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This is one of the worst experiences I have had at a Vietnamese restaurant. I only decided to try this place out because of the many good reviews on Yelp. It turns out that Yelp is not accurately helpful as I thought it was. Bad experiences have happened before with places I have visited based on many good reviews on Yelp. It seems to me that Yelp can only give a general idea about a place, if the yelper is knowledgeable, honest, and helpful. GOOD quality food delights a customer, but GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE is what keeps customers coming back. Seriously, are more people these days more tolerant of “OK” food and TERRIBLE customer service??? Vietnam Pearl has horrible customer service and their food is not great either. I ordered the “BEEF MEATBALL” pho according to their menu. I assumed the old female waiter/cashier, Serena, clearly understood. I specifically told her “Beef Meatball” pho, but obviously, she did not get it. She served me the “BEEF MEATBALL & BEEF” pho, which includes both meatballs and strips of beef. The meatballs were ok and the broth was ok too, but the strips of beef were too chewy. Plus, the portions of noodle are minimal compared to the other Vietnamese places I’ve been to. Portions are not generous. Meatballs were sliced in half and there were only a few strips of beef. I was going to dismiss it all regarding Serena’s mistake on my order if she had the decency to sincerely apologize to me after I mentioned it to her. However, she repeatedly became defensive and even argued with me in front of other customers, claiming that I ordered incorrectly. That is so hilarious! I figured, if she wants to make herself look foolish in front of others and show them that she wrongly accused me, then I am going to let her have it. I finally had to tell her off calmly for wrongly accusing me. First of all, I explained to her that I clearly told her I ordered “BEEF MEATBALL” pho and even pointed it out to her on the menu. Then, she responded that nobody says that when they want “Beef Meatball” because that usually means “BEEF & MEATBALL”??? That doesn’t make any sense at all. If people order something clearly but it means something else, then why order anything at all? I am thinking, mean what you order and order what you mean! Lol… I emphasized to her that it also stated “BEEF MEATBALL” pho on her menu. She then goes on to saying that Vietnamese people don’t say that if they only want “Beef Meatball”. I replied that she needs to correct/revise the menu soon, because we clearly understand and see what we want to order, but she does not. She then says that she doesn’t own the place so she is not responsible for the menu. I then told her that she needs to take charge of the menu too, because she is serving customers. That is unless she only expects all of her customers to be Vietnamese? Then, she should go back to Vietnam. Finally, she said sorry to me, but not sincerely. I forgive her, but I needed to make her see her own mistake and that she wrongly accused me. I don’t care anymore, because I am never going back there again. I got up shortly to pay at the counter. I was thinking about walking out and not paying at all. Because she said sorry to me, I decided to pay and be done with it. Her friendliness is fake. The least she could have done for a customer in that circumstance from the very beginning, is to apologize and then offer that meal on the house. That way, a customer would feel appreciated and cared for. Therefore, customers would be more likely to return. What’s even more funny is that there was a customer who walked in and ordered to go (10 minutes after I was seated), the same thing I did and Serena almost got his order wrong too. He came in pretty upset about nobody answering his 14 calls to place an order. Anyhow, I would have gone to anothe

