Don

Fact File

336-370-9677

Type: Japanese/Noodle House

Location: 423 Tate Street, Greensboro, N.C.

Price Range: All menu items under $10

Hours: ???

Payment accepted: Cash, credit card

Overview: Yet another player in the Tate Street dining scene, Don serves Japanese appetizers, rice and noodle dishes. Several kinds of tea and a limited selection of alcoholic beverages are available.

Review by Zac Goldstein

With the popularization of sushi in recent years, Japanese restaurants that don’t serve it are easy to overlook. However, Don convincingly makes the case that there’s more to savor than sashimi and specialty rolls.

Food at Don comes in a few different categories. In addition to the familiar ramen, there’s ishiyaki (sizzling rice bowls), yakisoba (thin fried noodles) and udon (thicker noodles in a stir fry or soup), each with different combinations of toppings. I’ve had the best luck with the ishiyaki, my favorites being shrimp, red snapper and katsu pork. Each is served sizzling hot, meaning you’ll have to do some stirring if you don’t want anything to burn. A selection of optional sauces allows you to season each dish to your liking and the complimentary miso is flavorful and not too salty.

Other dishes are hit-and-miss. Steamed gyoza are decent, but you can get better down the street. The chicken yakisoba is satisfactorily crunchy and has a good balance of flavors, though the serving size is small. Shoyu (soy) ramen was salty but otherwise bland.

Don’s interior is comfortable, modern and clean. Colorful paper lamps and decorative Japanese wall accent an otherwise dark space. There’s bar seating, though you shouldn’t have any problem getting a table here. Don is rarely ever crowded and service doesn’t lag.

Prices at Don are very reasonable. All entrees run under $10 and appetizers are generally in the $3 to $6 range. You can easily get a filling meal here without breaking the bank.

Don is no Sushi Republic – neither the caliber of cuisine nor the expense are comparable – but it’s a great option for diners who don’t need an expansive menu to enjoy a satisfying meal.

7.75/10

Sushi Republic

Fact File

336-274-6684

Type: Japanese/Sushi

Location: 329 Tate Street, Greensboro, N.C.

Price Range: Entrees $16 and under, sushi rolls $4 and up

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Friday, dinner only on Saturdays

Payment accepted: Cash, credit card

Overview: A staple of the Tate Street dining scene, Sushi Republic offers appetizers, Japanese entrees, and, of course, sushi. Wine,beer and saki are available, as are bento box lunches and outdoor seating during warmer weather.

Review by Zac Goldstein

Sushi is by its very nature an acquired taste. Nobody thinks they will like raw fish until they actually do. For that reason, it’s encouraging when a sushi restaurant continues to challenge our notions of what is and is not delectable.

In that regard, Sushi Republic rises magnificently to the occasion. You can get familiar sushi and sashimi here (tuna, salmon, shrimp and the like), but the real stars are the specialty rolls. Not content to experiment with mere avocado and cream cheese, Sushi Republic utilizes such ingredients as mango, mozzarella, BBQ eel and asparagus. My personal favorite, the Tate Street Roll, is a katsu-coated cornucopia of salmon, red snapper, crab, avocado, asparagus and cucumber, all topped with eel sauce. If that combination can’t tantalize your taste buds, nothing will.

For the sushi-skeptical, the menu offers no shortage of alternatives. Appetizers are grouped into Garden (edamame, vegetable gyoza), Farm (pork gyoza, chicken yakitori) and Sea (crab tempura, shrimp shumai). Any of the dumplings are safe bets. Entrees include teriyaki chicken, ribeye steak, seared tuna and panko breaded tilapia. Asparagus is a favorite here and accompanies many of the dishes.

Pricing at the Republic is reasonable for the quality of the food, meaning you’ll spend a lot to fill up, but you’ll feel that it’s worth it. Appetizers are mostly in the $4 to $9 range, entrees run from $13 to $16 and sushi varies considerably depending on the ingredients and quantity. Many of the specialty rolls can be had for under $10.

Seating isn’t a problem if you come for lunch or show up when the courtyard is open. Dinner during the winter months, on the other hand, is a gamble. It’s a small establishment and it fills quickly. Service when crowded can be sluggish, though servers are knowledgeable and polite, and a pencil and paper ordering system greatly cuts down on confusion. Don’t tempt fate by trying to bring a large group and don’t plan on eating a quick meal.

Both the expense and the scarcity of space prevent Sushi Republic from becoming a regular option, but for special occasions with time to spare, it will deliver new ways to please your palate.

8/10

Pho Hien Vuong

Fact File

336-294-5551

Type: Vietnamese/Thai

Location: 4109 Spring Garden Street #A, Greensboro, N.C.

Price Range: Many menu items under $10, most under $15

Hours: 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday

Payment accepted: Cash, credit card

Overview: Pho Hien Vuong serves up Vietnamese and Thai cuisine including pho (noodle soup), rice, noodle and vegetarian dishes. A $4.95 lunch special changes daily. Take-out, catering, and gift certificates are available.

Review by Zac Goldstein

The measure of a bad Asian restaurant is that everything tastes the same. At Pho Hien Vuong, everything is good, but nothing tastes the same. Several pages worth of menu options ensure there’s plenty of variety to be found. In the mood for something light? Try a spring roll. They come fresh (steamed) or fried, vegetarian or with shrimp, with peanut sauce. Want something heavier? Dig into a bowl of pho. The soups come with your choice of noodle (egg, clear or rice) and filling and enough accouterments (cilantro, sauces, bean sprouts, etc.) to allow you to season to your liking.

Thai dishes, such as curries and pad thai, have enough seasoning to please those familiar with the cuisine without overwhelming the palates of newcomers. Other authentic staples include Tom soups, lemon grass dishes and Vietnamese-style ribs.

Prices at Pho Hien Vuong are more than reasonable. The lunch specials, which include rice and a spring roll, are a bargain, and many of the regular entrees run $8 or less. Seafood dishes are less economical, but even the $13 shrimp pad thai isn’t an outrage. Service is satisfactory – the wait staff is prompt, but they don’t rush you — and the atmosphere (plenty of booths, gentle music, a large fish tank) is comfortably elegant. The only real downside to Pho Hien Vuong is its lack of parking. The lot is tiny and fills up quickly, rendering the restaurant virtually inaccessible during the lunch rush.

Like a Swiss army knife, Pho Hien Vuong’s versatility comes in handy in a variety of situations. Whether you have a craving for a particular dish or no clue what you want; whether you’re well-versed with Vietnamese or Thai cuisine or are just starting out, Pho Hien Vuong has you covered.

8.5/10