L.A.’s Việt Kiều (Vietnamese diaspora) are incomparable forces who are making some of the city’s most thrilling dishes today. They take risks; they are deeply resourceful thanks to their upbringings; and best of all, they take full advantage of California's fresh seasonal bounty.
These locals go beyond the usual nods to Chinese (like congee) and French cooking (as in the beef stew known as pot-au-feu) that are often referenced in Vietnamese cuisine to add a sense of reinvention and introspection to what it means to cook Vietnamese food in the U.S. at this moment. Inspired by their transnational, post-war upbringings, culinary ventures abroad, and L.A.’s rich food industry, their menus are curated with balanced exploration of our country’s multicultural food scene in mind, using paratha as pliable conveyors for chicken liver patê and replacing sticky rice’s customary mango slices with succulent nuggets of durian.
Here are eight spots that are gloriously evolving Vietnamese American cuisine in L.A.