Luc Lac Vietnamese Kitchen

835 SW 2nd Ave, Portland, OR 97204, USA

This tucked away bistro, hardly one of PDX’s best kept secrets, is a no-frills, saddle-up-to-the-bar-to-order kind of place. Mains range from traditional Pho to the inventive Luc Lac stir fry. Cocktails with names like Summer in Saigon, Pretty Ricky and Luc Lac Lush litter the drink menu. Service is sparse but efficient. Decor, downright depressing. So PDX. There is something magical about the timing in Luc Lac—just when you start to visualize your food getting cold on the serving deck, while you stand abandoned in the din with your “ticket,” the clouds part and the sun beams down on your awaiting table. Moments later it’s time to dig into the Fresh Spring Rolls and Sugar Cane Shrimp. Deliver desires at the cash register, get a number and pray. Try getting a table on a Tuesday night and be prepared to wait and also, brace for your reward. You don’t need to miss a student loan or mortgage payment to live it up at LL. On my last trip with three friends in tow our dinner was fifty dollars—with beers! Why cook, let’s eat out.

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Good Luc Lac

This tucked away bistro, hardly one of PDX’s best kept secrets, is a no-frills, saddle-up-to-the-bar-to-order kind of place. Mains range from traditional Pho to the inventive Luc Lac stir fry. Cocktails with names like Summer in Saigon, Pretty Ricky and Luc Lac Lush litter the drink menu. Service is sparse but efficient. Decor, downright depressing. So PDX. There is something magical about the timing in Luc Lac—just when you start to visualize your food getting cold on the serving deck, while you stand abandoned in the din with your “ticket,” the clouds part and the sun beams down on your awaiting table. Moments later it’s time to dig into the Fresh Spring Rolls and Sugar Cane Shrimp. Deliver desires at the cash register, get a number and pray. Try getting a table on a Tuesday night and be prepared to wait and also, brace for your reward. You don’t need to miss a student loan or mortgage payment to live it up at LL. On my last trip with three friends in tow our dinner was fifty dollars—with beers! Why cook, let’s eat out.

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