3407 McKinney Ave.
214.979.2424
Who to know: Owner Susie Bui isn’t a trained chef
— but one would never know from her complex menu of Vietnamese-meets-Brazilian
cuisine. (Chinese BBQ ribs and chicken empanadas, anyone?) She hails from a
long line of family members who have handled both the keys and the spatulas at
their own establishments.
From my notebook: Ask for table number 25,
the one centered in the front windows … Share the following: Feijoada, a dish
of black beans simmered with pork, served with jasmine rice and collard greens
($8); Thai panang curry chicken dumplings ($7); spinach, mozzarella and
portabello empanadas ($6.50); and the cilantro and jalapeno shrimp rolls
($8.50) … To wash all that deliciousness down, sip on hot chrysanthemum flower
tea or Vietnamese drip coffee … I liked the simple and neutral wood furnishings
from IKEA and West Elm, selected by Bui and friend John Paul Valverde … If the restaurant were an astrological sign,
it would be a Gemini — a light-filled, white-washed space during the day but
dark and moody in the evening. “At night,” says Bui, “it has a Bossa Nova
feel.”