The Trial of Seven Beefs

[goblinsluck]

Today I faced the Trial of Seven Beefs. It required all of my wit and ingenuity, but I mastered each beef in turn and overcame the trial. Which is to say, I went with wendolen to a Vietnamese restaurant called Green Leaf and we ate a whole lot of beef.

At one point, wendolen was giving me crap for eating all the noodles. Not seriously, mind you. It was all

Comments

[asatruer]

Brisket, flank, steak, tendon, tripe, and ...
what are the other two again?
So how did that place compare to Than Brothers?

[goblinsluck]

I've never gotten pho at Green Leaf, but the food is excellent. I appreciated their vermicelli noodles, the bo la lot, and the tamarind soda.

The seven beefs consisted of a salad with some beefy bits, a hot pot style broth into which we dipped thinly sliced raw beef, a plate with four different types of beef (some sausage, some deboned short ribs, bo la lot, and something else), and then a hearty rice and beef congee. It wasn't actually seven courses, since the middle four all showed up on the same plate. Oh yeah, and there were assorted bits for making fresh rolls, not unlike the side plate you get with a pho dish.

It's nicer than Than Brothers, but also packed. You basically have to show up at an inconvenient hour (after eight on a weekday) and expect to wait a while in order to get a seat. The raw convenience of Than Brothers is a big plus. Also, I can't directly compare their pho, so it might be that Than Brothers is the superior place to go for that.

[asatruer]

I have yet to run into a Than Brothers that was not at least quasi-packed, but being limited to pretty much just pho can be annoying some times. I think that is partly why Ethel and I started going to the Pho Express in Kirkland rather than the Than Brothers in Redmond... I got sick of Pho and really liked Pho Express' vermicelli dishes even though Than Brothers' Pho was noticeably better.

I have not seen anything quite like what you are describing at Green Leaf, and it sounds pretty damn good. Maybe after I get done with the impending move I will have to check that place out.