Article 1962 of pgh.food: Path: fs7.ece.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!postman+ From: Ward_Travis@transarc.com Newsgroups: pgh.food Subject: Re: Vietnamese and Thai restaurants Date: Wed, 18 May 1994 18:03:01 -0400 Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA Lines: 43 Message-ID: References: <1994May17.134854.3272@sei.cmu.edu> <2rbg4m$qgt@epicycle.lm.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: andrew.cmu.edu In-Reply-To: Kim's Coffee House, the Vietnamese restaurant on Penn near Roup Street (near Negley), serves pho' only on Friday through Sunday nights. Their pho' is pretty good, and if you show up on any kind of semi-regular basis, Mrs. Kim will remember you and be really friendly. Their pho' is served without those small ceramic ladles -- just chopsticks and shallow 'standard' metal spoons, with Sriracha chili paste on the side, plum or hoisin sauce on the side, but no side plate of sprouts, green chilies, and mint leaves; the leaves and sprouts are already in there. They also have only one recipe (rare sliced beef) ... there's no pho' tai nam ... but it is good, and a large bowl is, I think, less than $6. This large bowl, along with two of their NICE goi cuon, is almost too much to eat. Kim's kimchee recently became very mild, I don't know why; theirs also features crunchy veggies (carrot slices) and is just sort of unique, not like the (great) bottled stuff at Sam-Bok in the Strip. Kim's also offers plum wine, some varieties of sake, domestic wines, and bottled beers ranging only from Tsing-Tao to American domestics. I believe they also have no problem with brown-bagging, but I am unsure of that. The ambiance is that of one small room with meeting-hall chairs, one overhead light, vinyl tablecloths, and very quiet background music. You'll hear the kitchen talk. This is all OK in my opinion and is only mentioned here for completeness. If you've never been, you might find it hard to find due to its small facade; it is on the same block and side of the street as a KFC (that KFC used to be an Eat&Park, aeons ago). I also like Kim's for take-out. They're fast and consistent. As far as comparisons between Kim's and My Ngoc, well, My Ngoc is a better place to go but is pricier and sort of, well, aseptic compared to the more familial feeling I get at Kim's. I think My Ngoc has a much lengthier menu, but if you describe what you want to Mrs. Kim, they'll make it. -- Ward C. Travis Pittsburgh PA USA "The fact is the sweetest dream that travis@transarc.com (412) 338 4388 labor knows." - R. Frost