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| - There used to be a tiny little fast food Vietnamese joint on 6th Street and Mill that banged out pho for cheap, cheap, cheap that I used to frequent all the time. Unfortunately the ingredients reflected the price, they never so much as purchased a sign, and it ended up going out of business in less than a year.
I can only cross my fingers and hope that the same doesn't go for Dragonfly Vietnamese Kitchen. The original is wicked fantastic and located in Mesa that has been around for a couple years and consistently produces some great pho (tripe and tendon anyone?), papaya salad and noodle dishes I have ever had. And at this new location they've created a sleek, urban eatery that fits right in with the rest of the locations on Mill Avenue, but manages to trump them in every respect. (Price, service, ambiance, and of course, the FOOD.)
Dragonfly just opened a week ago and has a large banner instead of a sign advertising their presence, but judging by the lunch time crowd, word of mouth has really worked for this place. Their lunch time specials are impressive, with offerings of papaya salad, spring bowls, rice plates, several types of pho and Vietnamese sandwiches with soup or ginger vinaigrette dressed greens as a side for a humble...wait for it...$7.50. I'm still baffled at how they can offer such plentiful, healthy, delicious food at such a reasonable price.
The soup of the day was Dungeness crab and asparagus soup, and there was no way I was passing up crab soup for a measly salad. It was such a good decision to go with double soup (pho and soup du jour) because it was peppered broth with HUGE chunks of real crab, asparagus, mushrooms and baby corn that was out of this world! We ordered the spring rolls as well, which were also HUGE with poached pork and shrimp, vermicelli noodles, mint, lettuce, bean sprouts, and cucumbers wrapped in rice paper and served with some of the best spicy peanut sauce I have ever had. The soup and spring rolls would have made a perfectly adequate lunch, but once the pho arrived, I dropped everything for this brothy delight.
It was served in a HUGE (picking up on the trend here?) square bowl with thin slivered beef, vermicelli, and scallions and garnished with bean sprouts, lime wedges, fresh mint, jalapenos, sriracha chili sauce, hoisin sauce and soy sauce. Any combination of these additional ingredients will result in a savory concoction that can help you nurse a cold or open your sinuses, all while warming you to the core. It's fresh, healthy, light and scrumptious! I can see myself eating her very, very often in the future, and straying from my usual order of pho to branch out and try other things on their menu, all of which are still reasonably priced for a Mill Avenue joint (FUCKING SUCK IT BOA!) at 8 to 12 bucks an entree. I would also highly recommend the fresh squeezed limeade, made with sparkling seltzer water instead of still, which was a refreshing spritz of flavor. They also have a full bar, a must for Mill Avenue joint.
The outdoor patio is surrounded by a pretty twisted wrought iron canopy exit at the front of the store and will offer a lovely dining experience since the weather has started to cool down. Inside the restaurant, the color scheme (green, white, plum and black) and ambiance create a fresh, vibrant, urban feel with large bamboo fixtures nested in beds of smooth black rocks. After talking to our server we were also informed that they hope to have a mellow live musical act in the middle of the restaurant in the near future for diners to enjoy.
The service was also AMAZING! Prompt, friendly, easy on the eyes, and attentive. The food was ready lightening fast (almost too quickly considering our first courses, but I can see how the speed is great for getting people on a lunch break in and out) and the waiter was charming, making sure we got everything we could possibly need at lightening speed.
I really, really, REALLY hope this place does well because I want to become a regular here. So go check it out and support a local business rather than a shitty chain on Mill Avenue. I can only hope more of these gems continue to pepper this ever increasing stretch of vapid consumerism, so I don't end up feeling like a corporate whore after my meal. Don't want to taint a dining experience this good with whoredom.
*****UPDATE*****
They have happy hour specials now from 3pm to 7pm! Half price appetizers: Tamarind chicken wings, lettuce wraps, crispy shrimp wontons, hoisin glazed spare ribs, and Vietnamese salt 'n pepper calamari! Domestic bottles 2 bucks, Imports for only a buck more, top shelf well drinks for 5 bucks, and house wine for 3 bucks.
Thursday through Saturday they have live jazz on the patio from 7pm to 10pm. Best thing of all? They extend their happy hour appetizer and drink specials to their customers during this time. So you could eat and drink cheaply anytime between 3pm and 10pm Thursday and Friday! AWESOME!
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