I know, it seems so crazy to give a tiny hipster whole in the hall of a place in the middle of an industrial wasteland 5 Forks. While it wasn't an entirely flawless meal, I loved it enough and haven't given out a 5 fork review in a while, that I really thought now was the time.
The one big drawback to this place is its location (and maybe the insane plethora of hipsters). When I say it's in an industrial wasteland, I'm not even exaggerating - it's across the street from 2 scrap metal yards and next door to a Western Beef Market. Without a car, it's extremely difficult to get to (it's about a mile walk from the closest subway stop). However, despite its location, there was an hour long wait there and unfortunately there is no where to wait except on one of their 2 benches. Aarti also mentioned that when she gave our name to the host, he gave her an extremely sour puss look which was annoying. But regardless once we sat down, we were all in heaven.
Now this is definitely not a place for everyone. The place is small (less than 25 seats) and the decor kind of reminds me of one of those cheap hole in the wall places you would find in SE Asia. But honestly, that was the appeal to me. As Will said, the only thing missing from it would be a dirty mangy dog running around and you would have thought you were in eating at one of those road side restaurants in Thailand or Vietnam. Luckily, the food was just as good as what you would get in one of those road side stalls. They have a seasonal menu and then they have a chalk board with a bunch of specials. All of us were starving (plus I was with two big guys who came ready with their appetite) so we really went to town on the ordering. For the table, we split the traditional banh xbo ($11) as well as the vegetarian version ($10), the summer rolls ($8), the crispy flounder banh mi ($12), the garlic tomato fried rice ($5) and the sauteed water spinach ($8). Then after that we each all ordered our own thing. I opted for the Suon Nuong Xa ($15), Aarti got the grilled eggplant and zucchini ($13), Will got the Ca Ri Ga ($16) and Kinney got the Grilled Lemongrass Black Angus Short Ribs ($16). So yeah - we clearly over ordered but that was totally ok. I should mention that I also got a Vietnamese Ice Coffee ($4) that was one of the most delicious drinks ever. It wasn't like the usual kind I'm used to where you strain it into a cup with condensed milk at the bottom. It was pre-mixed already but it was like crack cocaine - incredibly addictive and left you wanting to have 10 more of them.
On to the actual food. Everything was phenomenal and tasted fresh and home made. The summer rolls had the right amount of shrimp, pork and vermicelli noodles in it and the side of peanut sauce was heavenly. Next I moved on to the banh xbo which is a crispy crepe with shrimp, bacon, and bean sprouts which you then wrap in a lettuce leaf and dip into fish sauce. It was super hot and tasted like it just came off the griddle. The flavors just all worked really well together and the edges of the crepe were nice and crispy but the inside still had some moisture to it. I honestly didn't taste too much bacon in it, just more of the bean sprouts than anything. Next I took a bite of the crispy flounder banh mi (we split it 3 ways) and while it's definitely not your traditional banh mi, it had a great flavor profile to it. It came with a pickled garlic tartar sauce, dill and scallion. It a far cry from the original kind that has pate in it but I did really enjoy it and the bread was pillowy and just right. Lastly I took a few pieces of the garlic tomato fried rice and sauteed water spinach and they were nice side dishes to add as supplements to our main dish. Sadly but the time I got to my main dish, I was so full, all I could do was take 3 bites and I had to take the rest home. There were 2 decent sized pork loins, served with a ton of white rice but the kicker was the fried egg on top. Now this is where I get a bit nit pickey - while the fried egg looked beautiful, it could have been a bit runnier in the yolk. I like an oozing egg yolk but this one was close to being over cooked. The only other dish I tried a bit of was Will's curry bobo chicken - I dunked a piece of soft delicious roti into the curry and it was fantastic, full of spice and flavor.
The only service hiccup was that Aarti's dish came out much later than ours - despite her getting just a vegetable dish. Not sure if they forgot or what, but I do hate having to ask waitstaff repeatedly where someone's food is when everyone else at the table got theirs (this seems to be a running trend with me these days).
All in all, we were all amazed by our meal. It's been a long time where I have been truly wow'd by a meal that wasn't one of the nicer or fancier establishments. It's places like theses that are much more my speed and what I am drawn to vs. 4 star restaurants (although don't get me wrong, I would never turn down a meal at a 4 star place). This is place is definitely best to go with a lot of people so that you can try everything because you'll want to order everything when you are here. I didn't think the prices were too unreasonable although a banh mi as a stand alone dish for $12 is a bit on the pricey side. Again - order it and split it with 3 people while stuffing your face with summer rolls and papaya salad.
It's almost tortuous knowing that this place is only a 10 minute drive from me yet it's a painful 30+ minute commute on a subway including walking. But honestly, it is totally worth the pain and effort. Just do it and go. You won't regret it. Total bill: $36/pp with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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