review
Four Sisters’ Feng Shui South Main Street’s newest family-owned Vietnamese eatery hits home. By ANDREW MARTON
“Perfect,” said my server Nadia to each of my menu selections after I settled in at the four-month-old Four Sisters –– A Taste of Vietnam.
The Vietnamese Shaken Beef was beyond reproach, with its DIY dipping sauce of salt, pepper, and limejuice. Photo by Crystal Wise
The sauce accompanying the beef wraps married two unlikely but delicious ingredients: anchovies and pineapple. Photo by Crystal Wise
8 ZEST EIGHT ONE SEVEN zest817.com
I wonder if any of the “four sisters” of head chef and principal owner Tuan Pham would quibble with the high bar set by my professional server. Nadia was close to spot-on in her bold prediction. The combination of Four Sisters’ solicitous service, an interior exuding soothing feng shui, and, most importantly, the vibrancy and authenticity of its Vietnamese dishes allowed the restaurant to attain often –– not always –– that elusive goal of “perfection.” Four Sisters’ greatest intangible was an interior anchored by minimalist touches of oak-wood panels and soft-glow track lighting illuminating taupe-colored walls and tables. It all created a sense of pristine serenity, only occasionally interrupted by a dramatic flame flaring from a kitchen wok. And then there’s the food. Chef Pham owes a huge debt to his mother, who passed along a legacy of family-tested recipes. As a result, close to three-quarters of Four Sisters’ offerings are inspired by Mom’s handiwork. With the South Main Street eatery embracing the Asian tradition of family-style dining, close to half of its offerings were shared plates. These extended from elaborate dishes, such as steamed rice rolls featuring tough-to-execute rice sheet noodles, to such street-food standards as wraps, baos (buns), and all manner of egg and summer rolls. From the sophisticated to the simplest, all of Four Sisters’ dishes produced a pinballing
February 2019
