As a Vietnamese gal who grew up eating her grandmother’s cooking, knows her way around the Vietnamese kitchen, and even called the motherland home for a year, I could easily dismiss Vietnamese fusion efforts as watered-down versions of the real deal, but truth be told, I’m a big fan. My tremendous love for the culinary traditions of Vietnam extends beyond foggy notions of authenticity. The fact that Vietnamese cuisine is extending its reach outside ethnic enclaves and is evolving in a fresh and meaningful way excites me like you wouldn’t believe.
Once limited to the confines of Chinatown and the San Gabriel Valley, Vietnamese restaurants have recently gained traction in unlikely sections of Los Angeles. The opening of 9021Pho in Beverly Hills a few weeks back inspired me to begin exploring and documenting Los Angeles’ nouveau Vietnamese food movement. While these new establishments are mostly intended for those less familiar with the cuisine, I was curious to experience a new take on the traditional tastes I grew up with.
First stop, Good Girl Dinette.
Located in Highland Park, Good Girl Dinette bills itself as “American diner meets Vietnamese comfort food.” The good girl behind this stylish restaurant is Diep Tran, the former co-owner and chef of Blue Hen. Ms. Tran’s family owns the chain of Pho 79 restaurants in Orange County and Alhambra. Clearly, being a restaurateur is in her blood.
With its exposed brick walls, barely finished tables, and plush mustard yellow chairs, the vibe at Good Girl Dinette is urban and cool. The short menu, which does not contain a lick of Vietnamese, features stews, pot pies, sandwiches, noodles, and soups. All dishes are made using local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients. Beat that, Golden Deli.
The Astronomer and I visited the restaurant on a recent Friday night. Even though our waitress warned us that we were ordering far too much food, we still went ahead with three appetizers to start.
First up were the mushroom imperial rolls, also known as cha gio chay ($5.50). Filled with woodear mushrooms, carrots, and glass noodles, the cha gio arrived glistening and hot. The blistered wrappers signaled that Ms. Tran knew when to leave perfection alone. The cha gio were served with large leaves of romaine lettuce, pickled carrots and daikon, and a soy dipping sauce (nuoc tuong). While the flavors were all spot-on, the cha gio could have used more filling because they collapsed a bit with each bite.
Next, an order of rice cakes with crispy scallion tofu ($4.50) arrived. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I placed the order since the term “rice cakes” doesn’t translate into anything specific in Vietnamese cuisine. However, the dish that arrived was totally familiar. The little slabs of deep fried tofu were smothered in a mixture of scallions, oil, and fish sauce, all plopped upon a sticky raft of rice. This dish is one of my mom’s quick and easy dinner solutions, minus the rice cakes.
The final appetizer was a small order of spicy fries ($3). The shoestring russets were seasoned with chopped chilies, garlic, and cilantro. The fries reeked of garlicky goodness, even though the trio of aromatics had difficulty adhering to them. The spice factor made these spuds quite addicting.
Our first entree was a beef stew, also known as bo kho ($9.50). The stew was served with white rice and seasonal greens (brown rice was available for an additional dollar). The bo kho was brimming with braised carrots and tender hunks of beef, all bathed in a fragrant five spice-laced broth. While I enjoyed the stew immensely, it could’ve been slightly less salty.
The bo kho was served with a side of sauteed Chinese broccoli (gai lan).
The final savory course was the curry chayote pot pie ($10). The hearty homemade biscuit was simply perfect and paired extraordinarily well with the classic Vietnamese curry. Easily the evening’s strongest dish.
For dessert, The Astronomer and I shared an almond jelly topped with with seasonal citrus syrup ($5), which came highly recommended from our busser. After indulging in some heavy duty comfort foods, the cool and light jelly was just what our palates desired.
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Good Girl Dinette
110 North Avenue 56
Los Angeles, CA 90042
Phone: 323-257-8980
Hi there,
Enjoy reading your blog as always & I am a fellow foodie in Hong Kong (www.geoffstwitchen.com) I must admit, I have never thought of fries begin cooked this way & it looks WONDERFUL! If you by chance come to Hong Kong, I will show you around for some real good Vietnamese food for sure!
Happy Eating & Keep up the good work!
Geoff
you ate almost the same exact things i did a while back. i’m a big fan of diep. her journey towards good girl was such a long, complicated one…i am rooting for her! your post reminds me that i need to go back again 🙂
Mmmmm looks good and gets the thumbs up from a motherland pro. I want that chayote pie!
it’s great that Vietnamese is being elevated beyond the small ethnic enclaves and a reflection of the tastes and interpretations of younger generation of chefs/restauranteurs…in David Chang’s new restaurant Ma Peche, NYC he has almost an entirely Vietnamese menu!
Want the rice cakes with crispy scallion tofu!!!
Glad you and Vern had a good experience – sounds like you made the right resto decision last Friday!
P.S. There is no such thing as ordering too much food. Only eating too much food. 😉
Ooh, I want to try that pot pie. Those fries don’t look too shabby either.
I ordered 3 apps and 2 entrees, for MYSELF! hah. they said nothing. I finished it, but i was stuffed. i loved the curry pot pie.
Your pics look great, Catherine. Yet, judging by these same pics, on this particular evening, you were the only Vietnamese, this place was exciting.
Thanks for the post! I really want to try this place now and 9021Pho. Let me know if you want to make an outing out of it!
very cool. i went to this place shortly after it opened and found it pretty good, though I haven’t been back since. I have recommended it to some people though. nice review.
That’s some really fair pricing for such amazing looking food. Too bad we have nothing like that here.
btw, love the photos you took here. they perfectly capture and ambiance and feel of the place.
Is Vietnamese cuisine displacing the trendy position Thai food once held in the 90s? Speaking of fries, have you had the wasabi mayonnaise fries at The Far Bar in downtown?
John Y. – I wasn’t eating out much during the 90s, but that’d be pretty awesome if Vietnamese food became as ubiquitous as Thai. And thanks for the downtown fry tip! I’ll check it out sometime 😉
I’m glad you love this place as much as I do. Wow one year in the motherland? What company did you do that with?
becky P. – No company was involved. Vern and I found jobs with a non-profit, packed up our bags, and headed to Vietnam for a year. Seriously, one of the best things I’ve ever done! Would do it again in a heartbeat.
I stopped by soon after they opened and had an okay banh mi, but I’ve been meaning to go back for the pot pie! I really liked the ambiance and the enthusiasm of the staff. And the fries. But that’s not surprising.
I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts on other Vietnamese fusion places in town. I trust your taste!
Fries as appetizers? Reminds me of my Hanoi experience really.
We had fries as one of the main dish, to go along with rice.
go figure…
I’m impressed and pleased that you back fusion Vietnamese for the masses. It’s easy to take the position that these places are a disservice to the authenticity of the food or the regional accents etc but c’mon good food is good food and if a GGD inspires someone to explore more, how good is that? Very good.
I’m so old fashioned when it comes to Viet comfort food, and I like my usual authentic joints. However, I’m just going to need to consider branching out once in a while. So, I’m going to make the effort to give this place a try in the New Year. 🙂 Thanks, Cathy!
I am new to Vietnamese cuisine but so far I’m really loving it. The dishes at Good Girl look fantastic. Right in my neck of the woods…can’t wait to give this one a try. I look forward to reading more of your Vietnames LA finds.
The curry pie looks quite delish!
Let me know when you want to hit up 9021Pho.
Your pics are looking damn good! 🙂
The fish taco series is great. Thanks for searching out such a variety of styles. Peace.