Delicious History

The University of South Florida is happily announcing the opening of the new student center and some eateries there, but it is more of the same.  I was especially disappointed by Beef O’ Brady’s.  Stick to the wings, Beef people.   I prefer to spend my money at independent restaurants, and there are none to be found at USF.

Nothing on campus comes close to Pho Quyen, an excellent Vietnamese restaurant just across 30th street. A little farther down Fowler Avenue, Trang Viet Cuisine paved the way, introducing Tampa to Vietnamese food in the early 1990s. They are among the best Vietnamese restaurants in the Tampa Bay metro region. My only complaint is that deciding where to eat can be difficult. In the USF area, that is a great problem to have.

Over the years, I’ve eaten at and evaluated both of the restaurants many times. They might not have known it, but both restaurants have waged a great struggle to win my business. I’m the best five customers they have. Here then is a review of the bout, all ten championship rounds of it. I will score the individual rounds, but there is no point in declaring a winner or loser. I love both restaurants, and the struggle for my constituency continues.

Trang Viet opened up his namesake restaurant in the early 1990s, long before most people in Tampa knew the first thing about Vietnamese food. He wisely honed his menu for the conservative, squeamish American palate, leaving the beef tendons and tripe out of his pho, and offered a myriad of vegetarian and vegan dishes. Pho Quyen doesn’t pull as many punches. The food is more saucy, spicy, and robust, while Trang’s relies less on seasoning. Both approaches are perfectly delicious, and are largely a question of mood. Trang’s very reasonable lunch specials are tough to resist, about $6.50-$7 for soup, appetizer, and entree. A friend of mine sometimes says that Trang’s portions aren’t quite big enough. But at prices that low, one could easily order two lunch specials for under $15. Sometimes we do just that.

Round 1: Service and ambiance

Trang’s boasts the most attentive and helpful service. Trang himself is a treasure, and answers questions, suggests wine pairings, helps plan special meals, and sometimes gives away free portions of his latest kitchen creations. Pho Quyen’s service is usually fine. But the restaurant is rather sprawling, and the servers are responsible for too many tables. It can be especially difficult to get water or drinks refilled. In a state as hot as Florida, the kindness of a cold drink should not be underestimated.

There is little point in comparing the ambiance of the competitors, as they are both in plain strip malls, but I find Trang’s more airy and pleasant, especially during the day. Still, Pho Quyen has one major advantage: booths. Winner: Trang.

Round 2: Rolls

Pho Quyen’s rolls (above) are excellent.  The fried spring rolls stand out.  Don’t forget the veggies on the side.  I like to wrap a roll in lettuce with the shredded carrot and jicama.

While I prefer Pho Quyen’s spring rolls, Trang offers three other seasons to choose from.  The autumn (bottom) and winter rolls (top) are my favorites.  The autumn roll’s hot grilled shrimp and pork are paired with cool lettuce, herbs, and pineapple.  The winter roll is both light and hearty, with shredded jicama salad, eggs, sausage, and ground peanuts.  Winner: Trang

Round 3: Appetizers

In the realm of appetizers, Trang has distinct advantages, and his salads are just the beginning.  Pho Quyen has a nice meatball appetizer with tomato sauce and French bread.  Trang offers better appetizers, including his Four Seasons platter, stuffed chicken wings, pork and coconut milk, and calamari.

Among Trang’s most elegant and spicy appetizers are the mussels with a chili and basil sauce.  In this dish, Trang has married his most delicate sensibilities with his spiciest sauce.

Trang’s steamed bun is very simple, with a sweet dough surrounding sausage, ground shrimp and pork, and boiled egg.  This Vietnamese nod to China is essential.

Contrary to my expectations, the buns even look good when torn apart.  Winner: Trang.

Round 4: Pho

In the realm of Pho, Pho Quyen lives up to its namesake dish.  Trang’s is almost too delicate.

Pho Quyen’s broth is more robust and laced with herbs.  The huge bowl is a meal in itself, but based on flavor alone, winner: Pho Quyen.

Round 5: Other Soup

I’ve always enjoyed Trang’s Hieu Thieu wonton soup’s subtle tones of roasted garlic and the luxurious simplicity of his seafood soup.

Once again, however, Pho Quyen has shown its aptitudes with soup.  The flavor of the curried chicken soup (above) is excellent, and the potato chunks make it especially satisfying.  I haven’t had a bad soup at either place, but Pho Quyen’s consistently have more flavor. Winner: Pho Quyen

Round 6: Noodle bowls

You can’t go wrong at either restaurant.

At Trang, the beef with lemongrass is a favorite vermicelli bowl for me.  While it didn’t photograph well, it makes a fine meal.

At Pho Quyen, the grilled shrimp is a real treat, as are the dehydrated onions that garnish every bowl.

The grilled pork and fried spring rolls (above) make for an indulgent bowl.  The pork has especially good flavor.  Bowls with curried chicken bring a more gentle flavor to the proceedings.  Winner: Pho Quyen.

Round 7: Fried Rice

I try to avoid fried rice, but my friend Peterton Crackers is all about it, and I respect his opinion on matters of food.  When asked which restaurant’s he preferred, he answered without hesitation, “Trang’s,” where it is lighter, less greasy, with a better flavor overall.  For an interesting take on fried rice, try Trang’s “Emperor’s Coat,” a tasty combination fried rice covered in a thin blanket of fried egg.  The sausage adds a note of sweetness.  Winner: Trang

Round 8: Vegetarian

Trang has focused a lot of his creative energy on his vegetarian and vegan menus, and cultivated a sizeable meatless clientele.  Although Pho Quyen has its own humble vegetarian section of the menu, it cannot compete with Trang’s diverse offerings.  I can’t say I’ve sampled heavily from any vegetarian menu anywhere, but I’ve had a few of Trang’s meatless options, and they are good.  Winner: Trang.

Round 9: Entrees

This is the toughest category.  Both restaurants shine in the entree department, and the entrees I’ve featured here exemplify the individual style of each place.

The best I’ve had yet at Pho Quyen is the beef with lemongrass and peppers (above).  The sauce is quite spicy, and almost seems Chinese in preparation, even if the spicing is more Vietnamese.  This signature taste is served with other meats as well.  Highly recommended.

Trang’s kitchen is more inventive, with great original dishes. Just try his shrimp sauce over rice noodles some time, his answer to spaghetti and marinara. His version is so light, fragrant and bright that it defies description.  Winner: too close to call.

Round 10: Drinks and desserts

Both restaurants serve a variety of strange Vietnamese beverages, but Trang takes this category with his fried banana dessert: rolled in coconut, wrapped in spring roll skin, and topped with tapioca and ground peanuts.  It tastes delicious wiuthout being too sweet.  Winner: Trang

But this is not the end of this epic conflict.  The struggle for my considerable patronage continues into the championship rounds.  The ultimate winner is anybody’s guess, but these first ten rounds have been a joy to behold.  Please give a round of applause for our Vietnamese pugilists— they are among the very best in the Tampa Bay area.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 11:44 pm and is filed under Restaurant Reviews, University of South Florida area dining. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.