Photo by Kevin A. Roberts
Wok-seared vegetables inside a seven-pointed star cut from pressed, fried noodles
One of the better places on the strip of Asian restaurants along Olive Boulevard is the one that’s hardest to see. Dao Tien Bistro has an address on Olive, but it’s most accessible via McKnight Road. It’s inside a two-tiered strip mall that seems to go through a new incarnation every decade or so. Before Dao Tien moved in about four years ago, the space housed a soul-food restaurant, a kosher restaurant, The Daily Bread bakery, and a Dairy Queen.
Pho is a good benchmark to measure Vietnamese restaurants, and slurping the special beef one (pho dac biet) at Dao Tien is not unlike savoring a complex wine. Green onions are dropped in when it’s served, providing an enticing aroma to complement the meat-studded broth. The diner can then amplify the scents and flavors by choosing from a side dish of ingredients: lime, jalapeño, basil, and the less-common culantro, which has a flavor that’s similar to but more pronounced than the herb for which it appears to be a typo.
Each dive into the broth of the special pho rewards adventurous eaters. Your eating utensils might bring up a still-rare slice of beef, a hunk of flank steak, or a richly flavored meatball. Just as likely, they’ll emerge with a rubber band–like tendon or a honeycomb of tripe, both of which will have absorbed and enhanced the broth’s flavor. (If the exotic proteins weird you out, there are multiple pho choices with the more recognizable stuff.)
As with the pho, the special versions of other dishes allow you to overcome indecisiveness by having every available protein added to the dish. The special pan-fried rice noodles (hu tieu ap chao thap cam) have shrimp, beef, pork, and chicken, along with bean sprouts, baby corn, carrots, cilantro, broccoli, and cabbage. But the noodles steal the show, fried into a thin patty, then cut into triangles and arranged as the points of a star on the plate. Slightly crisp but still soft, they serve as a perfect collector of the sauce.
Like many Vietnamese restaurants, Dao Tien offers menu choices that run into the hundreds, although many are simply main-ingredient variants on the same preparation. We had luck picking some of the one-of-a-kind dishes. Bo luc lac, also known as “shaking beef” (so-called because of how the pan is handled while cooking it), has a generous portion of gambling dice–size cubes of tender beef in a slightly sweet sauce that carries the residual tang of Vietnamese fish sauce. Salted pepper shrimp (tom rang muoi) had those two primary flavors embedded in a light breading, with a supporting cast of fresh and fried onions, cilantro, cucumber, tomato, and jalapeño.
Compared to the main menu, the appetizer list is a quick read, with fried egg rolls, five types of rice paper–wrapped spring and summer rolls, and the somewhat incongruous additions of calamari and chicken wings.
The staff always seems to be overjoyed when customers walk in the door, a trait that was no doubt instilled by owner Diane Bui, who formerly worked at Asia restaurant at Lumière Place. Next time you’re looking for a good Vietnamese meal in U. City, keep your eyes peeled for Dao Tien.
The Bottom Line: Go for full flavors, herbalaromas, and friendly service at this family-run Vietnamese bistro.
8600 Olive
University City
314-995-6960
Lunch and dinner Tue–Sun
Average Main Course: $12
Reservations: They’re accepted, but they aren’t necessary.
Acoustics: The noise is moderate, and it’s louder with several large parties in the house.
Chef: Diane Bui
