Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 15, 1994 TAG: 9404150071
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: EXTRA1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: |By DOLORES KOSTELNI|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Mr. Su's
Even those with modest dining-out budgets have ample maneuvering room to feast grandly on appealing and sensible dishes priced under $10. The menu clearly outlines Vietnamese specialties as well as many popular Chinese dishes. Although the two cuisines exhibit strong similarities and many of the dishes look alike, they differ in cooking techniques, flavorings and spices.
In all the dishes we ordered, the cooks maximized flavor, texture and color through freshness of ingredients and light coatings of appropriate sauces. Attractive floral-patterned china, shiny-clean glass-topped tables and excellent, knowledgeable service, provided in a well-lit environment, enhanced the pleasant dining experience.
Three Flavor Meats ($7.95) features an abundance of roast pork, chicken and beef with crunchy, colorful vegetables in a pleasant sauce that's great seasoning for its bowlful of plain steamed rice. At lunch this dish becomes a fantastic $3.95 special with a side mound of soy-tinted fried rice flecked with bits of egg.
Another winning triple-play combination, Three Delight Sizzling Wor Ba ($8.95), arrives in a sizzling skillet and consists of several good-sized shrimp and plenty of roast pork and chicken surrounded by a bed of diagonally cut greens. Bright colors, excellent flavors, crunchy texture and an abundance of fresh vegetables make this impressive.
Some filling and unusually good Vietnamese specialties included a gigantic, but light, rice flour and coconut milk crepe rolled around strips of tender white meat chicken or pork ($6.75) or shrimp ($6.95) mixed with shredded cabbage and a few assorted vegetables, dressed with nuoc mam, a tasty combination of lemon, garlic and fish sauce. There's also a simple beef and mushroom dish ($8.75) I liked: good-sized, tender pieces of meat stir-fried with chewy black mushroom bits in an exotic sauce.
The only item I won't order again is chicken with bean thread noodle soup ($2.25). Although I enjoyed the hot broth with its baby corn, green onions and nice pieces of button and shiitake mushrooms, the gelatinous noodles lumped together in an inedible, unsightly coagulated mass.
One of the best and more expensive dishes, Four Seasons ($10.95), blends everything you want to sample: chicken, beef, roast pork, shrimp, broccoli, mushrooms and bamboo shoots in a lightly salty, kicky black bean sauce. It comes with larger-than-usual bowl of plain rice that makes a perfect partner with this dish.
Greedy Pig
A good deli is an absolute downtown necessity, and Mason & Hanabass have the makings of one with their simple menu of chubby sandwiches, homemade salads and the convenience of ordering by FAX. They don't stint on ingredients or condiments. In fact, when I asked for mayo on a tuna salad sandwich, they made it the old-fashioned way: I got more mayo than I've consumed in the past 3 years. (I admit loving every bit of it.)
Here's the place for the bologna sandwich ($1.99) of your dreams: 21/4 inches of thinly sliced all-meat bologna with yellow mustard on rye or with lettuce, tomato and mayo on a filling bagel. No matter how you have it, a crunchy, briny dill pickle comes with it.
Hefty ham sandwiches ($2.99) - almost 11/2 inches of paper-thin, pink meat - rank at the top of my list, too. The difficulty arises with selecting a favorite bread: rye, whole wheat, white, pumpernickel, five different bagels or kaiser or french roll.
Worth the calories and the mess, a Bradbury Barn Burner ($3.49) satisfies the craving for "something Italian." Chunky, tasty sausage, made a few feet away in the Mason & Hanabass butcher shop, blends nicely with marinara sauce and green pepper strips in a really good, crunchy-enough French roll that measures 7 3/4 inches long by 23/4 inches wide.
Two sandwiches need improvement. The roast beef ($3.99), tasty and thinly sliced, had too many nervy threads for me to totally enjoy. The corned beef ($3.99), layered in chunks instead of slices, proved difficult to manage because with every bite more meat fell out, resulting in my holding two pieces of bread with no filling.
The best sandwich of all is chicken salad on white ($2.99). It's as close to homemade as you can get.
For the calorie conscious, select from freshly prepared salads available everyday: tossed ($1.59), chefs ($2.99) and Caesar ($3.99). No matter what sandwich I ordered, a side of homemade cole slaw (95 cents) proved the perfect partner.
Named after a London pub of the same name, the deli concept has been incubating for some time with Mason & Hanabass. The recent move to the new location helped bring the idea to fruition. It's a good one and much needed, too.
Mr. Su's Chinese & Vietnamese Restaurant
118A Campbell Avenue
345-9718
Hours: Monday through Thursday: 11 a. m. - 9 p. m.
Friday and Saturday: 11 a. m. until 11 p. m.
Beverages: full range alcoholic and non-alcoholic
Price Range: $3.95- $15.
Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover
Reservations: For large groups (6 or more) on weekends.
No-Smoking Section: yes
Accessible to the handicapped: yes
Mason & Hanabass-Greedy Pig
118 Campbell Avenue
342-1662
FAX: 345-7573
Hours: Monday thrugh Friday: 8 a. m. - 6 p. m.
Saturday: 8 a. m. - 5 p. m.
Beverages: canned soft drinks, juices, hot coffee
Price Range: $1.99 - $3.99
Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
Reservations Required: No. But if you're on their FAX list, they'll send you a daily rundown of specials.
Non-Smoking Section? Entire shop.
Accessible to the handicapped: yes
``Dining Out's'' handicap accessibility ratings are provided by the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center.
by CNB