I'll be Bac

I grew up in a town that only had one extremely Americanized Chinese Restaurant, but I would come to Cleveland often to visit my Aunt who was a regular at Minh Anh.  I have nothing but fond memories of meals at Minh Anh, my aunt chatting it up with Van and my first tastes of Vietnamese food. It was so different than anything I had ever had that it quickly became my favorite food. Today, I still find many people who have not tried Vietnmese food. I imagine it can be intimidating to examine a menu that is completely alien to you, which is why I have so often overheard people order from the standard Americanized section of the menu and totally missing out. Thankfully, Bac Nguyen, who grew up in his families restaurant, Minh Anh, is bringing those flavors to his own restaurant, Bac in Tremont. Bac is exactly where I would take someone to introduce them to Vietnamese food.

I was so impressed with the Coconut Milk Crepe. It reminds me very much of the crepes at Minh Anh that come in a giant order. This was a nice size portion and a good way to get a little taste of this traditional Vietnamese dish, which is one of my favorites.

Another extremely well done traditional dish is the Green Papaya Salad. Shredded papaya may sound a little out there, but it so incredibly refreshing. My lunch date ordered it, but I could not stop eating it. You'll find this dish at just about any Vietnamese restaurant.

I have an pork obsession so I started with the Pork Buns. These are a must try snack. You get your pick of meat, but this pork was cooked so perfectly that I highly recommend trying it. Buns are some of my favorite food. All the flavors of a banh mi packed into a fluffy little steamed bun.

Due to my pork obsession I also got the Pork Rangoon. Pork and cream cheese...I'll be bac! So good! This a great place to order a bunch of apps and chill out on the patio.

Bac has a great drink menu as well. Lots of sake, beers, wine and fun cocktails. I had a refreshing Pimm's Cup, one of my favorite summer cocktails.

I just left and I already can't wait to go back. Whether you want to try some traditional Vietnamese dishes like the crepes and papaya salad or some tasty pork apps like the buns or rangoon, you won't regret a trip to Bac.

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Mad Good Peppers

Last Friday was the perfect weather for dining outdoors. We headed over to Stone Mad Pub to check out their beautiful stone patio. The booths are actually made of stone and covered with nice little cushions to keep it comfy.

We grabbed a few cocktails as we waited to get a spot outside. My date ordered his favorite cocktail, an Old Fashioned. He has been trying them all over town. This was a fun one with mashed oranges and cherries at the bottom. I picked out the Charles Dickens. It was the perfect patio drink. It was refreshing and sweet with a great ginger flavor.

We wanted to try a lot of different things so we went with ordering appetizers and sides.

We started with the BBQ Shrimp appetizer. The grill and pancetta gave it a smoky flavor and I loved the sweet Guinness BBQ sauce.

I adore brussel sprouts and this is most certainly my favorite way to eat them...with bacon. The side of Curried Cream Corn was my favorite dish! I have never had anything like it. It had all the buttery and creamy aspects of cream corn with a mild curry taste. I just wanted to drink it!

I highly recommend the stuffed peppers. They used a nice spicy pepper. It is stuffed with a lovely rice and sausage mixture and there was a nice crispy texture to the rice. It all worked very well with the sauce, which was excellent.

Since we just loved hanging out on the patio we finished up with a few beer cocktails and enjoyed the atmosphere. This place is beautiful inside and out.

Check out Stone Mad Pub: They don't have a website, but you can see inside on Google Maps! Facebook Twitter