Vanessa’s Bistro, sweet and savory the Vietnamese way
“You girls know how to eat”, our hostess smiled at us, the check attached. Ten things. At a tapas place like Vanessa’s Bistro where everything sounds tasty, I’d say we did a pretty good job narrowing down our choices, and we asked for the house recommendations only three times. All rendered success.
The first decision was the easiest: we’d got to get the sweet potato fries. Neither mushy like their orange cousins nor mealy like the white kinds, these Okinawan sweet potatoes, or purple yams, are sturdy in texture and just gently sweet. With or without the ginger aioli, they were loved. The small plates also stood alone splendidly, not that their dipping sauce came short.
Black pepper cured filet carpaccio with roasted peanuts, fried shallots and Asian mint (húng quế). A twist on the classic Vietnamese bò nhúng dấm (carpaccio with vinegar) bò tái chanh (carpaccio with lime). (Thanks for the correction, Linh-Dang!)
Crispy quail marinated in five spices and honey, with a light mixed fish sauce. Classic Vietnamese.
Doesn’t look like much but it’s my favorite of the night: Maple Leaf duck confit lettuce wraps with mushroom, onion and roasted peanuts; a sweet, slightly zesty black bean sauce for dipping. The pickled radish and daikon carry a gentle fruity note, had our hostess not been so busy with the other tables I would have asked her what kind of vinegar they used to pickle.
Green papaya salad with poached prawn, roasted peanuts and Asian mint. A hint of fish sauce. Pieces of sesame crackers, substituting for the traditional shrimp crackers or rice crackers.
Pork loin marinated in molasses and slow roasted to a crusty outside, unfortunately a tad dry inside, topped with a lovely Fuji apple chutney and accompanied by an average potato gratin.
Dungeness crab and mozzarella rolled in an oven-baked petrale sole filet, which was dressed in a lemon caper beurre blanc. The accompanied potato croquet is nothing to write home about, but we left no trace of the fish roll. It’s a Vanessa’s Special that doesn’t get served every night, we’re told.
And desserts, of course. Fuji apple and coconut eggroll with vanilla ice cream. Good ol’ comfort.
A ginger molasses creme brulee. Charming at first bite but quickly grew too rich.
Banana, raisin and peach bread pudding with vanilla ice cream. Good ol’ comfort once again.
It’s been a while since I’ve dug into Vietnamese food, mostly because I’m afraid of getting less than I expect. The same thing happens to my Chinese, Korean and Japanese friends with their respective cuisine: we compare the “authentic” stuff at the restos with what our mom makes or what we remember eating in our motherland, and we shrug. Now Vanessa’s Bistro didn’t disappoint. It doesn’t dwell on authenticity, then again, the nature of Vietnamese cuisine speaks mix-and-match. The restaurant looks Western but it smells Vietnamese. The plates and their names are dressed up in French but the core ingredients ring familiar tunes. Everything is sweet and savory. We intentionally ignored the more Vietnamese shaken beef (bò lúc lắc) and claypots to have room for innovations, and innovations we got, but it’s nice to see that the roots are still there. 🙂
Address: Vanessa’s Bistro
1715 Solano Ave
Berkeley, 94707
(510) 525-8300
www.vanessasbistro.com
Dinner for three (ladies): $97.89
Some genuinely excellent info , Glad I found this. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly what is essential is invisible to the eye.” by Antoine De Saint-Exupery.
1Wow! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a totally different subject but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Superb choice of colors!
2It’s the best time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you few interesting things or suggestions. Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read more things about it!
3Good post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It is going to all the time be stimulating to read content material from other writers and observe just a little something from their store. I’d want to use some with the content on my weblog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll offer you a hyperlink in your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
4I enjoy your work, appreciate it for all the good blog posts.
5You got a very superb website, Gladiolus I discovered it through yahoo.
6I like this web site because so much utile material on here :D.
7As I website owner I think the subject matter here is real excellent, thankyou for your efforts.
8I like what you guys are up also. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the excellent works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my web site 🙂
9My brother suggested I might like this web site. He was entirely right. This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
10Very nice article and right to the point. I am not sure if this is truly the best place to ask but do you people have any thoughts on where to get some professional writers? Thank you 🙂
11I was wondering if you ever considered changing the structure of your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?
12Lovely blog! I am loving it!! Will come back again. I am bookmarking your feeds also
13My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on several websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform. I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
14I have been exploring for a little bit for any high quality articles or weblog posts in this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this website. Studying this info So i am satisfied to show that I have a very just right uncanny feeling I came upon exactly what I needed. I so much undoubtedly will make certain to do not overlook this site and provides it a look regularly.
15Hi there, I found your website via Google while looking for a related topic, your site came up, it looks good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
16That is really interesting, You are an excessively professional blogger. I have joined your feed and stay up for in search of extra of your excellent post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!
17You must participate in a contest for the most effective blogs on the web. I’ll advocate this web site!
18I’ve read some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much attempt you put to make the sort of fantastic informative web site.
19I take pleasure in, result in I discovered exactly what I used to be having a look for. You’ve ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
20Some truly wonderful work on behalf of the owner of this website , perfectly great content material.
21This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen
22of course like your web-site however you need to test the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the truth however I’ll definitely come back again.
23Wonderful blog! Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely confused .. Any suggestions? Cheers!
24Have you ever considered publishing an ebook or guest authoring on other sites? I have a blog based on the same topics you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my subscribers would enjoy your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an email.
25You have remarked very interesting points! ps nice site.
26Very interesting details you have observed, thanks for putting up. “The judge is condemned when the criminal is absolved.” by Publilius Syrus.
27I gotta favorite this internet site it seems handy extremely helpful
28I really enjoy examining on this web site, it has great articles. “Dream no small dreams. They have no power to stir the souls of men.” by Victor Hugo.
29Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!
30Hello. excellent job. I did not expect this. This is a excellent story. Thanks!
31Have you ever thought about writing an ebook or guest authoring on other sites? I have a blog centered on the same information you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my subscribers would value your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e mail.
32You are my breathing in, I own few blogs and rarely run out from to post .
33Very interesting information!Perfect just what I was searching for!
34Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is fantastic blog. A great read. I will certainly be back.
35I’d need to check with you here. Which isn’t one thing I usually do! I take pleasure in reading a put up that may make folks think. Additionally, thanks for allowing me to remark!
36Howdy very nice website!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I am glad to find a lot of helpful info right here within the submit, we’d like develop extra techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
37Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site by accident, and I’m shocked why this accident didn’t happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
38Heya! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing months of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any methods to protect against hackers?
39I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post…
40After research just a few of the blog posts in your website now, and I actually like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon. Pls try my web page as effectively and let me know what you think.
41There are some interesting time limits in this article however I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I’ll take hold opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want extra! Added to FeedBurner as well
42I was examining some of your articles on this website and I think this website is rattling instructive! Retain putting up.
43Very excellent information can be found on blog. “Compassion for myself is the most powerful healer of them all.” by Theodore Isaac Rubin.
44Hello! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this page to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
45Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a wonderful job!
46Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is wonderful blog. A great read. I will definitely be back.
47I am not sure where you’re getting your information, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for fantastic information I was looking for this information for my mission.
48Very interesting subject, regards for putting up.
49Hi there, just changed into aware of your blog via Google, and found that it is really informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I’ll be grateful should you proceed this in future. A lot of folks will likely be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
50