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| - In my ongoing quest to find the best green papaya salad in Madison, I found this place by happenstance through a State Journal article on local ethnic grocery stores. The article mentioned that while the front of the store was a southeast Asian market, there was also a small deli in the back with a number of reasonably priced specialty foods. I headed over there the other day to see how it fared compared to similar restaurants in the Madison area. While some items were a miss, others were a delicious reason to return for more.
I was greeted upon entering the store, and headed straight for the back. While there was nobody behind the counter for the first minute or two, I realized I was the only white person there, which my Vietnamese friends tell me is a good sign of quality Vietnamese food (and, frankly, I'm inclined to agree). Soon enough, a sweet older woman showed up and took my order. While some items were ready to go, others she made from scratch on the spot. Although it took longer than I was expecting from a deli experience, it was worth the wait. I ordered one pork sausage ($3), an order of pho (sm - $5.95, lg - $6.95) (my favorite metric of good Vietnamese food is pho broth), two stuffed chicken wings ($2 ea.), beef laab ($5), and - of course - the green papaya salad ($5). All in all, it took approximately 20-30 minutes for her to make and pack up all of my food, but it was packed well and no spills occurred on the way home. If you do want to eat there, a few tables and chairs are set up near a TV next to the deli counter.
The pork sausage smelled amazing the entire way home, so it was the first thing I tried. It did not disappoint. While a bit greasy (which is kind of unavoidable with pork sausage), it was flavorful and delicious. The stuffed chicken wings, one of their most popular items due to their labor-intensive nature (de-boning a chicken wing while keeping the skin intact is not for the impatient), were phenomenal. They had been sitting in a hot case, which made me worried that they'd dry out. I needn't have worried, as the extra fat in the skin kept the filling most and delicious. The skin was crispy and perfectly golden-brown, and crackled as I bit into it. The filling - which appeared to be vermicelli noodles with chives - perfectly complemented the tender chicken meat. I could probably eat a thousand of these after a few beers, and highly recommend them for any football party. The laab was a bit salty, and the apparently-raw onions overwhelmed the other flavors, so I don't see myself ordering it again, although I can see how others would like it. I'd recommend ordering a side of sticky rice with it, though, because it's *very* strongly-flavored. The pho broth was a bit more heavy on the cinnamon/anise flavors than I usually like, but the helping was generous. The woman had packed the broth separately from the meat, noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro, and basil, so when I combined them at home it tasted just as fresh as it would have in a restaurant. This was a smart idea on her part. The green papaya salad, while better than others I've had, was lacking some sweetness and acidity to balance out the fish sauce. If I order it again, I'll make sure to have some pineapple chunks on hand to make it taste better.
All in all, there were some hits and some misses, but everything was reasonably-priced and the service was warm and efficient. I'll definitely be returning for more of those phenomenal stuffed chicken wings and sausage.
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