Lee's Kitchen
Viet-licious
Reviewed by Wes Marshall, Fri., July 21, 2006
Lee's Kitchen
4404-B W. William Cannon Dr., 899-8862
Sunday-Thursday, 11am-9pm; Friday-Saturday, 11am-10pm
After two thrilling visits to Lee's, we have a good fix on the kitchen's capabilities with Vietnamese cuisine. On our first, we decided to try the standbys you can find anywhere: Goi cuôn, the time-honored fresh spring roll, came two to a plate for $2.75. The rice paper and vegetables inside were perfectly fresh, the way you get them when they roll them just when ordered. Even the sauce tasted fresh. It was clear that the kitchen was attending to details. For our main course, we tried the Bún Thit Nuóng, barbecued pork with vermicelli ($6.35), which again tasted fresh and delicious. The pork was especially tender and tasty and nicely sauced, accompanied by a milder than usual Nuóc Châm.
For our second visit, we decided to delve a little deeper into the menu. Bì cuôn ($2.75), two rice-paper rolls stuffed with shredded pork and skin, tasted great with the accompanying Nuóc Châm. The Pho Bò Tái Nam ($4.95) was an enormous bowl of fragrant soup, redolent of herbs and spices, complex and comforting at the same time. The thinly sliced steak and flank meat were well-done, just right for the soup.
The best thing we tried was Com Suón Bì Hôt Gà Ôp La ($6.95), which featured perfectly cooked rice along with some tasty barbecued pork chops and shredded pork, all topped with a fried egg, sunny-side up. The taste combination was superb.
We do have one criticism: They have decided to put the tubs with the dirty dishes from the previous diners in plain sight of everyone sitting on the right side of the restaurant. This issue is fixable with a couple of simple screened room dividers. Otherwise, the restaurant and its restrooms were impeccably clean.
Lee's Kitchen inhabits the place previously occupied by one of Austin's finest Asian chefs, Jeff Liu, of Bistro 88 and Noodle-ism fame. When the folks at Lee's Kitchen moved in, they had big shoes to fill, and they have done an outstanding job. They offer great food, gracious service, and fair prices, a winning combination.
