suedeenim

About 15 years ago, I used to eat a particular dish whose name I don't remember. The restaurant still exists but they no longer serve that dish. I'd just about kill to have it again.

It's NOT pho;; there's no soup. It's also not just a plate with vermicelli and sliced beef.

Here's what I think I remember. A big bowl (not plate) of vermicelli topped with thin sliced flank steak, The usual add-ins like basil, cilantro, and bean sprouts. On the side was a little ramekin of chili fish sauce. After topping your bowl with the plantstuff, you poured the fish sauce over the whole thing, tossed it with the chopsticks and went to town. It was to die for.

It *might* have been Bún bò Nam Bộ. Maybe.

I've tried Bún Bò Xào, which sounded similar in the menu description, but it was a strike out (though very good). The Bún Bò Xào came in a bowl of beef broth - like a bowl of pho with about one third the normal amount of broth. I couldn't even taste the fish sauce after I poured it in, because it mixed with the other broth. That chili fish sauce is the flavor my taste buds remember.

If anybody recognizes the dish I'm describing and knows where to get it in Dallas, I'd sure love to hear about it. Alternatively, I'd love to know where to get some good Bún bò Nam Bộ in or around North Dallas, Plano, Addison, Carrollton, or Richardson, so I can see if it's what I'm looking for.

Thanks, and happy dining!