The Monday Morning Report

Hey, I tried out Ngon Vietnamese Bistro this weekend (http://www.ngonbistro.com). This is such a fresh, bright place. Yellow walls and white curtains, modern art and photos. Clean, crisp flavors in their lemon grass beef wraps, and Phos, and traditional Vietnamese noodle salads.

DARA MOSKOWITZ GRUMDAHL of City Pages writes of Ngon's Pho:
"I have had so many bowls of pho that were just watery aquariums where low-cost ingredients go to die that I feel beyond militant on the topic. . . . [but] when I had the great, the gorgeous, the gallopingly, gargantuanly gratifying beef pho at the new Ngon Vietnamese Bistro in Frogtown, I wished to take a thousand bowls of it with me, fill a thousand Super Soaker water guns with it, and just rampage. Take that, lesser pho vendors—splat! When you try this pho, you will feel the same way: Ngon Bistro serves the best beef pho I've ever had. The broth is what does it—it's potent, hauntingly spiced and sweet, rich and beefy brown, onion-touched and herbal, peppery and anise-scented. In short, it's as complex and richly nuanced as a wedding, as dark and unforgettable as a divorce, but far quicker than either to get through. You gotta try it."

If you're close to St. Paul, go to the corner of University and Avon. It's on the north side, with parking just to the east of the corner building. You should go right after work, when you're all worn out from the monotony of this back-to-work Monday, and fill up on some Pho, then take a long, relaxing walk along the Mississippi River Blvd. You'll forget you've got Tuesday coming right on your heels.

Here are some links to Ngon Bistro restaurant reviews and info:

http://www.rakemag.com/restaurant/Saint+Paul/Ngon+Vietnamese+Bistro/2130

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/381260

http://citypages.com/databank/28/1386/article15591.asp