The Restaurants We Can't Live Without By Tom Fitzmorris #77 Hoa Hong 9 (Nine Roses) Vietnamese. Gretna: 1100 Stephens. 504-366-7665. Map. Lunch and dinner continuously 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Thursday-Tuesday (closed Wednesday). Casual AE DC DS MC V www.nomenu.com/Restaurants/HoaHong9Roses.html   WHY IT'S ESSENTIAL   The most ambitious Vietnamese restaurant in the area, Hoa Hong 9 (it means "Nine Roses") not only cooks every Vietnamese dish you ever heard of, but also a full Chinese menu, too. That adds up to almost 300 dishes, including many found in no other local restaurants. A major renovation since the hurricane makes it the most welcoming of all the Vietnamese places, and a good place for the uninitiated to begin their discovery of this exciting cuisine. Prices are almost laughably low.   WHY IT'S GOOD   The vast menu suggests that the restaurant specializes in nothing in particular, but somehow everything tastes like a specialty. Even complicated dishes are good. The "fondues," for example. These are prepared at the table, with simmering broths and sauces through which you send various meats, seafoods, and vegetables. (They're not the fondues you and I know, but that's the closest word to the idea.) Large parts of the kitchen's repertoire are expressly aimed at ethnic Vietnamese; the servers may try to talk you out of some of the more exotic dishes. Get them anyway. It's a big world here.   BACKSTORY   Nine Roses (that's what the non-Vietnamese call it) opened its large, attractive dining room in the early 1990s, long before New Orleanians went nuts over pho. Pitching its offerings to the needs of Vietnamese customers, it opened early in the morning to serve its soups and noodles, and kept going all day to grab the West Bankers at night.   DINING ROOM   A large, recently renovated dining room, with aquariums decorating the edges. Many of the tables are oversize, and quite often filled with whole Asian families. Indeed, the clientele is very heavily tilted to the Asian side, but this should not discourage non-Asians from attending. Service is more rapid than you expect. Some of the servers show a bit of impatience with those new to the restaurant, but with so many dishes to explain that's almost understandable.   ESSENTIAL DISHES   Vietnamese spring rolls. Vietnamese crepe. Hot and sour fish soup for two. Pho with brisket or meatballs. Bo tai chanh (beef salad with mint). Grilled pork rolls. Black pepper crab. Seafood delight salad. Lemon grass chicken. Salt-baked shrimp, scallops, or crabs. Giant shrimp in Mama Tu's sauce. Beef fondued in vinaigrette. Steamed duck. Curry and coconut shrimp or chicken. Fish in clay pot. “Bun” dishes (grilled meats over cool noodles.   FOR BEST RESULTS   Don't go on Wednesday: they're closed. If it's your first visit, go to the website and print out the menu. Look it over and check off dishes that might be interesting to you. This will save a lot of impatience and delay in the restaurant.   OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT   A "chef's specialties" section of the menu would help those just getting into Vietnamese cooking to figure it out. But the regulars might object.   FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD   Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter. Dining Environment +1 Consistency +1 Service Value +3 Attitude Wine and Bar Hipness Local Color   SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES    Open Sunday Open Monday Open most holidays Open all afternoon Vegetarian dishes Quick, good meal Unusually large servings Easy, nearby parking Click here for the index to all the reviews so far. © 2009 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com