Doson's Noodle House
135 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119, USA
Mid-City
Anecdotes & Analysis
Every time I dine here, I walk out with the feeling that I haven't been to a restaurant, but that I have walked in to an accidental offering of food, and that I gave that guy walking around the dining room more money than he was expecting. Then I leave, and feel that I am in Chinatown in Los Angeles. There is something fun about this, but I can't explain it. (I am not smoking anything.)
Backstory
Doson's began as the interestingly named "Chinese's Chinese Restaurant" on Oak Street. After a few years, it changed its name and its menu to include at least as much Vietnamese food as Chinese. As years passed, the Chinese aspect has all but disappeared, leaving a menu centered on the Vietnamese noodle soups and noodle dishes, with a scattering of other Viet eats. The restaurant made a counterintuitive move after Katrina, leaving its original, unflooded location on for a building half as big that took between four and five feet of long-standing flood water. But that has worked well for them.
Dining Room
It's a long, narrow room with tables starting inches inside the front door. The decor is spare and the lighting low. The service staff moves at a much more leisurely pace than in most Vietnamese places.
Why It's Essential
Doson's is a Vietnamese restaurant in the middle of the blossoming restaurant row on Carrollton near Canal. The clientele is young and hip to Vietnamese food, and keeps it busy. That influence has motivated the kitchen to move away from the Americanized fare it once cooked to a more ethnic flavor--reversing usual course of restaurant evolution.
Why It's Good
Doson's style of cooking Vietnamese food is a bit different from what you may be used to, with a bit of a Chinese aspect, particularly among stir-fry dishes. Classic Viet dishes like bun noodles with grilled meat are somehow juicier here than in most other such restaurants. The range of the menu is wide, and everything is served in the typical mammoth portions. The menu says, "Special request on dishes, condiments, or recipes instructed by our guests are delightfully welcome."
Most Interesting Dishes
»Goi Cuon Salad spring roll Banh Quai Vat »Fried or steamed dumpling Pho Bo or Ga »»Beef or chicken noodle soup »Dau Dua Xao Green bean or Asian broccoli stir-fry Ga Xao Tran Bi Orange chicken »»Tom Rang Tieu Black pepper shrimp »»Ca Chien Gion Fried or steamed whole fish »Vit Quay Roasted duck Ga or Tom Xao Rau Chicken or shrimp with vegetables and hot garlic sauce »»Rau Xao Doson Seasonal fresh Vietnamese greens, grown in New Orleans by Chef Doson Bun Ga Or Thit Or Tom Or Bo Grilled chicken, pork, shrimp or beef over cool rise noodles »Mi Xau Doson Chicken and shrimp pan fried noodle
Deficiencies
The air conditioning in summer is freezing.
For Best Results
If you're a regular at some other Vietnamese place, don't expect those flavors to be exactly the same here. But that's true of all ethnic restaurants.
Bonus Ratings
1
Hipness
1
Value