St. Augustine once wrote: “The world is a book, and those who do
not travel read only a page.” While I appreciate the tip, some of
us just lack the bankroll to fully satisfy our wanderlust. That’s
when food can take us places beyond our fiscal and physical
reach.
Which made my visit to Phuc Loi quite a trip.
The words “Vietnamese food” and “South Grand” may now be part of
a standard St. Louis vocabulary, but it’s at Gravois and Spring
avenues — where no fewer than three wonderfully under-the-radar,
absolutely authentic Vietnamese restaurants hug the corners — that
a foreign adventure really begins.
Phuc Loi may look like it has fully imbibed the strip-mall
aesthetic, complete with spare décor and steady soft-rock
soundtrack. But one look at the Sunday buffet — arrayed with
meltingly fatty pork and tiny grilled birds — and you’ll wonder if
you’re in St. Louis anymore.
People are also reading…
Order off the menu (one in English is available, or just rely on
the friendly counter service to guide you) and enjoy surpassingly
fresh spring rolls ($3) stuffed with sweet barbecued pork, chewy
rice vermicelli and slim blades of green onion.
Bun thit nuong ($5.50) — my bellwether dish at Vietnamese
restaurants — brought honeyed grilled pork and a crunchy salad of
slivered cucumber, carrot ribbons, and crisp herbs and lettuce
perched on a heap of rice noodles in a sugary, vinegary sauce.
With its rich, beefy broth spiked with cracked black pepper and
swimming with sliced beef, chewy omasum (tripe) and melting oxtail,
pho dac biet ($6.50) is a truly an homage to cow.
Finish with a dessert that falls into the ‘sounds weird, tastes
awesome” category: Jello cubes in DayGlo colors, juicy pieces of
fruit and silky little red beans in sweetened, icy cold coconut
milk ($2).
Sure, it’s a far cry from good old American apple pie, but then,
what are vacations for?
3723 Gravois Avenue • 314-772-7742 • Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sunday • Smoking: No
