tau Bay
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I agree. This place is a dive; tired ingredients and surly wait staff.
you've obviously never had real vietnamese if you think quang is superior to pho tau bay. btw, i'm vietnamese.
are you serious? Quang's Pho being better than Pho Tau Bay's? I wouldn't mind the criticism if Quang's Pho was up there in quality and taste with Pho Tau Bay's, but Quang's Pho is horribly inferior. Have you had a real bowl of Pho? In my opinion and by the opinion of my family and most of the Vietnamese community, Pho Tau Bay has the best Pho in Minneapolis. St. Paul has a couple of better places. Maybe you like Quang's Pho because it's been gussied up with sweeteners for the "American palette" as well as most of the dishes at Quang's. Like Quang's pre-mixed iced coffee... it's not supposed to be pre-mixed and it's not supposed to be that sweet. Honestly, I think your criticism is caused by personal opinion and not by research into what the authentic cuisine really is. You can't judge one Vietnamese restaurant with the one only other Vietnamese restaurant you've ever been to. Get someone to do a review that actually knows what Vietnamese food is supposed to taste like and be a better critic.
Post a Comment