Classy yet casual niche amongst Geary Boulevard’s multicultural mishmash
Friendly, four-year-old La Vie is one of San Francisco’s most highly regarded, yet least known Vietnamese restaurants. Owner Daisy Tang has carved a classy yet casual niche amongst Geary Boulevard’s multicultural mishmash of storefronts. The understated dining room is illuminated by soft deco lamps and blessed with an acoustic-friendly ceiling to muffle Geary’s incessant traffic. The eager black-tie wait staff happily helps novitiates navigate the extensive menu and will assemble your first rice-papered ga nuong vi (grilled lemongrass chicken) roll. You can go cheap here, or break the bank: the house specialty pan-fried crab (ours was $27.95) proved an ample, messy feast for two. Avoid the lumpy, fat-saturated rice flour crépe ($7.25) – opt instead for the deep-fried pot stickers (sticky rice balls stuffed with minced pork, baby shrimp, carrots and mushrooms, $5.75) or the creamy crab and asparagus soup ($4.25/$7.25). Top it all off with a deep-fried, honey scented banana ($2.95).    [18 May 2000 22:55:55]

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Recommended Dishes: pan-fried crab

     ­andrew dean (laughtears)   adean at ekno dot com