Chopsticks adds Vietnamese twist

For a town of fewer than 30,000 people, Jacksonville has an eclectic mix of restaurants. There's a handful of Mexican places, a Chinese buffet, a Thai restaurant, several chain restaurants and the usual fast food offerings. But with the opening of Chopsticks Pho a couple of months ago, the Vietnamese culture is now being represented.

Pho (pronounced fuh), is the Vietnamese national dish. It's a rice noodle soup that usually contains meat. Extra depth of flavor is added with the use of things like chili paste, fish sauce, garlic vinegar and herbs.

Chopsticks offers a variety of noodle dishes and stir fries, but there are subtle differences in seasoning and style that set Chopsticks Pho apart from standard Asian buffet or carryout fare.

It is a rather nondescript restaurant, but thankfully the exterior doesn't always reflect the interior or the food. Interior decorative touches have been kept to a minimum. There are booths, and tables and chairs, and diners seat themselves.

A friendly server took our appetizer orders: Fried Crab Wontons (four for $2.95) and Spring Rolls with pork and shrimp (two big ones for $3.85).

The menu took a while to go over; some of the dishes were not familiar and we needed time.

My son ordered the Stir Fried Noodle Combination ($12.85). The Vermicelli Bowl with Shrimp and Charbroiled Pork ($8.85), and the Charbroiled Korean Style Ribs ($11.85) sounded promising so we ordered those too.

It wasn't long before the crispy and cream-filled wontons and spring rolls came out.

The spring rolls were made with a gelatinous outer wrapper of rice paper that held noodles, vegetables, pork and shrimp. But they came with an intensely flavored peanut dipping sauce that brought the rather bland rolls to life.

The Stir Fried Noodle Combination, a mixture of broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onions, beef, tender noodles and medium-size shrimp, arrived first. It was not spicy, but not bland either. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, but the beef was a bit chewy. It helped to swirl your forkful into the brown sauce at the bottom of the plate.

We were a bit disappointed when another server told us they were out of the Korean style ribs, so decided on the Shaking Beef steamed rice plate ($12.85).

The Vermicelli Bowl with Shrimp and Charbroiled Pork was brought out in a large bowl with the ingredients layered. The charbroiled pork and four shrimp nested on a bed of noodles. As I dug in, I spotted greens and herbs under the noodles. I'd not seen that before, but I was game to give it a whirl. I was pleasantly surprised.

I stirred it up, making sure to get some of everything in a bite, which wasn't easy. It was good. Like the other dish, it was mild tasting, but it was served with a side of a vinegary sauce that was a little hot and very tangy. I tried it, and while it did add to the flavor of the dish, I preferred it without. The pork had a sort of sweet charbroiled flavor and was extremely tender.

It took a while, but the Shaking Beef eventually made it to the table. The meat, onions and peppers were attractively plated with a mound of steamed rice with green onions piled on top.

The chunks of beef were tender, and the vegetables tender-crisp. But my son was taken aback when his mouth started burning. What he thought was a piece of onion was a large, undercooked piece of garlic. It took a few sips of water for the burn to finally subside. He soldiered on.

Furthermore, my son is not a fan of cilantro, and Chopsticks uses it liberally, especially as a garnish. It did require some picking off here and there, but it certainly didn't detract from the meal.

The pho ($8.85), which we forgot to order, comes in versions that include round steak, meatballs, seafood, vegetarian, and soft tendon and tripe. Adding ingredients costs $2.95.

Weekend on 12/03/2015