4.11.2011

Van's Vietnamese

I'll break it down for ya:  Enormous portions.  Very friendly service.  Jam-packed by 7pm on a Friday night.  Room for a few more tables but does not put them there (not sure if it's for fire code/zoning reasons or for my comfort, but I'll pretend it's for my comfort and for that I say THANK YOU).  Tasty food.  That, in a nutshell, is Van's Vietnamese.

Granted, we have not tried their pho yet.  We recently lived near one of the most hyped up pho places of my knowledge, Pho 75 in Arlington.

Crispy vegetarian spring rolls,  crispy duck, and lemongrass chicken.  I'm pretty sure they gave me an entire chicken, or more.  This meal was dinner, dinner again (+ new rice made at home), and then part of my lunch.  The quantity here is out of control. 




I'm looking forward to trying the pho and other dishes recommended by happy diners.  You just have to hope that you like what you get; you know, since it'll be enough for three to five meals.

Van's Vietnamese
307 Central Ave
Albany, NY

Van's Vietnamese Restaurant on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

  1. Agreed - a very good Vietnamese place, indeed. The ambiance is crap, but then again I would probably complain if it were anything but crap b/c I've never been to a "nice" Vietnamese place, ya know? I had a beef dish that the server recommended for me which was DELICIOUS (and equally large in portions). A friend of mine is a vegetarian and he is also quite happy with their plethora of offerings. Great find!

    Have you ever tried the Wine Bar & Bistro for brunch? I have not, yet knowing how good their dinners are has me quite intrigued.

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  2. My husband brought the Pho home as takeout tonight, it was delicious as usual. But, I wasn't crazy about how they packed the raw meat right on the noodles. Even though I zapped the broth at home & it did the job of cooking everything, it was unappetizing to see red on white noodles.

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  3. One of my favorite dishes at Van's is the chicken salad, a huge plateful of shredded cabbage with lots of white-meat chicken in a tangy sweet-sour dressing, lots of veggies, and very low fat. Add an order of summer rolls with their soft rice-paper wrappers and that's a great meal. I ordered the same dishes once at the other Vietnamese restaurant near the Spectrum and got only a quarter the quantity and it was much less flavorful.

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