Le Soleil
9616 N. Lamar #156, 821-0396
Daily, 10am-10pm
Tommy Le originally opened Sunflower Vietnamese Restaurant with his wife, and with the dissolution of their marriage, Tommy opened Le Soleil on his own. The menu has similarities with that of the former, but there are numerous differences and modifications, as well.
For starters, Soleil holds 124 diners in a large open room, and service is attentive and smooth. But if you like your meal served in staggered courses, you need to hang onto your menu and order it bit by bit, because the food arrives all at once, immediately after you order it. There’s a large TV in the corner that usually has tapes of Viet variety shows and music videos playing. The vast majority of the customers are Vietnamese, which is something we love to see.
The first visit was with a group, and we started with the Banh Xeo Stuffed With Seafood ($6.95), a huge crepe of rice flour, mung beans, and coconut milk filled with shrimp and squid. Their nuoc cham dipping sauce could be a bit more assertive, but you can always add more fish sauce to taste. Cut off a chunk of crepe, wrap it in a section of lettuce leaf with herbs, and dip: Yum. Nem Nuóng BBQ Pork Balls were next ($7.75), a nice mix of fatty, coarsely ground pork with incredible flavor, wrapped in a rice paper (here, you dip and soften your own as you go) with herbs.
King Crab With Asparagus Soup ($9.95 for a massive bowl) was rich and subtle, with a silky texture. We had hoped for fresh asparagus, since it’s in season, but using canned is the standard Viet restaurant way. It was delicious. Next came Beef la Lot ($8.95), one way of the traditional beef cooked seven ways, bo bay mon, wrapped here in grape leaves since lot (chaplu in Thai) leaves are largely unavailable. They are rich packages of minced beef on a cake of garlic rice noodles.
Vietnamese Shrimp and Pork Salad (large, $6.50), enormous and wonderful, boasts shredded cabbage and carrot with peanuts and mint, with large amounts of thinly sliced roast pork and boiled shrimp mixed in. The “small” version of the same salad with squid ($3.50) on another occasion was only slightly smaller, tossed with tender slices of grilled squid. Pepper Prawns ($8.50) are sautéed with onion, garlic, and lots of black pepper: a clean, simple, and delectable dish that was a nice foil for the other items.
Five Spiced Grilled Chicken ($7.95) is a boneless chicken with crispy skin and succulent flesh that is seasoned with five-spice powder and grilled. We were so full by the time this dish arrived that all we could do was half-heartedly pick at it, but it is excellent, if subtle. We would have preferred more seasoning.
Another visit had us eating Soleil’s version of shaken beef, heavily marinated and caramelized cubes of smoky tender beef atop a bed of sliced onion, tomato, and romaine, with a dish of lime juice and black pepper on the side for dipping. Exquisite! Stir-Fried Prawns With Green Bean ($8.95) is a real keeper: thick, sweet shiitake mushroom slices, crisp green beans, caramelized onions, and plump shrimp, all seasoned with lemongrass and garlic.
Milder in flavor is the Pan-Fried Wide Rice Noodle With Mixed Meats and Seafood ($7.25): on the bottom a bed of browned fresh rice noodles topped with mixed meats and veggies in a subtle brown sauce. It could have used a liberal dose of their magnificent house-made chile sauce, a smoky mélange of incendiary dark red chile bits in oil that breathes fire into all it touches. It’s the best of the three chile sauce choices.
All in all, Le Soleil will get many return visits from us. Plenty of room, good service, high-quality authentic food, and big portions at reasonable prices will always keep us returning for more.
This article appears in May 13 • 2005.
