I understand, from the internet, that Billiard Hoang hosts punk shows in the evening sometimes and that the room often fills with folks actually playing pool on the tables in the large room. I have no experience with that, because to me, Billiard Hoang, is a morning place and my morning order is Bò Lúc Lắc.

Billiard Hoang, in Columbia City, is like the Vietnamese version of the classic diner. It’s been around for nearly 40 years, you can come in and sit your hungover butt down immediately. The service is fast and sometimes sassy, and the menu is intimidatingly long, particularly for pre-coffee contemplation.

The phin-dripped Vietnamese coffee is strong, though, and I promise you need to look no further than the Bò Lúc Lắc, generally translated to English as "shaking beef." The cubes of beef tenderloin are sauteed (shaken) in a lightly sweet and salty sauce, with onions and peppers, which hold fast to their last bit of crunch. It comes poured over a split plate of lettuce and rice, topped with a pair of fried eggs.

Whether your hangover comes from too much alcohol or, as mine more often do these days, simply too much scrolling your phone uncontrollably into the wee hours, the elements of a recovery breakfast remain the same, and this mess—especially after I slather it with hot sauce—has it all.