Vientiane Cafe

[philadining]

This place is a favorite of a few of my friends, but I'd never been. It's got a nice, homey, bohemian vibe, a good array of foods, and lots of vegetarian-friendly offerings. I had assumed that the menu was primarily Vietnamese, but it feels to me like there's more Thai stuff...

On this cold night, soup was in order:

Tom Yum was very good, a little hot, a little sour, and loaded with vegetables and chicken. You can get it vegetarian or with shrimp instead.

Coconut Soup was a credible version of this Thai classic. It was very mild, almost sweet, but as above, notable for it's generous complement of vegetables and very tender chicken.

Home Made Sausages were amazingly good. They had a nice grilled snap, and a complex flavor, from pork, lemongrass, lots of spices.. I'm definitely going back for these again.

Chicken Laab was very good, with chopped chicken, lots of herbs and a salty marinade. And the best part, leftovers are going to end up in a hoagie, my pitch for the next great sandwich...

All in all, I really liked this place, it's not super-fancy, just very satisfying.

Vientiane Cafe

4728 Baltimore Ave

(215)726-1095

Edited December 15, 2005 by philadining (log)

[KatieLoeb]

This place has been a fave of mine for a while. Food is solid, service is always very pleasant and it's BYO. What more could I ask for?

The red and green curries are always good, and I've always been fond of their fish dishes. Specials are usually worth a look too.

[I_call_the_duck]

I've only been there twice, but have liked it both times. Don't remember what I had, so I'll need to refresh my memory.

[philadining]

Anybody had the Pho?

[KatieLoeb]

Anybody had the Pho?

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Not here. Somehow I just think to go to the Pho shops or Pho Xe Lua (my favorite for pho) instead of Vientiane. Their Chicken-Coconut and Tom Yum style soups are awesome, however.

[GregD]

Nice place, not my all-time favorite but very pleasant. For what it's worth, they actually call their menu Laotian, not Thai, but there are some obvious similarities.

[philadining]

Nice place, not my all-time favorite but very pleasant.  For what it's worth, they actually call their menu Laotian, not Thai, but there are some obvious similarities.

←

Thanks Greg, I remember reading that now, Vientiane is a province of Laos that borders Thailand, and the Laotian origins explain the mix of things we more readily associate with Thai and Vietnamese. In any case, we stayed on the western edge of the menu this time, but I look forward to trying more...

[Andrew Fenton]

Nice place, not my all-time favorite but very pleasant.  For what it's worth, they actually call their menu Laotian, not Thai, but there are some obvious similarities.

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Thanks Greg, I remember reading that now, Vientiane is a province of Laos that borders Thailand, and the Laotian origins explain the mix of things we more readily associate with Thai and Vietnamese.

Not only that, but Vientiane is the capital of Laos.

Anyway, I've been to Vientiane a couple of times, and have quite enjoyed it. I'm too ignorant to really be able to make a clear distinction between the Lao, Thai and Vietnamese aspects of the menu. But I've had one dish which I'm pretty sure is 100% Lao. First, because it wasn't like anything I've had before, mainly because it was loaded with dill. As in, dill as a vegetable, not an herb. A bowl of stew filled with a tiny seaweed forest of dill fronds. Pretty good, but, well, you have to like dill. (Oh, and secondly, because the name included the word "Lao." I'm a detective, I am.)

[herbacidal]

Nice place, not my all-time favorite but very pleasant.  For what it's worth, they actually call their menu Laotian, not Thai, but there are some obvious similarities.

←

Thanks Greg, I remember reading that now, Vientiane is a province of Laos that borders Thailand, and the Laotian origins explain the mix of things we more readily associate with Thai and Vietnamese.

Not only that, but Vientiane is the capital of Laos.

←

I know it's the capital city. I don't know that it's also a province.

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/la.html

Edited December 17, 2005 by herbacidal (log)

[philadining]

http://www.pnm.my/motw/laos/provbig.htm

[herbacidal]

Did you compare the lists of provinces?

It's some interesting insights into different ways of pronounciation, spelling, etc.

We're sorta both right, it really just goes by our source's interpretation.