Thursday, August 30, 2012

Portland Restaurant: Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen

Doug and I try to get together with Shaun and Krystle, our friends from college, every other month or so for dinner or happy hour. Krystle and I lived together for a year and captained our college dance team together- so I know a thing or two about her eating habits.

There are two rules for choosing restaurants for our get-togethers: 1) No sushi, Thai or anything too out-of-the-box. 2) A good deal is always appreciated.

A few weeks ago, Doug and I finally made it to Luc Lac and we were quite impressed with not only the quality of the food and drinks, but also the lovely combination of generous servings and excellent prices. Perfect choice for our double date with Shaun and Krystle!

What: Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen
Where: 835 SW 2nd Ave
Honeys Heart: Rice plate/vermicelli bowl

Our second visit did not disappoint!


 We started out with drinks. Yes, cocktails are on the pricier side- but they're made with unique ingredients, are super tasty, and with food at such reasonable prices, I don't feel bad about spending a few dollars more on booze.


Left: Krystle's Parasol Punch ($9) with rum, pho syrup, lime, and grapefruit syrup
Right: My Summer in Saigon ($10) with St. Germain, watermelon, lime, and kolsch
Not Pictured: Doug's Smoke & Mirrors ($11) with mezcal, Fernet Branca, cola and smoked salt

Love that my drink was so summery and fun- both in looks and taste. Krystle and Doug both enjoyed their drinks as well.

For food, Luc Lac serves salads, pho, and some other specialty plates, or you can choose your preferred meat served with rice, vermicelli noodles or as banh mi.


 Doug and Krystle tried the vermicelli bowl and rice plate (respectively) with Steak Rolls ($8.50), marinated round steak wrapped around grilled veggies. I had a rice bowl with Grilled Chicken skewers glazed with honey ($7.50).


Each rice plate and vermicelli bowl comes with salad, a dipping sauce, and two crispy rolls made with pork, taro, jimaca, carrots and noodles.

Shaun tried the Combination plate ($10) which comes with pork, chicken, shrimp, and pork sausage skewers and crispy rolls. So much meat! But don't think Shaun was complaining.

All the meats were so flavorful and the sheer amount of food you get is kind of amazing.

My honey-glazed chicken reminded me of skewers that our neighbors served during our annual street fair when I was growing up. I remember being kind of obsessed with them so I was happy to find something so reminiscent. I loved the shrimp skewers I had during our first visit too though so I'm not sure how I'll choose between the two on our next visit!