Chain brings the many flavors of Vietnam to Newbury Street
Type: Vietnamese
Hours: Daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Good choices: Fresh spring rolls; Vietnamese crepe; chicken salad; beef noodle soup; rice vermicelli with shrimp; caramelized pork; scallop and vegetable medley; lemongrass beef.
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express.
Access: Dining room down flight of stairs; sidewalk patio is accessible.
PHO PASTEUR
119 Newbury St., Boston
(617) 262-8200, (617) 262-8292
Restaurant reviewed 5/28/98 by Fiona Luis
Rain had been blanketing a dreary Boston all week when I called Pho Pasteur early on a Sunday evening to inquire if I needed to make dinner reservations. "Come now," I was sweetly urged. "Before the crowds." Arriving at the half-full restaurant, we nabbed a corner table in the blue and tan sponge-painted room, its walls covered with arresting photographs of Vietnam.
Located between Clarendon and Dartmouth streets on Newbury, this three-month-old restaurant is the fifth outlet of a Pho Pasteur chain owned by Duyen Le, who settled in Boston almost a decade ago. He opened the first Pho Pasteur in Chinatown in 1991, then branched out to Allston and Cambridge. But he always kept his eye on Newbury, waiting for the right moment to expand his empire to the Back Bay.
Boston certainly seems more than ready to be conquered by Vietnamese cuisine. Over the past few years, the flavors of Vietnam have cast a spell over upscale menus in the city. Chefs have been romanced by robust lemongrass and fish sauce, delicate spring rolls, and pungent basil. Vietnamese restaurants have been popping up rapidly in the last few years, but mostly where immigrants first settle. Le's foray into high-rent Newbury Street seems to be paying off.
By the time we finished our early dinner, the 60-seat Pho Pastuer was filled to the brim, the noise level ratcheted up by packs of college students slurping pho, the famous beef noodle soup, and families passing around platters of meat-and-vegetable entrees.
On a second weekday visit, our group of three was lucky to get a lunch table at all. Twenty seats, all taken, have been set up outside. Inside, the restaurant was packed with slick city-savvy professionals; the waitstaff stretched to its limit; the traffic from the kitchen nonstop. Out came the goi cuon ($3.95), de rigueur in my book. The fresh spring rolls had a good balance of lettuce, carrots, vermicelli, shrimp, and pork, but needed more mint. Banh xeo ($7.95), a rice-flour crepe with shrimp, had flavorful counterpoints in its crunchy beansprouts and vinegary sauce. Goi ga ($6.95) was a celebration of shredded cabbage, chicken, and peanuts, the piquant dressing making for an appetite-whetting salad.
Our waitress obliged a menu-modification request for pho tai ($4.95) without any tripe or tendons. The bowl of fragrant broth over rice noodles, topped with paper-thin slices of rare steak and garnished with mounds of bean sprouts and spikes of basil, got a lift from a generous squeeze of lime and a few green chilies. Bun tom ($6.25), rice vermicelli with shrimp dressed with nuoc cham dressing, was perked up by dashes of hoisin and chili sauces.
Three entrees stood out. Caramelized pork in a clay pot ($8.95) provided some fire in the belly, the heat coming from generous grindings of black pepper that melted into the tender meat; the scallop and vegetable medley ($9.95) was all freshness and light, the crunch of green beans, carrots, and broccoli a counterpoint to the sweet scallops; bo xao sa ot ($8.50), strips of beef sauteed with lemongrass and peanuts, offered a spicy sensuousness with just a hint of sweetness.
As summer's heat arrives, the perfect drink to have with your meal at Pho Pasteur is soda chanh ($2.50), fresh limeade with soda. Want to venture beyond the ordinary? Try any one of the fruit shakes or mung bean shakes ($2.95). After the healthful triumph of the food, it's a bit like dessert in a glass.
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