Vientiane Café: Can't Not Love It

There are a few dishes that I can’t not order when they appear on a menu and green papaya salad is one of them. The salad is made with unripe, green papaya, which has a very mild flavor and, not unlike tofu, readily takes on the flavors of its seasoning. The green papaya is shredded and has a nice crunch to it, with a texture akin to that of fresh carrots. Tossed in a simple dressing of lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar, it’s a culinary lesson in less-is-more. And I can’t get enough of it.

Last week my friend Leg of Lamb Boy and I hit up our neighborhood Laotian restaurant, Vientiane Café, for an upscale but still frugal dinner. We kicked off the meal, of course, with their Green Papaya Salad ($7). Instead of cherry tomatoes, Vientiane combined the shredded papaya with chopped plum tomatoes; these have a more concentrated flavor and therefore weren’t overwhelmed by the dressing, which struck a pleasant balance of spicy and sweet and had a nice acidity to it. Without a doubt, it’s the best green papaya salad I’ve located on either side of the Schuylkill.

We also ordered the Coconut Soup ($5), which tempers the flavors of galanga root, kafir lime leaves and lemon grass—the same trio used to flavor the Tom Yum soup—with coconut milk. The soup tasted watered down to me but Leg of Lamb Boy said he preferred it that way. I guess there’s no accounting for taste…

In contrast, I am happy to report that the Homemade Sausages ($11) nearly trumped the green papaya salad victory. My former roommate, Picklin’ n’ Bakin’ Lady, used to rave about them so when I started eating meat again this fall—after no less than a fourteen-year sabbatical—I put these sausages near the top of my To Eat list. And what homage to lemongrass they were! Seasoned also with fresh cilantro, the sausages were pan fried until crispy on the outside while the pork filling remained incredibly moist and sweet. Truth is, I think Thai sausages have joined the short list of dishes I can’t not order when they appear on a menu.

Vientiane Café
4728 Baltimore Avenue
Dinner and Lunch, closed between 3pm-5pm and Sundays
BYOB