As I was about to grab something quick for lunch, my wife called to come over for lunch. I quickly looked up a place special to take her. Brasserie Beck came to mind. This Belgium cuisine is the place that I could not get a reservation on the weekend before 10pm. So I figure I could get it on a Wednesday lunch. I made a reservation, picked her up at the Metro, and we walked twelve blocks to get to 1101 K Street.

The place was pretty busy for a Wednesday afternoon. I ordered a roasted rabbit in Kriek beer and she went for a pan-seared fillet of salmon with curry fennel sauce. We ordered two fruit beers, St. Louis Kriek (cherry flavor) and Floris Pomme “Apple.” They have a nice taste, but each is $12 a pop. The rabbit tasted pretty much like chicken, and the sauce was simply plain. Her salmon was just grilled and sat on top of the curry sauce.

Nothing stood out except the bill. We had an eighty-dollar lunch. If I were to have a choice, I would rather settle for Hai Duong’s bun mam or Thanh Truc’s bun bo hue. I am still glad my wife came over to have lunch with me though.

On our way home, my wife and I tried to decide whether we should go home and cook or just drop by the ghetto buffet for a quick fix. The heat was beating down on us, we were starving, and the big banner said “seafood dinner for $12.95” couldn’t hold us back. The place is huge and a bit messy, especially bathroom, that’s why I called it ghetto. Still, the food is decent. We stuffed ourselves with raw oysters, steamed crabs, Louisiana crawfish, steamed clams, grill shrimps and New York steak. The Boston clam chowder was also banging. It’s quite an enjoyable evening. Now it’s time to take a walk to digest all that seafood.

Viet Bistro seems like a nice hangout joint in the summer. The spot is kind of hip—actually it is the best decorated restaurant in Eden Center—and it opens later than most places in the strip. We were there last night around 9:30 after a long evening of going through the contract. I ordered the Clay Pot Rice with Baby Clams (Com Tay Cam Hen) and a Long Island Ice Tea, and they were the perfect combos to cool off the night. The portion was huge and I was going to save half of it for today’s lunch but the crunchy rice and mild spicy baby clams were irresistible; therefore, I shoved down everything while enjoying the Cleveland and Celtics on three large-screen TVs. The alcohol in the Long Island also enhanced the flavor. It was only last night and I can’t wait to go back for another pot already.

What do I get for the big three oh? A big piece of steak. The ladies took me out to Ray’s the Steak, the place I have wanted to try but haven’t had a chance to, for my birthday. On the weekend, the earliest seat available is at 11pm. Ray’s doesn’t take reservations over the phone so you have to come in and wait. We went in today at 7:15pm and didn’t get the table until 8pm. The joint is small and really noisy, but the steak was not so bad. I ordered the signature: a 28-ounce “cowboy cut” rib eye with bone. The steak was big, raw, juicy, and tender and went well with a glass of pinot noir. Not a bad place for steak if you don’t mind the waiting and the loudness. Thanks to my lady for the treat.

With the rice price jacking up damn near double, we seek for a healthy alternative. Peep at what my lovely lady has packed for my lunch: Grilled chicken salad (assorted greens) with grapes, pineapple slices, strawberries and my favorite dressing raspberry walnut vinaigrette. She also threw in a yogurt, tangerine and banana for snacks. Damn, it’s only nine o’clock and I can’t wait for lunch already. Three more hours to go, but I might take an early lunch.

I am stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving at Il Mee. Four of us knocked off four BBQ dishes filled with beef, pork and squid complemented with a bottle of rice wine. We actually like this place better than Hee Been. The price is $19.99 per person, which is eight dollars lower than Hee Been, and the marinating is a bit better. The only trade off is that the tables are a bit smaller.

We had bun reu (vermicelli with crab soup) three nights straight. The first night we missed mam ruoc (fermented shrimp paste). The fish sauce substitution was not effective. The second night was perfect because I had to drive fifteen miles to get a jar of mam ruoc. I picked out a brand from Da Nang because the color looks lighter and the texture looks smoother. It turned out delicious. I was sipping wine and picking out the meat off the bones complementing with mam ruoc. Last night bun reu was extraordinary because the broth got richer, which added more flavor. Thanks to my lovely lady for the great bun reu. She can cook.

These days, who doesn’t love Pho? Like a melting pot, you could find various groups of Asian (Chinese, Korean, Cambodian, Philippines), Black, White and Hispanic in a Pho’s place. Even the Mexican loves Pho. I was at Pho Tay Ho in Virginia and the joint was filled with Mexicans eating Pho and drinking fresh coconut juice. I love to see other ethnicities love Pho as much as we do; however, am I the only one who is having a hard time finding a Pho’s eatery that lives up to the authentic standards?

Every time we take a road trip, we would try to find a Pho’s place nearby using our GBS. I have been very disappointed at most of the places I have been to. They even failed the most basic element of Pho: making it hot. A warm bowl of Pho loses its enticement and the rice noodle expands much faster. Pho and basil can’t go without the other, yet many places only offer a few leaves. What frustrated me the most is the broth, which is the essential part of Pho’s experience. Without a savory broth, you might as well not eating it. The common mistake is the inconsistency of the broth. For instance, the first time I went to Pho Tay Ho (in Virginia), it was fantastic. The broth was perfect, but when I went back for the second time, it was almost tasted like water. This happens to the Pho Hoa franchise as well. Unlike McDonald’s, not every Pho Hoa tastes the same.

I was at Pho Golden Cow last Saturday and it was decent, though I am not sure if it is always that consistent. I have to visit a Pho place at least two or three times in order to know if that place keeps up with the Pho standards or not.

Hee Been has been our favorite spot for Korean BBQ buffet. Dinner is a bit pricey ($27.95), so lunch should do it. You just pick up whatever meat you want and the server will cook for you. The meat buffet featured marinated and non-marinated beef, pork, chicken and calamari. While at Hee Been you have to have some Korean wine. Soju is highly recommended, but if you like some sweet wine, Bokbunjajoo is the perfect choice.

Eden is without a doubt a fantastic place for Vietnamese food, but you have to find the right dish at the right place. So here are some of my recommendations for Eden.

If you want some savory Bun Mam, Hai Duong is the place you want to be. My man HML introduced Bun Mam there and the quality has not failed me yet. Not sure how many bowls I had already, but it has been consistently good. Beside Bun Mam, Hai Duong’s Canh Chua Ca Kho To and Hu Tieu are great.

If you’re in the mood for Bun Bo Hue, Thanh Truc is where you want to try. I have tried his bowl at many places, but nothing has come close to Thanh Truc. The broth is fantastic. The beef is just right. The spiciness is at the right level for folks you can’t eat hot food.

If you would like some Chao Goi Vit, Thanh Tong is the perfect spot. If you like to drink, you might to eat less chao and just enjoy the delicious goi vit with a bottle of Michelob.

I obviously haven’t been to every place in Eden, but I would definitely avoid the ones that get so much praising from American media like Huong Viet and Viet Royal. These two are adjacent to one another and I would never again order Bo Bay Mon from them. How could you fuck up one of the easiest Vietnamese dishes? For Chris sake, some of the courses, they don’t even have to cook.