Quoc Bao Bakery – Menu with Prices – 3419 W Walnut St #104, Garland

This place is so amazing that I went two days in a row, and I live 30 minutes away so that’s saying a lot! What really stole my heart was their Vietnamese coffee. For $3 (the sign says $2.75), you’ll get a tall cup of iced deliciousness that even Starbucks can’t replicate. Seriously the best Vietnamese coffee I’ve ever had and that’s coming from someone that grew up on Vietnamese coffee. Now on to the banh mi. I’ve definitely had a lot of banh mi in my lifetime, but I will say that the sandwiches from Quoc Bao are one of my top favorites due to the generosity of the meat portions, flavor, and the pricing! For less than $15, my boyfriend and I got 4 sandwiches and one iced coffee. (On a previous visit we also had Thai tea but I didn’t think it was that impressive, definitely go for the coffee). The bakery has a buy 3 get 1 free deal for the sandwiches so we took advantage of that offer. We ordered the rolled ham, meatball, grilled chicken, and roasted pork. All were delicious and had great flavor. The bread was crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and the meat was perfectly seasoned. If I were to rank them, I would say the rolled ham was my favorite because it’s reminiscent of my childhood, second favorite would be the roasted pork, third would be the grilled chicken, and least favorite would be the meatball. The meatball sandwich wasn’t really filled with meatballs, but rather chunks of ground pork instead of uniform meatballs. The rolled ham didn’t have as much meat as the other sandwiches but the flavor profile makes up for the lack of meat. The other sandwiches had large portions of meat packed with great flavor, which I appreciate. I recommend ordering ahead of time by phone as the bakery is always packed and cranking out orders, so it will definitely reduce waitintime. When you place an order, it’s easier to order by the menu number than the name of the sandwich (ex: say you’d like a #1 instead of saying rolled ham). It will make the ordering process so much smoother. I also recommend asking for the veggies on the side to avoid making your bread soggy. I called to put in my order and they told me it would be a 20-25 minute wait so I’m glad I called beforehand. If this is your first time trying Banh mi, I recommend either the roasted pork or the grilled chicken for sure! You won’t be disappointed.

Lee’s Hoagie House – Menu with Prices – 246 S 11th St, Philadelphia

Horrible customer service. I ordered a 9″ Meatball Hoagie for dine-in, sat down and waited for my order. About 20 minutes went by with other customers who had ordered after me receiving their orders. I finally walked up to the counter and inquired about how much longer my order would take. The cashier rifled around in a food heater drawer, found my sandwich and then began to pack it in two bags with a bunch of flyers and other things, as if I hadn’t ordered it for dine-in. The sandwich was complete mush from being wrapped “to-go” and then sitting in a steam drawer for 20 minutes. The “meatballs” were as if they took the leftovers from a Subway sandwich shop and had them boiling in a pot for a couple days. Completely burnt sauce, and whatever might have been a meatball had long disintegrated into dry meat dust in this putrid Italian slurry. As if all this wasn’t bad enough, the entire time I was there there was the most obscenity filled garbage playing over the radio wayyy too loud.

Sun Vietnamese Restaurant – Menu with Prices – 699 Forest Ave, Portland

New favorite, hands down. Came here with the SO on a weekend evening. The inside was clean and updated to my great surprise (the parking lot looks like it needs some work, so I just made some assumptions…not that that deters me) The menu isn’t huge but they have your standard Pho and other Vietnamese dishes. The surpriser here is their Banh Mi! Have not yet tried that, but am so excited to in the future. The SO ordered the Pho Gai and steamed dumplings, while I ordered the Pho (Beef). The owner (papi of the family) walked our food to us even though we expected to pick it up from the counter. The dumplings came out within 5 to 10 minutes and the pho bowls soon after. Dumplings looked very homemade — they don’t seem to be fans of the pleating technique, but it did tell me they were homemade! And regardless of appearance, they were good. I bet the daughter was practicing her technique. The Pho Gai (Chicken) came with huge chunks of white meat chicken that were oozing in tenderness. The Pho beef had slices of Vietnamese meatballs and thin beef slices — perfectly bouncy and tender. I’m not a huge fan of meat so the SO ate them all (I like the flavor the meat gives it, but I’d rather just eat all the beansprouts, basil, and greens with the broth and noodles.) The Sun Vietnamese family is so nice and so sweet — there were not many people when we had our dinner, but the food was so good, and having had many of the Vietnamese places around the SoMe area, this one tops them all, especially because their prices are much more likeable, at just under $10 per bowl.

Windward Bar & Grille – Menu with Prices – 282 Windward Passage, Clearwater

I was out with a friend who lives in the area and she suggested we go to Windward. This is one of those little unassuming places tucked in to a strip mall. A few tables were outside and some folks there enjoying the evening. Inside it was clean and inviting. Service was friendly. The pizza was suggested but I opted for the meatball appetizer with extra crostini. Darn near kicked the bowl. I’m still craving those meatballs. I hear them calling my name. Meatballs-get in my bell UPDATE: returned last night, June 18th, with another friend. I ordered the meatball appetizer again, exactly the same thing as the time before. Consistency is key in the restaurant business and these folks have nailed that. It was as presented and tasted just as I remember. Also ordered a bourbon and the waitress asked what type of ice was preferred and how many. Splendid!! I big square cube please!! Friend gave it 2 thumbs up. Have now updated 4 stars to 5. Well done Windward.

