Anybody planning Vietnam Kitchen on Christmas?

[Robin Garr]

It's an old tradition among local foodies who don't have family or other obligations on the holiday, and while I'd stop short of trying to organize a formal offline, I figure Mary and I will wander out to the South End around 1 or 2 p.m., maybe. If anybody else has similar plans, let us know, and maybe we can casually coordinate a get-together. Last year we ran into Leah and Gordon and their family and joined them for a good time. We also met Peng Looi, going in as we were coming out. As I said, Vietnam Kitchen is a foodie paradise (and one of the few places open) on Christmas.

We'll be there tomorrow around 3pm, but not on Christmas day. There's also not an adundance of open restaurants on Christmas Eve - not that I really need an excuse to eat there, lol.

Our little family is already planning on VK for Christmas lunch! The adult children remember it fondly from last year.

Had my ethnic XMAS experience last night at Red Pepper with the gf. Tonight it will be my mom's beef brisket (a once-a-year affair) and the traditional ham and sides tomorrow. As much as I like both of those meals, VK does seem like a damn tasty option.

Although I think it has been made clear on the forum already, Red Pepper is open today and tomorrow (XMAS). We actually were planning on VK last night, but ended up in the East End, so we went for RP instead. Nice first experience there.

oooo . . .I'm hearing the DanDan noodles calling my name. Why doens't that come in an entree portion?

[Robin Garr]

oooo . . .I'm hearing the DanDan noodles calling my name. Why doens't that come in an entree portion?

Just order two DanDan noodles, one plate!

An order of DanDan Noodles and Unique Chicken Smell and I'm set.

My goodness they were slammed today! I felt so bad for the server I tipped her extra,lol. I had the seafood combo on the specials page...is this just the hardest decision EVER? I wish they would do a tasting night where you could sample small plates..
Anyway, mine was absolutely delicious. My daughter had Kung Pao chicken cause she's been away at college and missed it. Took an order of soup home and total was $26. Incredible. I wish they'd open a satellite store in St Matthews! Very fun way to spend XMas afternoon and will hopefully repeat often.

In our little family there were 3 votes for Red Pepper and 1 vote for VK. So, off to Red Pepper we went. And I did get a double order of DanDan Noodles. And brought a lot home. DanDan = YumYum.

Roommate and I decided to hit the 8 China Buffet on Hurstbourne for lunch yesterday......it was very good, very crowded, and a bit pricy, but they had Lobster, Crab legs, and all kinds of seafood on the buffet. Very much enjoyed it.......

Our party of 4 hit VK circa 1:20 p.m., and it was packed. Two previously uninitiated New Albanians were with us. We snagged the last unoccupied table and waved at Robin & bride across the way. All was quite good, and I had pork/shrimp potstickers with BBC Nut Brown, followed by seafood pho with Redhook IPA -- great pairings. VK on X-mas day is our prime holiday tradition, and may they survive for many years to come.

I guess we got there too late, about 1:45 - it was still packed, but no one from LHB to be found. We waited 30 minutes for a table, partly because some latecomers snatched the first one cleared before we could get to it and because a rather intoxicated fellow was sitting at a 4 top talking loudly on his phone and swilling Bud Lites (no food). The gentleman in charge gave us a small discount for our wait and got the intoxicated fellow out the door to a round of applause. We had a table full of appetizers to share. Wonderful as usual. Went home and cooked a standing rib roast, cheddar bacon potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise, Brussel sprouts, sautéed baby bellas, and a red velvet cake for dessert. We ate very late……..