08/03/09

Great little asian bistro with a lot of character.

by Sheauen

I've been dabbling with the idea of trying Ginger Grass for a while. I heard it was a great place for Bun, Banh Mi, and Pho in the Silverlake area. Growing up Vietnamese Chinese I'm pretty picky about my those aforementioned dishes because homemade was always the best or living in the San Gabriel Valley and being driving distance to Little Saigon you could get authentic and good almost anytime.

I was prepared for a complete bastardization of Vietnamese cuisine but hoping for a good plate of Asian Fusion. Instead, I came away really impressed. I had the Noodle Bowl with Grilled Shrimp and Imperial Roll. It was 10.50!!! the Imperial roll addition cost $1.50 for a little tiny roll the size of my thumb. My grandma would lecture me firmly for even thinking about paying for something like that. However, the little imperial roll was well done. Reminded me of Grandma's freshly fried Cha Gio. The grilled shrimp was well marinated with definite lemongrass flavors. I suspect either the nuoc cham (dressing) or the shrimp had a bit of msg in it because an hour after eating the bowls my bf was passed out in a food coma and i got my typical msg headache induced coma an hour after he did. Not verifiable though...but suspicious.

We ordered the Gingergrass fresh rolls, which was a suped up summer roll, packed with avocado, crab, and a good amount of mint and/or basil. It was served with a mayo mixed with sambal, which i found a little weird. Too creamy for the rolls. I squirted some hoisin sauce and sirracha on the plate and it was much better with the rolls. I didn't want to ask for another sauce cuz the waitress seemd a bit overwhelmed despite the restaurant being only half full on a late Saturday afternoon. She brought our appetizers out after we halfway into our noodle bowls.

My boyfriend ordered their limeade. It was watered down. He loves a good soda chanh so was a bit disappointed with it. I ordered the gingergrass ginger ale, and it was very very gingery.

We saw people crunching on the shrimp chips which they sold by the bags. I LOVED shrimp chips growing up. My grandma would fry them in a big wok in our backyard, crispy, shrimpy, yummy! We bought a bag to take with us on a road trip, it didn't disappoint. Brings back the memories. At $1.50 a bag, by one of those instead of spending it on the imperial roll addition to your noodle bowl.

We gotta go back for dinner, try the pho and the claypot catfish, and their cocktails. (Oh yeah, we ordered the vietnamese coffee ice cream for dessert, creamy, fluffy, with a hint of coffee and served with best gingersnap cookies i've ever had.) I want to make my way down their dessert list too.

To sum up, I would go there to get my vietnamese fix without driving to westminster or san gabriel and know that i'm going to get well executed food. I woudln't take my mom or grandma there though. They'd be horrified with the prices. And, I'll probably drink a lot of water before and after just in case they do use msg.

• Pros: well executed food, relaxed but nice setting
• Cons: flaky service, they might use msg, pricey for what you get.

04/24/09

Slowly but surely, another one bites the dust

by Daniel333

I have never been compelled to write a review - until tonight - about Gingergrass. This restaurant has gotten my money and patronage since opening and used to be my favorite place to eat - fresh, tasty food, reasonable prices, nearby location, you know, all good stuff.

But never in my life have I personally witnessed a restaurant fall so far from grace, leaving me with only the hazy memory of its former glory.

First, the food is so saturated with a salty, saucy coating that most all the dishes taste the same... Now I am not a horse, but you may as well serve up a salt block, garnished with a sprig of alfalfa.

Second, there has recently been a mysterious shortage of rice. On several occasions I've been told they were out of rice, and would I like something else? Certainly not! I am Asian, and I need rice with my Asian food! Whoever takes charge of rice I deem unfit for Asian food service till the end of time.

Third, if I wanted to listen to new age trance on loop all night, I'd be at my little brother's high school rave party.

Fourth, although I don't eat at Gingergrass nearly as often as I used to, the food still manages to give me horrible indigestion EVERY SINGLE TIME. Maybe I'll post my next review on LA's public health page...

03/04/09

Love the pork chops

by sk1017

Love the pork chops. The marinade is similar to Korean BBQ marinade, and the pork chops are served with short grain rice and an Asian-style cole slaw.

• Pros: Value, portions
• Cons: Loud, service isn't consistently good