Gastronomic Adventures
Eddie and I decided that tonight would be a good night to shamelessly gorge ourselves on Taco Bell and KFC, but fate had other plans for us.
We were buzzing down Westford Street when we went past Amae, a new Vietnamese restaurant in Lowell.
“Ooh! Want to try something different?” Ed says. Off we go. We — well, I — nearly caused a three-car pileup banging an illegal and highly unwise U-turn… but we got a spot right in front of the restaurant so the end justified the means.
Unlike many dressed up American-style asian fusion restaurants, Amae is the real deal, offering things like Pho, Glass Noodle soup, and a host of different seafood dishes in a fun atmosphere. Vietnamese television shows play on in the background, families come to enjoy authentic family-style Vietnamese dishes, and there is a GIANT SQUEEZE BOTTLE of tastebud-eradicating Hot Chili sauce on the table. Where can you go wrong?
*** Funny story about the Scoville punishment factor of Vietnamese food… My mom has a co-worker from Vietnam who eats possibly the hottest chicken and rice on the planet. Every time she sits with him for lunch, he digs into a giant dish of the stuff and about ten minutes in, says, “Jeez. My wife. I think she trying to *kill* me.” My mom always asks “Well then, why do you eat it?!” He mops his brow with a napkin, smiles and then says, “Cuz it GOOOOD.” ***
A quick look through the menu offered many choices for dinner. Ed decided on something tame - crispy chicken and rice.
I went for something a little more adventurous. I started out with spring rolls - not those sissy deep-fried things you get at the local Jade, but soft rice-paper rolls filled with shrimp, basil, lettuce, glass noodles, and something I couldn’t identify that tasted pretty good!
Things took a different turn at the main course. I decided on Clay Pot Pork… which is basically sliced pork simmered in scallions and a savory pepper sauce, served with white rice. When I ordered, our very sweet waitress gave me a sympathetic and hesitant look. “You sure? You probably won’t like it. Umm… It Vietnamese. It… smell.” She then complimented me on my jewelry, a diamond pendant with “Ai”, the Kanji symbol for love. She knew a little Mandarin, she said. I think she was trying to distract me into sticking with something more tame. Undeterred, I ordered it anyway. She gave me the three-second pause to back out of the deal, then went off to fill our order.
It’s possible she ran back to the kitchen to tell them to make the tourist version of “Clay Pot Pork” for the ridiculous girl who had made a horrible error in judgment, but whatever came out of that kitchen was damned delicious! The pork was cooked perfectly, wasn’t cuss-inducing spicy (although Ed did manage to wipe some chili sauce on my tongue and almost send me to the hospital.) She was still a little worried that I didn’t like it until her second visit back when I’d nearly wiped it out, and said I’d order it again. Ed nearly sent them to the store to restock on chili sauce, so a good meal was had by all. We wrapped it up with a Vietnamese version of miso soup, made with flatleaf parsley and morels.
Beside the food, the thing that charmed us most about the place was the sheer friendliness of the new owners. They were obviously in love with the place, and were thrilled that at 7 o’clock on a Monday night, the restaurant was bustling with families. Both of the owners came by to chat for a minute, making sure the meal was good and that we had everything we needed. We chatted a little about the lounge area (they’re still waiting on the liquor license - hop to it, Lowell!!) and how excited they were to finally be open for business. Just the personal attention to your visit is reason to stop by again soon!
3 Responses to “Gastronomic Adventures”
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Pho Da Lat … and uhh the other Pho place on Pawtucket St. both have my thumbs up! … I’ll have to check the new place out, I love Pho.
Ooo that sounds quite tasty. I love Veitnamese food…
It was great.. the girl’s expression when she told me their food was smelly was PRICELESS. Score one point for brutal self-evaluation.