Lunch at Pho Hoang Anh

In the mood for Vietnamese, I picked up my friend Ann from her office on Florida Boulevard and headed east to Baton Rouge’s tight concentration of pho joints. It was a Tuesday, and Pho Quynh was closed (their Tuesday habit). Also closed was Café Dang (12385 Florida Blvd.). Hmmm. Foiled, we turned around, then spotted, Pho Hoang Anh (12021 Florida, Suite D), a tiny dive tucked in a gone-to-seed mini-mall perpendicular to Florida. In other words, easy to miss. The place had all the trappings of authenticity, so in we went.

At around 1 p.m., we were the only ones there. But a table for six near the Spartan front was set and sported a plate of several whole roasted fish with a requisite pile of lettuce, sprouts and herbs. A short while later, a group of chattering young friends arrived and bellied up to the table.

We started with banh xeo, or Vietnamese crispy crepe, which consisted of a soft, rice flour crepe the size of a large dinner plate folded and filled with tiny bits of pork, shrimp and lots of bean sprouts. Sides of lettuce and mint leaves are meant to be torn and wrapped around morsels of crepe. Then you dip the whole bite in nuoc mam, or fish sauce. Deelish. We also tried the shrimp and pork spring rolls, something I just can’t get enough of with their spongy skin, toothy innards and peanut sauce.

My standard order, the bun tom cha gio thit nuong, was best such version I’ve had in town. A pile of rice vermicelli is topped with grilled skewered shrimp, grilled hunks of pork and sliced egg rolls. Ann ordered egg noodles in a savory sauce topped with stir-fried veggies, shrimp, chicken and pork. Solid, but not as good as the vermicelli.

There are nearly 80 menu items and the service was good. Interesting little find. Open daily. Reach them at 275-1113.