South Grand is a wonderful neighborhood in the city of St. Louis, especially if you’re looking for a diverse offering of cuisines from around the globe: Moroccan, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Persian, Ethiopian, Chinese, Lebanese…
Certainly this diversity is a great thing, and all of the restaurants I’ve been to in this area have been fantastic. Chicken wings, however, is probably not the first food dish that comes to mind.
Fortunately, this is 21st Century America. Chicken wings are served in all sorts of places that one might not guess. A Vietnamese restaurant named Pho Grand is one of these places, and one of my favorite restaurants in the city. Last night, I decided to give them a shot.
On the appetizers section of the menu , Pho Grand describes their Crispy Chicken Wings (item 10.09) as “Chicken wings with caramelized garlic sauce”. They cost $5.25 and my order came with 6 wings.
I have never been to Vietnam and know little to nothing about their cuisine, but these wings stick out as the least “authentic” thing on the menu. But I’ve enjoyed asian wings many times before, so I saw no reason not to try these!
The wings, garnished with just a bit of parsley (I think?), looked great when they came out. There was a large amount of sauce, though it appeared that the sauce didn’t stick to the wings too well, so a lot of it was sitting at the bottom of the dish. This is not a problem, however, as the wings could easily be dipped in this runoff sauce.
The wings were indeed crispy, as advertised. Even the ones soaking in the bowl were crispy. The chicken in the middle was a bit dry, but certainly not a deal breaker. They were average in size.
The sauce, while mild, was delicious. Garlic was definitely the prominent taste, but not in an overpowering way. Something, perhaps the caramelization, lent a slight sweetness to the dish, though that was not overpowering either. It was a great balance that left me wanting more. The fact that I could keep dipping the wings in the sauce at the bottom of the dish was a big winner.
Another plus, at a restaurant such as Pho Grand, is that there are a few other sauces on the table for you to add spice to your food as you see fit. Here, they had something similar to a hoisin sauce, and a couple spicier chili sauces. I didn’t think of adding other sauces until my last wing, so I can’t give a full report on this experiment, but I thought I would note it as an option.
I don’t think that these wings need any added sauces, however, because they are so tasty as-is. Spice isn’t the primary goal, and they achieve a very nice balance of flavor. There are too many wonderful items on Pho Grand’s menu to mandate that these wings be a part of your order, but if you do get them, you’re in for a unique treat.