Mai's

Description:

• Occupying a two-story brick building with green awnings on Milam Street in the midtown area, Mai's is the last of a half-dozen Vietnamese restaurants you'll pass in the preceding 6 blocks. In several ways it's the best choice, but it should not be thought of as having a lock on good Vietnamese food. I do appreciate, however, its dependability and the long hours it keeps because you never know when you might get a yen for a bowl of Vietnamese noodles (and they're all good). This would be a good place to try pho, the national dish, a soup to which you add vegetables and aromatic herbs and lime juice. Sample the ever-popular spring and summer rolls served with nam pla and/or peanut sauce, and try a chicken stir-fry with chile and lemon grass. Favorites include the nam noung (ground pork and shrimp with thin vermicelli) and the Mekong sweet-and-sour soup (try the catfish version).

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010