Slanted, not quite enchanted.
There's no debating that the Vietnamese crepe ($10) is exquisitely prepared: The rice-flour casing is done to a crisp-fringed turn, and the shrimp, tumbled inside with pork, bean sprouts, and onions, have suffered just the slightest kiss of the skillet. But compared with Ho Chi Minh City's most famous banh xeo, which is served with two choices of wrapper leaves and at least three herbs, The Slanted Door's rendition is accompanied only by lettuce and mint.
Perhaps the panoply of greens would be lost on many diners (I was a little befuddled myself in HCMC), but basil and mint are a common enough duo alongside banh xeo. All the more annoying, then, to find basil but no mint beside my beef noodle soup ($6), delivered by the kitchen shortly after my first course was cleared. To be sure, it's a very good pho bo: The broth has a dream-inducing depth of flavor, and the tender beef is supplied by Prather Ranch, an organic farm well-regarded for its sustainable practices. On reflection, I wish I'd also tried the Niman Ranch "shaking beef," better known as bo luc lac.
The Slanted Door
1 Ferry Building, San Francisco
415-861-8032
www.SlantedDoor.com
