We had a magnificent early dinner before an early curtain at the Atlas Performing Arts Center and I knew we had to return to Maketto where Chef Eric Bruner-Yang really cooks pan-Asian awesomely! This is a place you could come and dine for hours tasting and sharing many dishes with friends, but more comfy chairs would help that.
The servers are attentive and helpful and full of smiles and can help you choose a dish if you aren't sure, but I think we had our minds made up, until we saw several dishes whisked by and maybe re-calibrated. It seems the small dishes are not so small, and the medium dishes are quite large; we ended up taking home some extra, but luckily not a lot. the three ladies next to us were packing up giant fried chicken sandwiches that looked so tempting (medium??!!)
Will loved the Cora Rose from Montepulciano and I waited till my food came to enjoy a refreshing glass of the Christina Gruner Veltliner that had a slight effervescence when poured and quickly dissipated but went great with spicy food!
Will had the Steamed Pork Bao which were two large buns stuffed full and a hoisin dipping sauce on the side. I went lighter, or so I thought, with the amazing Ginger Chicken Soup Dumplings with peanut chili vinaigrette that were so intense and flavorful and loaded with chilis in the sauce that I loved. They were really even better than the soup dumplings I had in Shanghai several months earlier!
For our mains Will chose the Duck Noodle Soup which was a full 1/4 duck(leg) with wonton crisps on the side, noodles, local greens and mushrooms. It was quite filling and while declared "medium" I say it's a meal! My Cambodian Noodle Salad came with Crispy Pork Shoulder(warm) on top of the room temperature noodles, bamboo shoots, carrots, a crunchy topping of fermented (shrimp?)fish, peanuts herbs and even a spring roll stuffed in on the side! It came with a sweet and sour vinaigrette on the side so i was able to add a bit at each level as I ate through the noodles and tasty meat! Yes, medium again, and check out the FB pictures to see how big you think medium is! I have to say these noodles were also superb and far surpassed the mediocre ones we had several weeks prior at Chay!
We could not even ponder dessert, but knew we would head back to Maketto, perhaps on a Sunday evening this summer when things are quieter and parking is free as the veggie options for Sam are numerous!
