Garlic & Chives by Kristin

Several Orange County restaurants feel like they represent the future of Vietnamese cuisine in the U.S., and for a time, Garlic & Chives was one of them. Unlike classic and more common American Vietnamese restaurants, the menus at this small chain weren’t stuck solely on vermicelli noodles and rice plates: An expansive collection of nearly 20 salads, over a dozen different clay hot pots, and a incredible array of fresh seafood entrees were at the core of the appeal – very good to excellent execution was another key component.

At its best, not long after late LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold praised the place and justifiably spotlighted its Pomelo grapefruit and seafood salad, the meals were pretty consistently fantastic regardless of what you ordered. On one occasion, we sampled Vietnamese toothpick lamb, razor clams, grilled pork rolls, Thai spiced calamari, and tiger prawns with garlic noodles while sipping on lychee passion slushes – the experience felt nearly Michelin-worthy, and indeed was getting the Guide’s attention.

Over time, however, Garlic & Chives’ execution began to slip, and many items fell into “good” rather than great territory. For instance, the Banh Trang Tron rice paper salad – a central Vietnamese delicacy that is unlike any other salad you’ve tasted – and the garlic noodles both remained worth sampling, but not the best available locally, occasionally with meat quality control issues. Seven different types of unfried rice paper rolls, including ahi tuna, proved underwhelming and expensive, and a lotus root salad had no roots, all stems.