Vietnamese in San Antonio

The Skinny Careful selection will yield dependable cuisine at this SA Broadway staple. Don’t miss the special lotus-root salad, and marvel at the fine wine selection.

While whisking trays of Vietnamese crepes, steaming rice, and iced tea to a dining room full of lunchers, my waitress talks like another food fan: "Isn't that wonderful? I love it," or "It's nice to see somebody enjoying his lunch, taking his time." One of the nice things about Viet-Nam's menu is the English pronunciations included for most entrees, which means you can order phó (faw), the beef noodle soup, instead of "foe." Everything is numbered, so the less-adventurous can order a "55" and avoid stumbling over "ech x·o lan" (frog legs). While Viet-Nam's phó (No. 59, $5.50) is rich and more than a meal, this lunch my condiment tray was skimpy and limited experimentation. Viet-Nam's oil content, in most of the dishes I tried at least, is a little high, but in a town where chicken fried steak outpaces chicken Caesars, the amount is acceptable.;- John Brewer