Cuisines:
Vietnamese
Here in the thick of the International District the pretty little Green Leaf gives you everything you want in a hole-in-the-wall and nothing you don't: plentiful plates of fresh and wholesome Vietnamese food delivered on handsome ceramic plates by extremely friendly folks to shiny black lacquered tables—not many of them—within elegant bamboo-lined walls, at giveaway prices (not much over $8.95). There are lines—okay, so the pretty little Green Leaf gives you one thing you don't want. But rarely are the patient so amply rewarded as they are when presented with a plate of Green Leaf's Vietnamese pancakes: thickly embedded with shrimp, nearly cream-textured, brimming with bean sprouts, swaddled in fresh basil, mint, and lettuce greens, and anointed with drips of briny fish sauce. The menu offers many other appetizers in addition to salads, phos, and other soups, rice-based entrees (of which the spicy lemongrass chicken is commendable), and vermicelli bowls. Better-than-standard Vietnamese fare in way-better-than-standard digs. No wonder it's the worst-kept secret in town.
Updated 05/28/2013
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