On Friday night, Shannon had a hankering for some Asian food, so we decided to check out Elizabeth Street Café on South 1st. Elizabeth Street Café was created by the same culinary geniuses behind Perla’s and Lambert’s, and we had high expectations based on reviews from friends. We weren’t disappointed.
The idea behind Elizabeth Street is Vietnamese-French, which is a type of fusion that’s based on the Indochine days when France colonized Vietnam. Although my overall impression of Elizabeth Street is that the menu’s mostly Asian, there were definitely some French twists mixed in that I’ll discuss later in this post.
The place is very popular, as we had about a 30 minute wait despite it being a rainy Friday night. But Elizabeth Street has a great patio replete with heaters, and the 
outdoor beverage/appetizer service made the wait roll by quickly. The restaurant offers beer, wine, and sake, along with an assortment of “punches” that are made from different mixtures of these drinks. We stuck with the beer, as Shannon enjoyed a Samuel Smith Organic Ale, while I opted for a Chimay Red. For a snack, we shared an order of the shrimp spring rolls, which were accompanied by three delicious sauces (sweet chili vinegar, peanut, and ginger-jalapeno. Besides the shrimp, the spring rolls were filled with avocado, bean sprouts, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime zest. We thoroughly enjoyed this flavorful starting dish.
Soon, our names were called and we entered the actual restaurant, which was buzzing with the noise of diners enjoying their food. In a small space with densely packed chairs and specials featured on a chalkboard, the place definitely had more of a café vibe than your typical Asian restaurant. As evidence of the hipness of this spot, we saw Ben Kweller arrive with some friends. We had just seen Kweller play a concert for his new album, Go Fly a Kite, at the Beauty Ballroom the Friday before, so it was interesting to see him in a different setting. And two tables down, we saw one of Shannon’s friends from work.
Shannon and I decided to share a “banh-mi,” which is a house-baked baguette with mayonnaise and assorted vegetables along with a choice of filling. We selected the grilled lemongrass tofu and mushrooms. It turned out to be a terrific dish, and this was definitely one of the French-influenced options on the menu. The banh-mi was like an awesome toasted sandwich, with the lemongrass tofu imparting some Eastern flavors. The tofu had the texture of grilled eggplant, and we both thought it tasted excellent.
Next, we each opted for a bowl of pho (flat-rice noodle soup). Shannon chose a vegetable broth with mushrooms, radish tops, organic tofu, and broccoli rabe. Meanwhile, I had a pork broth with pork belly, meatballs, and a soft-boiled egg. Although we both enjoyed the dishes, we were surprised by the lack of flavor of the broth when it was first brought out. However, the bowls were accompanied by a plate of garden herbs, bean sprouts, jalapeno, and lime. These additions, along with four table sauces, could be used to add as much flavor as you want to the relatively bland broth. The actual noodles and meats in my pho were very satisfying, and I thought that the egg imparted an excellent flavor to the dish. Shannon also was happy with her pho after she added the right amount of sauces.
We very much enjoyed our first experience at Elizabeth Street. Although it’s more expensive than most Asian-style restaurants in the city, it’s cheaper than comparable upscale dining spots. Given the hip vibe, good drinks, and unique food, we’ll definitely be returning again soon.