Zaxby’s Chicken Fingers & Buffalo Wings – Menu with Prices – 540 W El Camino Alto St, Springfield

I try to leave reviews that are helpful to people reading them and the establishment. We placed our order to go at 2:40 PM. We didn’t have our order until 2:55. 15 minutes isn’t that long to wait and I generally don’t mind. However, when I look into the kitchen and I see all the workers goofing off and playing around, it’s no wonder my order took so long to prepare. I wasn’t offered any sauces for the strips we ordered, I had to ask for them. I told the young lady taking our order at the start that it was the first time we had ever been to a Zaxby’s which presented her with a golden opportunity to explain how the restaurant worked and what types of food they have. She missed an opportunity for a great customer service experience and an opportunity for an upsale. I can get chicken strips anywhere. The food was mediocre, the price was high and the service was bad. Will not be returning any time soon.

four54 Grill – Menu with Prices – 454 New Holland Ave, Lancaster

My mom and I are frequent flyers to Lancaster, PA and I don’t know how this place slipped under our radar all these years. Very good food, good atmosphere, and very friendly staff. Mom and I were totally unsure of what to order and he recommended the meatball sub. We thought it was delicious! He even had walked us through how he makes his meatball subs and it did not disappoint. (It is important to note my mom makes her own meatballs and sauce at home so she is a very hard meatball sub consumer to please as she usually prefers her own) We also got small fries (huge portion) and onion rings (so crisp and tender and juicy). Absolutely wonderful. Quicker than a normal sit down and longer than fast food. Will 100% be coming back to try more food

Ginger Thai Bistro – Menu with Prices – 536 N Thompson Ln Suite A, Murfreesboro

I liked the pho very much and will describe it in detail but I will also describe some of the other interesting aspects of the bistro. When I walked in, I was a bit confused because there was a menu board and a counter with gelato. There was a big selection of various coffees and teas on the board. I could not find a dinner menu. The lady behind the counter seated me and I grabbed the menu that was on the counter. Pho is Vietnamese and it was a nice surprise to see it on the menu, so I bypassed the seemingly standard Thai curries. Besides, I have not had Pho in a while and have seen many offerings in Murfreesboro. It was time to do some research and begin comparing them. Oxtail broth is what drew me to choose the Pho Beef and Meatball. The idea of meatballs in Pho sealed the deal and I ordered it up. I’m no expert in what the ideal Pho broth should be. I’ve seen on TV that it typically takes 18 hours to properly make it. So, I researched Pho in the cookbook, “Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table” by Mai Pham. The book identified differences in the broth and noodles. Two types of broth exist in Vietnam, a dark rich broth in some parts and a thinner, clear broth from around Hanoi. US Pho tends to be the darker type. Noodles can be clear, or again depending on what part of Vietnam you are in, can be the heartier white version. Something tells me that if you got a chef from near Saigon and one from Hanoi, they would argue about the ideal. So with that, I will describe what I ate. I liked it. The flavors were layered nicely. Even though it was an oxtail broth, it was clear but quite flavorful. The taste of the oxtail was quite evident and tasty. The best think about the broth is that it was not salty. These noodles were the more hearty, solid white. They definitely had texture and were more filling than the clear noodles. While it is a cultural cross description, I would call the noodles “al dente”. The meatballs were different from what I am used to. They were a very fine grind and of a texture like a very dense knockwurst, but flavored with Asian seasonings. The slices of beef were simply too dry and hard to chew. All the other ingredients were layered nicely and tasted great. A good job.

