LEO's Eat'N'Blog: Psst! Try this Derby Daily Double

[Robin Garr]

<table border="0" align="right" width="310"><tr><td><img src="http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/shaking.jpg" border="1" align="right"></td></tr><tr><td>Basa Modern Vietnamese's Shaking Beef, a dish made famous by San Francisco's Slanted Door. Photos by Robin Garr.</td></tr></table>LEO's Eat 'n' Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(Basa Modern Vietnamese, Mojito)

Derby is big in Louisville, not just for racing but for restaurants, too. If you don't have reservations already for the popular spots, you're pretty much out of luck unless you're willing to take a place in line.

Restaurateurs rush to get new eateries open for Derby frenzy, scheduling grand openings to catch the Derby tide. Last year it was Proof on Main, Nio's and the short-lived Danielle's. In 2005 we got Blu in the Marriott, 316 Ormsby and that wacky Fourth Street Live.

This year two sophisticated new eateries with ethnic flavors form a winning daily double: <b>Basa Modern Vietnamese</b> in Crescent Hill is named after a Vietnamese fish. <b>Mojito</b> in Holiday Manor is named for a Cuban libation. Both spots are welcome additions, already generating a noisy buzz. You can put them both into an exacta box: They're sure winners.

Full reports in LEO and on LouisvilleHotBytes.

"Like the decor, the cuisine is Asian with a twist: Vietnamese “fusion” with a French accent, reminiscent of San Francisco’s trendy Slanted Door"


Rather than reminiscent of a San Francisco restaurant, I'd like to think that the cuisine is "real" Vietnamese food! Remember that the French occupied Vietnam for approximately 100 years (mid 1800's to 1954), and up-scale Vietnamese food has had a definite French-fusion feel for over a century!

Basa is a great addition to the Louisville scene, and (I hope) they are giving true cultural cuisine as adapted by the owners, not copying a San Francisco restaurant!

One more nit-pick:

"Shaking Beef" is likely not copied from a San Francisco restaurant (although the name may be a lift), but both dishes appear to me to be chef-variations of Bo luc lac (which was served in other San Francisco restaurants - and sometimes even called "Shaking Beef" - before the restaurant you cited made it even more popular).

I've also seen the recipe given in Americanized-Asian cookbooks as "beef with watercress".

[Robin Garr]

Basa is a great addition to the Louisville scene, and (I hope) they are giving true cultural cuisine as adapted by the owners, not copying a San Francisco restaurant!

A couple of thoughts: Slanted Door is not a bad model, particularly in its original iteration in the Mission District.

They certainly didn't originate <i>bo luc lac</i>, but they did make it, and the nickname "shaking beef," famous to the extent that the dish is now pretty much identified with Slanted Door.

Basa is definitely "fusion," as attested by the owners themselves in their original news release and the front page of the menu (which reads "A modern Vietnamese restaurant showcasing the abundance of the Ohio Valley").

I don't see any problem with that. But if you compare Basa side by side with the dishes at, say, Vietnam Kitchen, you're going to see a difference in the direction of nouvelle/fusion/creative cuisine.

I'm really not arguing . . .

Calling it "fusion" is true. I'm really bemoaning the lack of history being taught in this country. I had recommended Basa to a much younger friend, and he came back wondering how they came up with the "interesting" blend of French and Vietnamese cooking! I couldn't believe his lack of knowledge of history, and then unfortunately read your review and possibly overreacted.

And, "shaking beef" is an almost direct translation of Bo Luc Lac (while I don't speak Vietnamese, I remember eating it and seeing it called that from 30+ years ago, checked on-line, and found the same thing). Charles Phan (of the Slanted Door) did popularize it in this country, but certainly didn't coin the term.

Can't wait to try Basa-Went to Vietnam Kitched today and just LOVE it!!! We go at least once every other week-love it!!!