Rose VL
6424 S.E. Powell Blvd.
503-206-4344
Breakfast and lunch, Monday-Saturday
$
The jealousy jinx: When you and a friend eat at Rose VL, order one each of the two daily soups, then feel equal pangs of envy that you didn't order the other.
It happened on a recent Saturday, a day devoted to two starkly different soups at what might be the most exciting Vietnamese soup restaurant in America. First, the earthy, aggressively spiced mi quang noodles, stained in their orange-red broth, with slices of pressed pork and shrimp under a shower of ground pork and roasted peanut. Second, a light, graceful turmeric curry filled with pale round noodles, humble carrot and potato and tender bone-in chicken.
The restaurant, the second from the family behind Ha VL, has a similar menu to the original, with later hours and different soups each day. Ha VL is still a destination, but I like coming to Rose VL to chat with founders Ha (Christina) Luu and William Vuong.
Beyond soups, you'll find occasional specials, iced coffee and tea, fruit smoothies -- including a pungent durian -- and Vietnamese sandwiches. And if you're looking for a way to differentiate the two restaurants, Rose distinguishes itself with a better baguette wrapping juicy meatballs or Chinese sausage and fresh bouquets of cilantro, pickled carrot and daikon.
Still, it's the soup that brings you back. And if you can find it in your heart to share your bowl, all the better.
Don't miss: Saturdays are for soup lovers, when Ha VL serves its spicy bun bo hue and peppery pork meatball soup and Rose VL offers its earthy mi quang noodles and fragrant turmeric curry.
-- Michael Russell