11:35AM, 3/4/2023
A bit of an aside here, I was just about to hit publish on this post when I realized my blunder. I’ve already been here! It was #244 back in July 2016. Doh! Last time I got a sandwich, so this is slightly different. Same appetizer though, haha. Oh well, it gets a bonus post 😉
All this rain and chilly weather has had me craving a big hot bowl of soup, and I knew just what it needed to be. It’s been quite a while since I last had phở so I took a look at what Vietnamese spots around that I hadn’t been to yet. DT Noodle stood out to me, right over on Foothills at Junction, to the left of the CA Family Fitness. I headed over at around 11:30AM on Saturday and just barely had stepped inside before the rain started falling again.
DT Noodle was first out in Lincoln, years ago. I was aware of it at the time because it was next door to the Beach Hut that I went to often. I’m not sure when but they’ve since moved out here to Roseville. The dining room is simple – a boxy room with a small counter at the very back where you can pick up orders and pay. There isn’t much in the way of decoration, but one thing that caught my eye were the overhead lights. They turned what would otherwise be a pretty boring drop ceiling and fluorescent lights into something interesting by replacing the lenses with photos of waterfalls and schools of fish. This had the effect of giving the room a slight greenish tint.
I was greeted as soon as I entered and asked if I was picking up or dining in, then pointed to a table along the wall where I was met with a menu. At the time there were just a couple tables seated, but it picked up a bit before I left with both dine-in and pick-up traffic. I skimmed over the appetizers and picked out some spring rolls before turning to the full page of phở options. I recall the first time I tried it I got it with everything, rare beef, flank steak, brisket, tendon, tripe and meatball. Since then I’ve kept it to one or two meats. I think I just like a simpler bowl. Today I settled on rare beef and meat balls (Tai, Bo VIen)[$15.50].
Once my order was in I received the little plate of mint, bean sprouts and jalapeño slices along with my beverage, just a water today. A few minutes later and my shrimp and steamed pork spring rolls arrived (Goi Cuon Tom Thit)[$9.95]. They came with the usual brown peanut sauce, garnished with crumbled peanuts. These were wrapped up nicely and held together with little effort to the last bite. They were nice, fresh and had a satisfying crunch to them underneath the soft rice paper roll. I vacuumed up all the delicious sauce with three of these over the course of my visit.
Only a few minutes after the rolls came my phở. A big, steaming hot of clear-ish beef broth, loaded up with green and white onions, cilantro, quartered meat balls and several slices of rare beef, the latter of which was quickly cooking and turning from pink to gray in the hot bowl. Underneath all this was a nice portion of those wonderful, thin, delicate rice noodles.
I dug in, at first taking several bites without adding any condiments. It was piping hot, warming and deliciously subtle. Eventually I dropped some sprouts in, the jalapeños and some lime squeezed from the wedge provided. Later yet I threw in some hoisin for a bit of sweet and salty flavor. Without the spring rolls I would probably opt for extra noodles in this. The meat is a nice texture departure from the noodles but I don’t think they add a whole lot else to the soup. I still enjoy having it in there though.
I didn’t come close to finishing the broth today and left one spring roll behind. I left quite full and satisfied with a tasty meal, so mission accomplished. Although nothing particularly notable jumped out for me here, it was solid and I’ll probably come back when I’m craving this comforting bowl of goodness.
Eating Through Roseville 