Le Plat Déjeuner, S'il Vous Plaît

Photos by Robb Walsh

​Somebody asked me if Houston had any upscale French-Vietnamese restaurants the other day. This is a popular category in Boston, Chicago and other cities across the country. Given our large Vietnamese population, its odd that Houston doesn't have such a place at the moment. I told the questioner about Le Bec Fin, the charming little French-Vietnamese bistro that used to be located on Milam. And I promised to keep my eyes open.

That's why I had to stop for lunch when I spotted the sign outside Nguyen-Ngo French Café on Bellaire across the street from Hong Kong City Mall.

​The restaurant turned out to be a Vietnamese sandwich shop. But when I asked the propreitor if he served any French food, he recommended the plat déjeuner. It comes with pâte, rilletes, salami, ham and housemade mayo with jalapeño and herbs -- sort of like a charchuterie sampler with Vietnamese condiments and two fried eggs with a hot mini-baguette. The plate lunch and a Vietnamese coffee on ice set me back $8.