Lamantini Trattoria – Menu with Prices – 1830 59th St W, Bradenton

The dinner we had tonight was amazing but the meatballs and sauce is the best I ever had. You will not find a better meatball anywhere! Give the chef a raise cuz he raised the bar. The calamari app was tossed with banana peppers and tomatoes and lightly battered perfectly fried. The Ravioli was excellent.. the wife had the salmon. It was beautifully presented and she said it was great! We will be back for sure..I need this meatballs in my life 100 Stars

Viet’s Restaurant Noodles & Grill – Menu with Prices – 7640 N Academy Blvd, Colorado Springs

We stopped in for dinner on a busy Saturday night, hungry and prepared for something good. We weren’t disappointed. I got the La Lop Beef, my wife had the lemongrass beef with rice paper and my daughter had the grilled beef Vermicelli noodle dish. My goal was not to have any carbs, so the La Lop Beef was the perfect dish, with its healthy but flavorful grape leaves enveloping well-seasoned beef. My wife loved her meal and was very happy with the traditional rice paper and long, flavorful strips of meat. My daughter was pleased with her noodle bowl too. The beef blended perfectly with the cool white Vermicelli noodles, sprinkled with green onions with a bottom layer of vegetables. Overall, the restaurant was spacious, clean, and packed with Vietnamese people, which of course is always a good thing. The staff were hospitable, quick and efficient. As a result, customer service was good, even when it got busy. The bathroom was clean too, which was good because it’s the first thing I judge a restaurant by. We’ll definitely be coming back for another quality meal.

Sidewalk Chef Kitchen – Menu with Prices – 6500 NW 12th Ave #101, Fort Lauderdale

What a surprise! This place is in the middle of the industrial area in pompano and unless you search for it online you can totally miss it. The inside is really clean, has plenty of tables, and the decorations are cute. As soon as you walk in you need to go to the counter to order your food and then sit down (at least that is what I did and the person behind me did too). The food: I ordered the bison meatballs in marinara sauce and spaghetti squash as a side. The lady in the counter even suggested to get some homemade cookies (which I did). Because of time constraints I did not stayed there to eat so I ordered to go. When I got to eat my good, I noticed that they dish itself didn’t look too appetizing (meatballs and squash are kind of the same color so it all looked bland) but after trying the first meatball I seriously couldn’t care less what the food looked like. The combination of spaghetti and meatballs was simply delish. I couldn’t get enough and was sad that it was over so soon (i inhaled my food as it was really delicious). The cookies to be honest were not the best but they were ok to eat. Overall, I definitely recommend this place and I will definitely be back.

Basil Ultimate Pho – Menu with Prices – 2770 32 Ave NE, Calgary

I used to come to Basil all the time. They would be known for their great quality Vietnamese food as well as for their generous portion sizes. Today I came in and ordered the pho dac biet, spring rolls and orange juice and was disappointed with the amount of meat I had in my pho. I did bring it to the waitresses attention before I started to dig in, she then waved the manager over and their response was that all bowls get the same amount of meat. Honestly, if I’m paying nearly $10 for a bowl of pho.. I expect a decent amount of beef and beef balls in it. My pho had maybe 1/3 of a beef ball cut in small pieces. And EVEN IF that was the usual amount of meat they put in their pho, they could have dealt with the situation in a different way.. Could have told me that it was normal amount of beef and maybe mention extra beef costs however much and offered me that.. Anyways, I used to enjoy eating at basil and because of the chincing of the meats in the pho, I’d rather go to the dozens of other Vietnamese restaurants located in the NE.

Ichiban Teriyaki – Menu with Prices – 7601 Evergreen Way # B1, Everett

If I could choose zero stars for this teriyaki location I would. I called to order two large miso soups and was told that they only had one size. I had ordered a miso soup a week ago and was given a nice large container; so I wrongly assumed if they only had one size I would be given that size. After I received my order the size of the soup was small, about the size of the salads they give you. I called to see why they had sent two small miso soups and and was told they don’t have large, they only have one size. When I asked how that could be possible as I just ordered from them a week ago, the employee had no idea how to even talk properly. She said as far as she knew they only had one size. I then asked to speak to a manage or the owner, someone who could explain to me how a week ago I was able to order a large miso soup and now they only offer a small one. The employee refused to let me speak to anyone else and was the worst customer service I have spoken to in awhile. This teriyaki joint is simply not worth it. Nom Nom teriyaki farther down every green WAY offers amazing teriyaki and even better customer service. I will never be visiting this location again.